Hallmark released this press release yesterday which highlights a few details of their 16th year of Countdown to Christmas, new reality programming, and more. In case you missed it, here are the details...
Press Release via Hallmark Media:
HALLMARK TO RELEASE A ROBUST SLATE OF ORIGINAL MOVIES AND SERIES, INTRODUCING NEW GENRES, EXPANSIVE HOLIDAY CONTENT, AND RETURNING FAN EXPERIENCES FOR 2025-2026 UPFRONTS
April 3, 2025, NEW YORK – This Upfront season, Hallmark presents an exceptional array of advertising and brand partnership opportunities that fuse the magic of its signature storytelling, with the power of its iconic brand, and unmatched fandom. A rich slate of programming will be offered, including new, original movies and new seasons of fanfavorite original series like, When Calls the Heart, The Way Home, and The Chicken Sisters. Additionally, it will unveil an exciting slate of unscripted series under the banner, “Reality TV with Heart,” bringing unscripted programming back to primetime on Hallmark’s linear flagship network. The 16th installment of Countdown to Christmas on Hallmark Channel – the #1-rated holiday network – will feature a robust roster of new holiday movies, including the second year partnership with the NFL and Skydance Sports for Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, as well as two original scripted series – the world premiere of limited series, The Twelve Dates of Christmas (working title), and the premiere of Season 1 and 2 of Mistletoe Murders. Viewers will have access to over 4,000 hours of holiday content this season. All premieres will be available to stream the next day on streaming service and membership program, Hallmark+. What’s more, the media company’s keen approach to align with parent company Hallmark opens the door for Upfront marketers to explore on-air and digital sponsorships, exposure at hit fan experiences, licensing opportunities, and more.
“As the leading entertainment network, Hallmark offers multiple platforms and activation opportunities that enable brand partners to leverage our esteemed brand, signature storytelling and powerful fandom, to foster significant and impactful connections,” said Ed Georger, EVP of Ad Sales for Hallmark Media. “With sold-out consumer experiences and innovative activations, we provide advertisers with extraordinary opportunities to meaningfully connect with consumers and viewers. Our recent partnerships with world-class properties, including the NFL and Skydance Sports, further amplify our reach and influence, ensuring brands can thrive in a secure and expansive environment.”
Countdown to Christmas
Though often imitated by others, Hallmark’s unique approach to storytelling - blending hope, joy, and love - remains its secret, winning formula synonymous with the iconic brand. Following the success of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story, which won the title of #1 most-watched cable movie of 2024, Hallmark, NFL, and Skydance Sports are teaming up again this Christmas for Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story, premiering during Hallmark Channel's 16th annual Countdown to Christmas. The partnership will include fan activities, co-branded merchandise, and widespread promotions across various platforms, with more details coming later this year. Also included in this year’s lineup of original holiday programming, is a six-episode scripted limited series, The Twelve Dates of Christmas (working title), based on the novel of the same name by Jenni Bayliss and starring Mae Whitman, Mary McDonnell, and Jane Seymour. Another highlight is Mistletoe Murders, starring and executive produced by Sarah Drew, who plays Emily Lane, a Christmas shop owner who solves local murders.
Reality TV with Heart
Hallmark is reigniting primetime with its new slate of unscripted series, branded as “Reality TV with Heart”. This original programming brings together friendly competition series, community building, home and lifestyle enhancement shows, aligning with the company’s brand principles of joy, hope, warmth, connection, family and most definitely...love. The lineup will feature new seasons and network premieres of Celebrations with Lacey Chabert and Finding Mr. Christmas, which launched in Q4-2024 and garnered wide pop culture attention, bolstered by leading performances in front of and behind the camera from longtime Hallmark stars Jonathan Bennett and Lacey Chabert, respectively. Hallmark’s newest unscripted series, The Motherhood, created and hosted by Connie Britton, premieres on Hallmark Channel May 5th.
New unscripted original series in development include:
• Baked with Love: Holiday: A family recipe bake-off where talented home bakers showcase their signature family holiday bakes and the heartfelt stories behind them.
• Armed to Build: Beloved Hallmark star Nikki DeLoach helps a community honor, celebrate, and give back to their first responders and veterans by delivering distinct life transformations, enabling them to continue their heroic work.
• Daughter of the Bride: Showcases genuine and heartfelt stories of adult daughters helping their mothers as they prepare for a new beginning in love.
