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“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights...”
~ James 1:17

Monday, April 25, 2022

GAC Media Unwraps Christmas Plans with Candace Cameron Bure hosting Thanksgiving Special, NEW Streaming Service and More!!!




Check out all the details in GAC's press release below.


GAC MEDIA PRESS RELEASE:

Bill Abbott’s GAC Media Unwraps Holiday Plans in Upfront Pitch

New specials and a free ad supported streaming channel under the tree for advertisers

It hurt GAC Media CEO Bill Abbott to have missed last year’s upfront and he is looking forward to this one like a kid waiting for Santa.

He’s got a bigger second-year slate of holiday programming to sell, including a Thanksgiving show that will be hosted by Candace Cameron Bure, Small Town Christmas specials, The Great American Rescue Bowl running opposite the Super Bowl and a new ad-supported streaming television channel called, Great American Adventure wrapped up like gifts for media buyers and their clients.

Abbott, who was in charge of advertising sales for Hallmark Channel before becoming CEO of its parent company Crown Media Family Network, started GAC Media last June.

GAC bought the cable channels Great American Country and Ride TV and relaunched them as GAC Family and GAC Live on October 15 and started airing original holiday content October 23.

”That was a very tough transition and that led to results that we didn’t love at the start,” Abbott told Broadcasting+Cable.

The timetable left little time for promotion, so not as many viewers found the channel at first.

And by that time most advertisers had already committed most of their marketing budgets for the year, making it particularly tough to get ad dollars in the fourth quarter when GAC aired original Christmas-themed movies that normally attract spending from retailers and other seasonal advertisers.

“We paid the price all of this year for that,” Abbott said. “Last year’s market was so strong, you fear you probably missed it by a year. No matter how well you tell your story you still might not have the same market conditions, although I think this year’s market seems like it will be pretty strong.”

GAC will be going into this year’s meetings with media buyers and advertisers with more than promises. There’s a track record demonstrating the quality of the holiday programming it will air and that they will have the stars that people who like holiday movies will tune in to see.

Abbott is working from the successful formula he used at Hallmark Channel.

“We’re certainly selling family-friendly content and quality original movies with talent that people love and resonate with viewers,” he said. “We’ve had a lot more time to prepare and market and do all the things necessary to drive a much bigger audience. We feel really good about where we will be in the fourth quarter.”

“If you look at the library that we built up last year with all of that original content, it just make it a much stronger offering and make us feel a lot better about where the numbers will be this fourth quarter,” added Kristen Roberts, another former Crown Media exec, who as chief revenue officer and executive VP programming is in charge of not only ad pricing, planning and inventory, but with matching up ad clients with programming they can sponsor.

GAC sees advertisers with needs to reach viewers around the holidays and is looking to meet those needs.

“There are so many advertisers that are really focused on certain times of the year than ever before and we are a good solution in the linear landscape,” he said. “With all of the original content it airs, there are plenty of integration and sponsored-by opportunities available.”

“A lot of channels have migrated their content over to their SVOD And AVOD services,” he added “We are still primarily a linear play and that gives up the ability to create on-air experiences through focus and through talent that is different and unique.”

Linear channels are still available to advertisers because they deliver at scale, Abbott said. He expects GAC Family to be in 60 million homes by the fourth quarter. (GAC Living doesn’t have enough homes for the upfront market this year, Abbott said).

GAC Family will be kicking off its holiday season programming with a special on Thanksgiving hosted by Candace Cameron Bure, one of many stars familiar to Hallmark fans now appearing in GAC Family films. After the specials, GAC will bracket retail holidays Black Friday and Cyber Monday with original movies Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “We kind of turned the corner last Thanksgiving,” Abbott said.

The network has no scripted series yet, but it planning to start a series of Small Town Christmas events starting in Kentucky. It will feature feel good content shot in a small town where GAC talent will visit, help out in hospitals and shelters and put on a show for the community.

