PRESS RELEASE via ION:
ION Television Set to "Brighten Your Holiday Season" With Five All-New Original Movies
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| ION Logo via ION Television |
Network Marks Its Eighth Year of Original Movie Production With the Premieres of "A Vermont Christmas Vacation," "A Firehouse Christmas," "A Cinderella Christmas," "Christmas With the Andersons" and "A Husband for Christmas"
WEST PALM BEACH, FL--(Marketwired - September 19, 2016) - The holidays are a special time in many American households, with the gathering of families, the giving of gifts and considerable time spent at home. For the eighth year, ION Television will debut five original, all-new holiday movies, beginning Sunday, Nov. 27, and running through December.
The Network's 2015 original holiday movies grew among all key demos compared to the previous year. "A Christmas Mystery," ION's highest-rated original movie of the year, delivered 1.5 million total viewers.
In primetime overall this season, ION Television is up double-digit percentages virtually across the board, in Households, Adults 25-54 and 18-49, and Women 25-54 and 18-49. Its top-10 run among general entertainment cable networks continues.
"Our original holiday programming has become an important seasonal destination for both viewers and advertisers," said Brandon Burgess, Chairman and CEO of ION Media Networks. "It's also a key piece of our overall ION Television strategy, as we constantly look for the most effective ways to reach and engage our target audience."
The following are ION Television's original, all-new movies for 2016, along with their premiere dates and times:
"A Vermont Christmas Vacation" - Sunday, Nov. 27, at 9/8c PM
Cast: Abigail Hawk, Chevy Chase, David O'Donnell, Howard Hesseman, Morgan Fairchild, Zack Ward
Synopsis: Riley Thomas is sent by her profit-obsessed boss to shut down one of the company's holdings, a small outerwear company in Vermont, for missing profit targets. Riley finds that the company is the lifeblood of a town and, instead of closing down the iconic firm, she unexpectedly falls in love and learns valuable lessons beyond the bottom line.
Produced by: Hybrid Films
"A Firehouse Christmas" - Saturday, Dec. 3, at 9/8c PM
Cast: Anna Hutchison, Marcus Rosner, Anita Brown, Bruce Dawson
Synopsis: With Christmas approaching, life appears to be good for Tom, an ex-Olympic hockey star, and his girlfriend, Jenny, a firefighter -- at least until Mary, a former Olympic figure skater, Tom's soon-to-be ex-wife and the author of a book of tips on relationships, is convinced that appearing to be still happy with Tom will help sell her book. Tom's strong desire to spend the holidays with his and Mary's daughter provides a test of true love and, ultimately, reveals who the true heroes are.
Produced by: Odyssey Media Inc., and distributed by Reel One Entertainment Inc.
"A Cinderella Christmas" - Sunday, Dec. 4, at 9/8c PM
Cast: Emma Rigby, Peter Porte, Sarah Stouffer, Leland B. Martin, Lesley-Anne Down, Mindy Cohn, Lucy DeVito
Synopsis: At a holiday masquerade ball, fledgling event planner Angie Wells and wealthy playboy Nicholas Karmichael, who needs to marry to retain his inheritance, meet and fall for each other anonymously. While Nicholas tries to locate the girl of his dreams, Angie must choose between pursuing her lifelong dream of running a business or following her heart.
Produced by: MarVista Entertainment
"Christmas with the Andersons" - Saturday, Dec. 10, at 9/8c PM
Cast: George Stults, Christy Carlson Romano, Ion Overman, Dale Godboldo, Julie Brown, Caia Coley, Barry Livingston.
Synopsis: Drowning in tinsel and lights every Christmas, Michael and Caroline Anderson throw the year's biggest party at their house. But this year, with Michael jobless and Caroline's store struggling, that tradition may end. The Andersons decide to host a very different kind of party and, in the process, rediscover what's most important about the holiday.
Produced by: MarVista Entertainment
"A Husband for Christmas" - Sunday, Dec. 11, at 9/8c PM
Cast: Vivica A. Fox, Ricco Ross, Dominique Swain, Michael Bergin, Helene Udy, Eric Roberts, Jackée Harry
Synopsis: Brooke and Roger, two graphic designers in a soon-to-be-merged company, help one another by agreeing to a loveless marriage of convenience, suggested by their new boss. In the process, Brooke gets to upstage the sister who just announced her engagement to Brooke's ex-boyfriend during the holidays. But, with their "marriage" in question, will Brooke and Roger find a spark they didn't know existed?
