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| Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Starbuck/Alexx Henry Studios, LLC. |
I have great news for all of you, like myself, who enjoy family-friendly programming! An investor group called GAC Media has acquired the rights to the Discovery channel's Great American Country and RideTV and they have made Bill Abbott, the former CEO at Hallmark - their new CEO! Isn't that awesome?
According to an article at Deadline, "Bill Abbott, the former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks, parent of Hallmark Channel, will run the new venture as as president and CEO, exploring content opportunities and leading growth initiatives in advertising and distribution."
Also, the article mentions this quote from Bill Abbott... "Even as the entertainment ecosystem continues to rapidly evolve – both in terms of distribution platforms and underlying content – consumer interest in family friendly programming that enriches lives and offers safe entertainment options remains as strong as ever,” said Abbott. GAC and RIDE TV represent cornerstone assets in this respect, and we look forward to growing both channels even as we pursue the larger goal of establishing new, well-resourced and engaging family-friendly programming."
I am personally very excited to hear and share this news; a special thank you to @autism_mommie for sharing this with me. I truly look forward to seeing what the Great American Country channel will have to offer us viewers who prefer a wholesome slate of programming.
Blessings! Net
Awesome! That is great to know! It will be interesting to see where that station goes.
ReplyDeleteMisty
Misty, Me too! I'm sure Bill will make it a success. I've heard others in the press already tearing it down because the focus is family friendly, but that's okay - we know from Hallmark's history how well that formula works!
DeleteI've been hoping this might happen. Congrats to Bill Abbott!
ReplyDeleteinteresting. wonder if the timing of others leaving hallmark has anything to do with this?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm suspicious too! :)
DeleteI was just thinking yesterday of how Bill Abbott, Michelle Vicary, some of the people that have left Hallmark could go somewhere and we can get the hallmark type movies without the wokeness? And how can we get more of the Larry Levinson movies played? Can they all somehow work together on a channel and create the movies we love? That would be awesome. Maybe GAC will have new tv movies?
ReplyDeleteLarry Levinson is PixL. :)
DeleteIn the early years at Hallmark, it seemed like Larry Levinson's name was on nearly every movie project. I just checked his IMDB and he produced a lot of them... The Christmas Card, the Love Comes Softly movies, A Boyfriend for Christmas, Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus, Jane Doe, Mystery Woman, A Grandpa for Christmas, All I Want for Christmas, Elevator Girl, Farewell Mr. Kringle, Strawberry Summer, Undercover Bridesmaid, Puppy Love, Matchmaker Santa, Second Chances, and lots more...
DeleteIt looks like in 2014 - his future movie projects went to PixL; the last one aired in 2018. Course, some of the older Levinson movies still play on Hallmark, and even some of the old and new play on UPtv.
Wonder if they could work together again to create something new? Since they haven't done any new ones on PixL since 2018, it does make me wonder if Larry's contract has finished there. He certainly made some wonderful movies for Hallmark - that we still enjoy today!
So happy to see Bill Abbott returning to TV. Praying for some family friendly channel like the old Hallmark. This is a ray of sunshine for today.
ReplyDeletekitkat, I'm beyond thrilled for Bill Abbott, too. He has always been so kind to me. In fact, I believe he was one of the first people at Hallmark to reach out to me - to thank me for my blog. That was at a time when no one else was blogging or podcasting about Hallmark, yet. Things have really changed since then.
DeleteIt will be so nice for us to have another channel option with family friendly programming.
Glad you enjoyed this news, kitkat, and it brightened your day! ☀
This is such great news. Excited to see where he takes these stations. I already watch some of their programs.
ReplyDeleteClara, Glad you enjoyed this news, too! I've also caught a few programs on GAC, from time to time, like Flea Market Flip, Lakefront Bargain Hunt, Barnwood Builders, etc... I also used to like Farm Kings and Junk Gypsies. Wonder if they will keep any of those old shows or start fresh?
DeleteI saw this on instagram yesterday. Hopefully it's another option for movies.
ReplyDeleted
Yes, I was soooo excited when I saw the news on Monday, too! I couldn't wait to share! Unfortunately, my newsletter didn't go out until Tuesday.
DeleteCan't wait to see what this channel will have to offer! :)
Oh, this is just wonderful news! Thank you so much for sharing, Net! You are such a blessing.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, How sweet! Thank you! I was so delighted to share this news.
DeleteGAC isn't a channel I've watched too often in the past, except for a little Flea Market Flip and Barnwood Builders, but I can't wait to see how the GAC media group plans to transform this channel.
Thank you for your response... you are a blessing to me, too! Keep on shining His light! :)
I wish that directv had GAC in high definition. at least my channel is not and it is bad. Uptv is not in HD either and when I record things, it pauses and does weird things.
DeleteYes, I have the same issue with UP! It could be a lot clearer if only they did have it available in HD.
DeleteThis is a random question, but for the past week or so the google reviews for when calls the heart are unavailable. Usually they always pop up when I search the show, but they aren't there anymore. And I noticed that on the wikipedia page that shows all the hallmark original movies, the viewers numbers haven't been added since the premiere on May 8th. I might be reading too much into it, but I have to wonder, is hallmark trying to hide that the views are low? Or the bad reviews that when calls the heart was starting to get after this past season? I don't know if they have any control over that but it makes me curious
ReplyDelete