After New Year’s on Super Sunday (another important American holiday) GAC will air The Great American Rescue Bowl, which starts up after Hallmark Channel stopped running its Kitten Bowl, a staple under Abbott. The Rescue Bowl will be hosted by former Kitten Bowl host Beth Stern.

Advertisers these days also need some digital assets and GAC will be launching a free ad-supported linear TV channel called Great American Adventures. Abbott said the channel will be programmed with content it acquired when it bought Great American Country from Discovery. “We want to be in the game,” he said.

Abbot said Great American Adventure will launch later this month. It has a distribution deal with Xumo and he expects it to be also carried on Roku and Samsung and most of the other key platforms.

GAC has also been working on creating a sort of interactive fan portal for the network that will enable viewers and the network’s talent to form more of a community.

GAC has been having upfront conversations with advertisers since February. Those have mostly taken place over soon.

“We talk about an event, but with so many people working remotely, we’ve been pretty much doing zooms, with maybe little in-person side meetings or lunches and breakfasts where we can,” Roberts said.

“On some levels that’s disappointing and unfortunate. It’s great connecting with people. But it’s allowed us to cover a lot more ground quickly without having to travel to Detroit or Chicago and all the other places around the country,” Abbott added.

GAC is also fortunate because while the company is new, its sales force, some of them Hallmark veterans, have strong ties with buyers.

“The feedback has been nothing but supportive,” Roberts said. “I think because of what Bill has done and built in the past, there’s an immediate understanding and recognition of what we’re doing. We’re having great meetings and we’re excited to get underway and start the upfront in earnest.”


----------End of Press Release ----------



My Quick Take...

I am most excited to see all of these highlights of future plans coming to GAC Family this holiday season and beyond! It's going to be fun to see how they approach this Christmas: I can't wait to see Candace's Thanksgiving Show and all the new movies! I'm very intrigued by the Small Town Christmas programming they are planning; I recall Candace recorded something like that for Hallmark years ago that never aired. Frankly, I always wondered what happened to it? Anyway, I doubt that show will be included, but I love the details they mentioned in this press release for this new program in how they are planning for the "GAC talent to visit, help out in hospitals and shelters and put on a show for the community." That sounds like such a beautiful way for the actors to reach out to others less fortunate and give back.


Another interesting new announcement, is GAC Family's streaming service titled: Great American Adventure! Upon hearing the name (which I love, by the way), I couldn't help from hearing the song, The Great Adventure by Steven Curtis Chapman, playing in my mind. Would be so cool if they could use that somehow. Anyway, I'm thrilled to hear they are going to be providing this streaming resource, and I can't wait to check it out through my Roku when it launches later this month.

Please share your thoughts in comments below.

Blessings! Net


-Candace Cameron Bure image: Lucas Rossi/Peach Hill Media/Shutterstock
-GAC Family / Great American Christmas logo: GAC Media

50 comments:

  1. Exciting news, but I have to wonder...do you think Candace's Thanksgiving special is a preview of the 2022 Christmas movies? If so, this is a month after the premier of the Great American Christmas which is scheduled to begin on October 29. I'm hoping that they have a Christmas preview special before the 29th, and that the Thanksgiving special is something else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark 25, Yeah, I agree, it does seem like they are starting then since they said "GAC Family will be kicking off its holiday season programming with a special on Thanksgiving hosted by Candace Cameron Bure." The words that jump out at me are "kicking off," which of course, implies that they are starting their holiday programming then. Hmmmm????

      However, on April 12th, GAC announced, "200 days until #GreatAmericanChristmas begins on #GACfamilyTV!" And, I believe 200 days from April 12th ended up being October 29th or somewhere around that day. I'd have to look that up again to be sure. So... hopefully, they are still planning to start late October, but not certain why they used the phrase "kicking off" for the program on Thanksgiving???

      Delete
    2. Jim, I bet you're right. I was probably over-thinking it myself. At least, they have us all curious now to learn more!