Produced by: Hybrid Films
(Source: Nielsen Live+SD IMP, ION Original Holiday Movies, Sa-Su/11am-11pm)
About ION Television
ION Television, a top ten-ranked U.S. general entertainment network, is the flagship of the independent, privately held media company, ION Media Networks. Launched in 2007, ION Television features a "Positively Entertaining" schedule of proven, award-winning programs, quality original series and popular holiday movies available on multiple platforms via its state-of-the-art distribution system. As owner of the nation's largest broadcast station group, ION Media Networks' 62 full-power stations reach 98 million diverse and highly engaged viewers in 85% of U.S. television households, including in 24 of the top 25 markets. For more information, visit http://www.iontelevision.com/.
-----END OF PRESS RELEASE-----
Some interesting details came from this recent press release direct from ION television!!!
I'll start with the first movie, "A Vermont Christmas Vacation". I had spoken with writer/producer Peter Sullivan (see interview here!), and at that time it had not been revealed if it would be called "A Vermont Christmas Vacation" or "The Christmas Apprentice". I am personally glad to see they chose the Vermont title, as it sounds especially Christmassy and it's a cute nod, using Christmas Vacation in the title, to the fact that Chevy Chase is also in the film!
The next movie - "A Firehouse Christmas" was a surprise to see on this list. We had all believed this one was going to be a Lifetime Christmas movie. Instead, this movie starring Marcus Rosner (of "When Calls the Heart") will now be officially premiering on ION!
To my knowledge, both titles "A Cinderella Christmas" and "A Husband for Christmas" are new discoveries. So, two new Christmas movies to add to the ever-growing list!
The fourth title mentioned above, "Christmas with the Andersons", was previously known as "Christmas in the Red". It was also mentioned on social media to be a Lifetime movie, but that obviously was not correct. It will also be an ION movie this Christmas!
You can find more details on three of the movies, "A Vermont Christmas Vacation", "A Firehouse Christmas", and "Christmas with the Andersons" - here!
Which of these ION Christmas movies - do you most want to see this holiday season?
THE 2016 CHRISTMAS TV SCHEDULE!
Awesome news, Net! I love Christmas Vacation! I can't wait to see a preview for this one! That is surprising to see Firehouse Christmas listed on ION. Didn't Marcus tell everyone on Twitter it would be a Lifetime movie? I mean, it doesn't really matter either way to me, but I do wonder why the mix up there?
ReplyDeleteIf its a Marvista movie they sell films to both Lifetime and ION so maybe they approached Lifetime first and Lifetime ultimately passed on it
DeleteThank You for the news! Please post a reminder for these movies, as I count on your post to keep me on track!
Delete
ReplyDeleteSuper excited about all these titles!!!!! 5 exclamation points for 5 movies!!!!! I'm just hoping I can figure out how to watch all the new movies!!!!!
Net -- The George Stults movie was said to be for both Lifetime AND Hallmark. Remember, different people said it belonged to different networks. It's just that it *seemed" much more Lifetime-ish to us, so it was easier to believe it was a Lifetime movie.
ReplyDelete...Which is what makes it even more amusing that it is now an ION movie instead -- with a new title! That was unexpected! Lol.
For some reason I am not as shocked about "Firehouse Christmas" ending up on ION. I don't know why. The only thing that surprises me about it is that Lifetime's expected Christmas movie list is shrinking, and there will probably be some surprise titles on that network to fill in the blanks!
Net, as you and I have discussed, a wise person recently said that no matter what is said by anyone (cast, crew, production company, etc.) about which network a movie is for, during filming or even after filming, we can't put stock in it or accept it as fact until a network actually steps up and announces it as part of their schedule. There are too many moving parts and various things happening that can prevent a movie from going where it was originally intended to go.
I mean... if Candace Cameron Bure, Lacey Chabert or Danica McKellar say they are working on Hallmark movies, then we can probably believe that their movies will actually end up on Hallmark. But almost everything else is up for grabs! Lol.
