Amid the multitude of female-skewing holiday movies and specials airing in December, networks such as WE tv and Oxygen are giving viewers the gift of new, original regularly scheduled programming.

Women-targeted programmers said they aren’t afraid of competing against one-off holiday movies — and they’re eager to take advantage of reruns airing on broadcast networks.

“There are a lot of Christmas movies and Christmas specials, but that’s not for everybody,” Jerry Leo, executive vice president, program strategy, Lifestyle Networks for NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, said. “I think the reality fan is still looking for other options.”

Two new reality series on NBCU’s Oxygen — Finding My Father, which tracks young women searching for their biological dads; and Rich in Faith, which follows Pastor Rich Wilkerson of Vous Church in Miami and his wife, DawnChere — both fit into the religious, heartwarming, family themes of the Christmas holiday, Leo said. In prior years, new seasons of Project Runway and The Real Housewives of Atlanta drew big numbers against holiday fare, he added.

“Hopefully the holidays will actually help us by creating that kind of environment and vibe for the shows,” Leo said.

WE tv last week launched the fourth seasons of two popular reality series, Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars and Tamar and Vince, the Braxton Family Values spinoff.

The holiday season provides a great opportunity to siphon off viewers who have been watching broadcast TV, WE tv president Marc Juris said. “On Thursday, when [ABC’s] Scandal and How to Get Away With Murder are in reruns, maybe 5 million women become available.”

Launching new and returning shows in December also allows the network to promote its January fare, he said. The network on Jan. 7 will debut reality series Growing Up Hip Hop. On Jan. 8, Ex Isle, starring Carmen Electra, will show individuals how to get over an ex.

“We want to use every opportunity in a crowded marketplace to bring in new viewers and to re-establish ourselves with our super-fans,” Juris said.

Still, women-targeted networks will face tough competition from holiday fare on Hallmark Channel and ABC Family.

ABC Family, with its “25 Days of Christmas” programming stunt, was easily the most watched network among women 18- 49, women 25-54 and women 18-34 during the first week of December (Nov. 30 to Dec. 6).

Undaunted, Leo said Oxygen plans to run its original content each week throughout the holiday season without any breaks.

“We don’t take our foot off the gas for even one week during the holidays,” he said. “If you’re into the storyline, you want to stay with it.”

Bravo Media, a unit of NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, has promoted Jerry Leo to executive vice president, program strategy, Lifestyle Networks & Production, adding responsibility for E! Entertainment and Esquire Network to his current duties at Bravo and Oxygen.

Leo will oversee strategic planning and programming across all four networks, working closely with research, marketing and creative to set series goals. Additionally, he will will continue to supervise Bravo’s production team from the creative side to operations and management, the company said.

During his tenure at Bravo, which he joined in 2005 as vice president, strategic program planning & scheduling, it has become a Top 10 network in the adults 18-49 and 25-54 demos. Most recently Leo oversaw Bravo's expansion into scripted series with one-hour drama Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce and the upcoming half-hour comedy Odd Mom Out. He also spearheaded the strategic planning and production of reality series Million Dollar Listing franchise, Vanderpump Rules, Below Deck and Shahs of Sunset, as well as the Andy Cohen late-night talker Watch What Happens Live.

Leo added responsibility for strategic planning at Oxygen in 2013, when he led the scheduling strategy behind the network’s rebrandto target young, multicultural women.

Prior to joining Bravo Media, Leo was with MTV Networks, most recently as vice president, program planning for VH1, where he managed the program strategy for Behind the Music, Divas Live, Storytellers, Pop Up Video and popular franchises such as the “100 Greatest,” “I Love the 80s” and “Celebreality.”

Leo, based in New York, will continue to report to Frances Berwick, president, lifestyle networks, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment, on matters pertaining to Bravo and Oxygen, and now will also report to Adam Stotsky, general manager of E! and president of Esquire Network.

“Jerry is a strong leader with extensive industry knowledge, keen programming instincts and his finger on the competitive pulse,” Berwick said. “His expanded role over all four brands enables us to align an overarching programming strategy and create impactful growth across all platforms."