      Delete
    3. Okay, so from reading some recent posts, it appears that from October 29 (the beginning of Great American Christmas) until Thanksgiving, GAC will be airing Christmas movies and fare that is not new. Then beginning on Friday after Candace's Thanksgiving Day Christmas special, where she will preview the new 2022 Christmas movies, GAC will begin airing the new movies.

      Delete
  2. I posted something similar about Candace's Christmas Across American program that never aired. I wonder if Bill and Candace will discuss it at some point on a live event.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here. I always wondered about that show.

      Delete
  3. I love that the GAC actors are planning these giving back events. That's a wonderful idea. It shows that Bill Abbott has such a big heart.

    And good for them getting into the streaming biz. It's nice that it's free since we already pay enough for them already. I recently dropped a couple I wasn't really watching.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Agree, Allie B., giving to others is what Christmas should really be about and honoring the birth of Jesus, of course!

      I, too, feel that Bill Abbott and the actors he has signed at GAC, thus far, seem to all have a big heart for giving back... Jen Lilley, with foster children and adoption, Trevor Donovan, with the youth and anti-bullying campaigns, Danica McKellar has motivational videos, and Candace Cameron Bure and her family often serve at Christmastime at homeless shelters.

      As the Bible teaches us, "Give, and it shall be given unto you." (Luke 6:38) I, too, feel this is a wonderful way to start a new Christmas season for GAC! :)

      Delete
  4. so excited for what is coming at GAC!

    Misty

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did you change it, look different than before - it’s square but it’s line on comment. Enter Comment - didn’t click

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It looks like Blogger has automatically updated the comment section. It's a little different, but I hope you are still able to use it.

      Honestly, I personally liked the way it was before, but you know how tech companies love to change things up.

      Delete
  6. This is really exciting news. I know that formula Bill mentions was highly successful and lead to all those high rated movies that Hallmark had many years ago. I love CCB hosting a Thanksgiving special. This is all such wonderful news.

    I keep saying Bill knows what he is doing and is planning this correctly. I love it.

    Sabrina

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  7. Everything sounds wonderful! I'm looking forward to watching all the GAC Christmas movies and all their movies. GAC movies are beautiful visually and the stories are happy. I was so impressed with all their movies last Christmas. It's wonderful that GAC will bring back the rescue bowl too. Thanks for posting the press release. Have a wonderful, blessed day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen - happy to share! Thank you for your comment. So good to hear how much you enjoyed GAC's Christmas movies, too! Looks like we have a lot to look forward to!

      Blessings to you, as well! :)

      Delete
  8. I wonder if they will be taking over the UP series from last year called "Small Town Christmas"? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yZ-mAdfeK4

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, you never know. It's very possible. If not, I would imagine this special would be somewhat similar.

      Delete
  9. I wish Bill would try and get some of the Larry Levinson Christmas movies that Hallmark no longer plays, but did on the drama channel, like
    Meet the Santas
    Grandpa for christmas
    All I want for Christmas
    Our 1st Christmas
    Farewell Mr Kringle
    Christmas Pageant
    Matchmaker Santa
    Help for the Holidays
    Thanksgiving House

    And some of the other movies HM DRama used to play but stopped:
    Cancel Christmas
    Case for Christmas
    Christmas Heart
    Naughty or Nice
    Santa Switch

    Then he could have those and then new movies. Hallmark channel used to play all kinds of older movies back in 2014 before they had hundreds of new movies. I loved those days. Now I am lucky if i get to see A Boyfriend for Christmas.

    Sabrina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sabrina, Yes! Yes! Yes! That is a fantastic idea!!! I still love those old Larry Levinson films; it seemed like all the movies were his productions in the early days on Hallmark. That would be great, if they are available to purchase. Would love to see many of these again!