Now this makes me wonder who is getting "A Snow Capped Christmas"... Could it end up on Lifetime? Is UP going to step UP to the plate and claim it? Will it go straight to DVD?
Ah, the twists and turns in the world of made-for-TV movies... right?
Reel One Entertainment mostly sells movies to Lifetime and they sold two movies to Hallmark this year. So maybe that's why he though it would go to one of them.
Deletehttp://www.imdb.com/company/co0036136/
We definitely know of 3 movies that will be on UP do to promotion and press releases. Merry Christmas, Baby A Rooftop Christmas and A Puppy for Christmas
I've only heard about A Snow Capped Christmas being for Canada.
DeleteI think Lifetime will air Girlfriend's of Christmas Past since the leading lady is Tammin Sursok who was recently in another movie that aired on the channel.And she's really well known on sister channel Freeform.
Also Married by Christmas was confirmed for UP via an industry press release. So that's 4 née movies for UP already
DeleteAnonymous #1 -- I don't know who "he" is, but there was more than one female cast member who said that "Christmas in the Red" would go to Hallmark and/or Lifetime, which is why it's so funny that it's not ending up with either of those networks and is instead going to ION.
DeleteYes, I am very familiar with Reel One and I know how it works with Reel One, Mar Vista, and other companies of that ilk.
We actually know of 5 movies going to UP so far this year. There could be anywhere from 5 - 7 movies, I would guess, so there may be another title or two added in.
Anonymous #2 -- Being for Canada doesn't mean anything if a network picks up the movie. "A Puppy for Christmas" was for Canada too, and UP picked it up. "A Snow Capped Christmas" needs only to be picked up by a network.
What's the fifth movie going to UP? So far I only saw 4 confirmed
DeleteSeason's Greetings
DeleteMarried by Christmas (or The Engagement Clause)
A Puppy for Christmas
Merry Christmas, Baby
The Rooftop Christmas Tree
Those are the 5 UP movies so far. Most likely they will premiere another one or 2 new ones as well -- probably something from Net's Christmas Movies 2016 list here on this site (one of the titles that doesn't seem to have a designated network).
Great news, Net, and I'm happy to hear about ION's climbing stats. I'm hoping to see all of their new Christmas movies especially "A Fireside Christmas" with our guy Marcus!! Who knows; maybe they will release a few on DVD again this year.
ReplyDeleteYes, it will be fun to see Marcus in a totally different role! And, that would be so nice to see more on DVD, especially for all of our movie friends who don't have cable!
DeleteHello Linda!!! I haven't heard from you this Christmas season, and since you are usually a regular here (for several years now!)... I've really been missing your beautiful, insightful, creative comments & reviews!
DeleteI think of you, as a dear member of this "It's a Wonderful Movie" family. I sure hope you see this comment, Linda, and I pray all is well.
I know you love all of these Christmas movies as much as I do! So, I sincerely hope you are enjoying them this Holy, Christmas Season!
God's Blessings to you, precious Linda!!!
Merry Christmas, my dear movie friend!!!
Net :)
My dear, sweet, Net, how I've missed you, this wonderful site, and all your faithful followers who literally put the "icing on the cake", LOL! Two months ago I had spinal cord surgery (neck) that was extensive and have been on restrictions since. I've got a lot of catching up to do and by the grace of God I found your beautiful, caring post! God bless you, Net, and Merry Christmas to you, too!!.....be back soon....
DeleteOh, Linda! I am so grateful to hear from you!!! It was the cherry on top of the ice cream sundae for me! With Sprinkles! LOL!!!
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear everything you've been through these past few months. I hope your recovery is going well, and I will certainly be praying for you, honey!
I wanted you to know how special you are to me (I've missed you!) and I'm so glad you happened to see my comment... I'm sure it was divine providence!
You take care now, and we will be thrilled to have you back when you are feeling up to it!
God's Blessings to you, dear, and a very Merry Christmas!!! Net
Anna Hutchison was awesome in the PixL movie The Right Girl.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! I haven't seen that one, yet, but I'm glad to hear you liked Anna in it!
DeleteIs true, Anna Hutchison was awesome in Pixl "The right girl" she was also great in Marvista "Cup of love" I enjoy her acting.
DeleteCup of Love is one my list of movies to watch. I loved the trailer
DeleteSo far, I am only interested in seeing Christmas With the Andersons and maybe a Husband for Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the updates!
Misty
Excellent choices, Misty! :)
DeleteGreat News! I love it, more Christmas movies, that is always a good thing. I am listening to Mandisa "It's Christmas" in my mind, can't wait for the season to come again!!! Thanks Net.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes, I've been listening to Christmas music, too!!! Puts me in the festive spirit!!! Thank you!!! :)
Delete:)
DeleteA Cinderella Christmas is my pick - but I may watch them all as they all sound extra good this year!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for sharing which ION Christmas Movies you are looking forward to seeing! I'm like Anonymous above, looking forward to seeing them all!!!
DeleteIt may be a challenge to figure out times to watch everything, but I will try and post repeat air times, especially for premiere movies that are airing at the same time!
So, here's what we know...
Officially, the Hallmark Channel has announced 19 Christmas movies, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries has announced 7 Christmas movies, NBC has announced 1 Christmas Movie, and now ION has announced 5 Christmas movies! That gives us a total of 32 movies, so far!!!
I'll be sure to add UP, INSP, Freeform, and Lifetime to the list, as soon as they officially give us a press release!
Well, Freeform has already announced their Different Folks holiday movie, starring Bailee Madison (see: http://deadline.com/2016/07/bailee-madison-different-folks-freeform-holiday-movie-1201787484/) and according to Madison's social media, it wrapped shooting on August 29, so it's in the can.
DeleteUP seems to have formally confirmed three holiday movies -- The Rooftop Christmas Tree,
Merry Christmas Baby and Season’s Greetings -- and I expect 2-4 more to be added
The total above also doesn't include the already aired Hallmark movies The Bridge Part 2 and The Perfect Christmas, which are also 2016 premieres.
I was actually surprised to see ION announce so early, given that in previous years they've waited until Halloween, or later, to announce their holiday movie slate. In addition to expecting to hear a formal announcement of UP's full slate sometime next month, as well as Lifetime's, don't forget Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel, which may or may not have original holiday movies/specials up their sleeves.
Either way, it's gonna be a very busy holiday television season, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the number of 2016 premieres top 50 when all is said and done ... Which given they all premiere in a 50-day-window (Nov 1 - Dec. 20) is pretty crazy.
So true! TV viewing the entire Christmas season is super crazy busy! I have been trying to clear off my recorder for the upcoming holiday season, but it's a challenge to decide what to keep and what to let go!
DeleteI do have the 4 movies you mentioned, from UP and Freeform - listed on the main Christmas Movie List. I also have Married by Christmas (A.K.A.: The Engagement Clause) listed under UP, but not confirmed, yet!
Counting those 5, we would have 37! And, I will definitely keep a look out for Disney, Nick, etc... the possibilities are endless! PixL may even have a new movie, too, for those who get that station!
If you catch any news, please send my way... I'll be happy to add it! :)
Married by Christmas was confirmed by Marvista via an industry press release
DeleteChristy Carlson Romano's baby is due for Christmas
ReplyDeleteChristmas with the Anderson's trailer is up As is A Cinderella Christmas they look good
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marvista.net/Details.aspx?id=1bc6990b-6819-e611-9488-0e563b5fb261&cname=features
http://www.marvista.net/Details.aspx?id=f48349b3-a118-e611-9488-0e563b5fb261&cname=features
I always like the movies ION airs because they're less fluffy than Hallmark movies. Teens and young adults can enjoy them without getting bored or feeling they're too cookie cutter.
ReplyDeleteWow! Dear Net and Commenters--thanks so much for all that info. I have/had no idea how this works. I just thought Hallmark was making movies, but I didn't know that movies were made and then sold to networks. Is that how it works? I enjoyed a lot of the Christmas movies on Lifetime last year especiallly Becoming Santa which reuited Meridth Baxter with David Gross-that was genius! They all look great, and I really did enjoy A Wish for Christmas last night. Lacey Chabert is simply magical in Hallmark productions. HM should really come up with a series for her!
ReplyDelete