      Speaking of "A Boyfriend for Christmas," I just re-watched it again (probably for the 100th or more time!!!) over the weekend. Still love that one! Doug-uhhh-Fir-wood! So cute!!! :)

      Delete
    2. I loved those old movies! Saw lots of those back when I first started watching Hallmark back in 2014. -Maria

      Delete
    3. Douglas Firwood, I so love that movie. I love when he meets her family and they all just adore him. He has to taste moms stuffing i think, so cute. Even Diane likes him, even though she is pushing Holly to be with Ted.

      I love those Santa movies, they are so nostalgic.

      Sabrina

      Delete
  10. This all looks amazing! I wish them all the best. -Maria

    ReplyDelete
  11. Would love to know if GAC will be available in Canada ?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I noticed GAC recently addressed this question on their Facebook page.

      This was their response:
      "Please contact Canadian providers for info on any additional #GACfamilyTV content in Canada. Currently, #GACfamilyTV is only available in the USA. We do anticipate our movies and series will eventually be distributed internationally. CTV Drama Channel or Super Channel Heart & Home carried our 2021 Christmas movies in Canada."

      Hopefully, this is positive news for future GAC movies to also air in Canada.

      Delete
    2. is there a plan to continue to carry GAC movies at Christmas 2022 on Super Channel - Heart and home and CTV Drama that would be nice

      Delete
    3. No official word, yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if they worked out another deal again this year for channels to offer this in Canada.

      Delete
  12. It sounds wonderful but my one concern is the no scripted series yet comment. Does this mean that When Hope Calls is not returning?
    Becky F.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Becky F., I agree; it is interesting that When Hope Calls wasn't mentioned. Perhaps, there was a delay in the production? I've not heard anything, yet. Hopefully, plans are still in-the-works behind-the-scenes. If I hear anything, at all, I'll be sure to post it.

      Delete
  13. I really don't like Blogger's new commenting system. It's not working on my computer! I don't see the Publish button after I click on the Enter Comment field at all. The only reason I'm writing this is because I'm using a different computer. I don't know what to do! I've tried cleaning out cookies, clearing the cache, and nothing changed! Sigh. -Maria

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry for this frustration, Maria. It was good to receive your positive update in the comment below.

      Delete
  14. Wonderful news!

    I think Candace had that go-cart accident with her brother and that's why they weren't able have the Christmas special.

    ReplyDelete
  15. No mention of When Hope Calls. I’ve been rewatching season 1 and there’s such a different feel in the Christmas special than there was in the first season. Grace and Chuck’s absences weren’t the only differences. After an interesting build up between Lillian and Sam in season 1(more interesting than her relationship with Gabe, in my opinion), he’s immediately relegated to a side character with little to do except be thrown into an out of the blue potential romance with Maggie, who, in season 1, was developing a really charming relationship with Joe. It was as if whoever wrote the script knew that they had to include Lori and Daniel, and get the heroine with a mountie as fast as they could, presumably to satisfy the disappointed WCTH viewers. Their romance felt very rushed and forced. And unfortunately it sacrificed the character and plot development of the first season. However, all that being said, it’s refreshingly clean and uplifting and family friendly so I really hope it gets back on track with GAC.

    Rebecca

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rebecca, Beautifully said! Your thoughts on When Hope Calls are spot on, in my opinion. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said regarding all of the various pairings and potential relationships.

      I wanted a slow and steady build up to Lillian's relationship - with whoever she chose, and even their kiss seemed out of place and forced, like you mentioned. Sam and Maggie feel all wrong, to me, as well, as I was enjoying the subtle draw of Maggie and Joe together in the first season.

      I, too, hope they can get these relationships right, if the series continues, and I certainly hope it does on GAC!

      Thank you, Rebecca, for your wonderful, thoughtful comment.

      Delete
  16. Turns out, the comment system works when I use a different web browser! So i don't have to switch computers after all! -Maria

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maria, I'm so glad you were able to figure that out. I'm so sorry you went through all of that process- trying to simply comment.

      Sometimes, when they do these updates to supposedly make things better, it isn't always better, after all.

      So glad you are able to comment again! I'm always grateful for your reviews and feedback. Would never want to lose you! :)

      Blessings on your day!!!

      Delete
  17. This article has me super concerned about the future of When Hope Calls. Them not mentioning it and saying they have no scripted series yet is very upsetting. I’m going to be heartbroken if they already canceled it after saying it was renewed as their first original series.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kayla, I feel the same way. Hopefully, When Hope Calls is simply delayed and not cancelled again.

      Delete
    2. Its very concerning for the future of the show. GAC now avoids all comments on Instagram regarding the show, but reply or like nearly all other comments they receive which to me is a red flag that something is up. I comment quite often about the show and the last time they acknowledged one of my comments was 3 months ago. I have spoke with a few cast members through social media the past few weeks and none of them have heard anything on season 2 which is also concerning. GAC needs to address this. It’s wrong to keep fans waiting and the cast on hold like this. Filming was supposed to begin in spring. It’s almost summer. I think we need to get numerous fans to help show GAC how much we want season 2. I’m wondering if the ratings weren’t good?

      Delete
  18. Have you heard anything about them coming to Verizon? Gac living is there, but not family

    ReplyDelete
  19. Has anyone heard about Hallmark making a Christmas Under Wraps 2? This is ridiculous, it doesnt have CCB, but Andy is in it???? I will not watch that, it is one of my favorita all time christmas movies. And of course there will be no CCB, I mean that is ridiculous. Is this cause she went to GAC? I dont want to watch that part 2 without Dr Brunell and Andy together.

    Sabrina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sabrina, Yeah, I'm really puzzled about this! I mean, a sequel all these years later, finally, and they do it without Candace and instead, it will star her Full House "sister," Jodie Sweetin. Surely, since Jodie is involved, Candace is okay with it, but personally, I think it sounds extremely odd to continue this story without Candace.

      Delete
    2. I heard too, I'm confused as well. -Maria

      Delete
    3. Christmas Under Wraps had the largest viewing figure for any Hallmark movie ever - 5.75m.

      Today even half this figure is a big number for Hallmark..

      Have to agree with everyone that it does seem odd to film a sequel without the main characters from the original - Florence

      Delete
    4. I have not read about this. Where did you hear about it? I did a quick google and nothing came up. It's possible they just want to use it as a theme and it's not truly a sequel. Like how they do the Angel Falls movies and the Godwink movies. They just carry the name but it's a completely separate movie.

      Delete
    5. VaBelle1964 - This news is going around on social media. Hallmark hasn't released anything official, yet.

      Delete
  20. Just read Movieguide this morning. So thrilled to read Danica McKellar has found Jesus! Praise the Lord for Candace reaching out to Danica. Welcome to the family of God Danica!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love your blog I check it out quite a bit for the latest updates I live in British Columbia where the hallmark movies are filmed but I was a little put off when you made the comment that this is one of the many reasons they should do the films in America instead because of the possible strike Films are also filmed in Ontario and Manitoba were there are no threats of a strike ,you als have films being done in the States as well

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I appreciate your comment. I'm appreciative of how welcoming Canada has been to producing these TV movies in the past, but I personally feel it would be nice to see these American networks work more here in the U.S. and support our American workers and cities. I'm sure you feel the same loyalty to your country as I do mine.

      Thank you for being a follower here! :)

      Delete
    2. Net, didn't Bill Abbott say GAC would be filming more in America? I think I read that somewhere.

      Delete
    3. kitkat, Yes, Bill mentioned in a podcast interview that they were seeking filming locations in the US. I just hope it's doable with tax breaks, etc... Canada offers such great rates for filming, and they have worked there so often before; I'm sure it's much easier. They'll probably continue to do both.

      Delete
  22. Just in case Bill Abbott reads your blog Net, I would love another movie with Nick Bateman. He was so good with Jill Wagner in A Christmas Miracle For Daisy.

    ReplyDelete

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