• Murder Mystery House: Co-created by Hallmark star Jonathan Bennett, this reality show invites Hallmark Mystery fans to join in on the investigation – inviting them to a gorgeous mansion where there’s been a “murder”. These real-life sleuths must narrow down the suspects, made up of favorite Hallmark actors, and figure out who the culprit is for a cash prize.
Hallmark Activations & Experiences
Hallmark is offering brand partners the opportunity to directly engage with its superfans via its second installment of immersive experiences on land and at sea. This year’s sold-out Christmas cruise will set sail from Miami to Cozumel, Mexico from November 6-10th and will provide even more enhanced engagement opportunities. The Hallmark Christmas Experience will return to the festive Crown Center in the heart of Kansas City, where its corporate headquarters are located. The event, which promises to help guests be merry, make memories, and find magic, takes place over four consecutive weekends, November 28th to December 21st, presenting brands with an array of consumer engagement opportunities in a festive family-friendly environment.
Leveraging Hallmark’s Super Fandom
Despite changes in consumer behavior across industries, Hallmark’s fandom and demand for its signature brand of content and consumer experiences remain strong. Hallmark consistently ranks as the leading destination for holiday programming, driven by an extensive library of original Christmas movies and thousands of hours of original feel-good content. The inaugural Christmas Cruise in 2024 sold-out within hours, leading to a second sold-out sailing, while the Hallmark Christmas Experience attracted more than 100,000 superfans from all 50 states and over 20 countries across the four weekends.
*Hallmark Channel was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network of 2024 among key demographics. Driven by pop culture sensation Countdown to Christmas, Hallmark Channel became #1 in Q4 among Women 18+ for the 11th year in a row and delivered the Top 3 most-watched cable movies of the year: Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story at #1, Three Wiser Men and a Boy at #2, and Santa Tell Me at #3. The Way Home Season Three was #1 most-watched original program overall, repeats included, with Women 25-54; #3 with Households; Women 18+ and 18-49. [Source: Nielsen Big Panel + Big Data, L+SD. 1/1/24-12/29/24. M-Su & Sa-Su 6a-6a & 8p-11p. Nielsen L+3 Program based data, Nielsen Panel + Big Data; 3/17/25-3/23/25; All competitive ranks exclude News/Sports; YTD Program ranks from 12/30/24-3/23/25, includes programs that aired 2+ Telecasts; Networks that share feeds are weight averaged to daypart based on duration. L+3 Unduplicated P2+ audience, 6 min qualifier, Panel only. All ranks exclude news and sports networks and programming.]
ABOUT HALLMARK MEDIA
Owned and operated by Hallmark Cards, Inc., Hallmark Media is entertainment’s leading destination for feel-good content. Hallmark Channel features an ambitious slate of new, original movies, scripted series, and the popular annual holiday franchise, Countdown to Christmas. Hallmark Mystery features a unique mix of movies and acquired series focused on the lighter side of the suspense and mystery genres, as well as its own seasonal programming event, Miracles of Christmas. Hallmark Family showcases timeless storytelling for the whole family centered around faith, love, and community. The company’s subscription streaming service and membership program, Hallmark+ offers a distinctive blend of all new, exclusive original series and movies, next-day access to Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Mystery premieres, plus monthly discounts and rewards for shopping at Hallmark Gold Crown retail stores. For more information, please visit www.corporate.hallmarkmedia.com
Terrible idea all around. The only silver lining with this is I might just have a reason to not have to watch so many new movies on there this holiday Season! (yeah I know there are those on here who don't mind a lot of new movies, but come on. 40 new movies on 2 different channels for the last few years is just too much! Especially with how many of them turned out to be inappropriate duds!). -Maria
ReplyDeleteI am not sure Hallmark even knows what they are doing anymore. They are known for their movies and their audience I do not think are the types who want to watch reality tv regardless of what Hallmark star is hosting the show.
ReplyDeleteWe are already seeing that they are having less new movies and I think that will continue. I also believe that Christmas is going to be less new movies airing and more of the reality shows.
That is not true about Countdown To Christmas. Hallmark already came out and said we will not have less than 40 new movies this year. They also said we will have over 4,000 hours of holiday content
DeleteThe announcement said 4,000 hours of Christmas programming kicking off with Countdown to Christmas. I am sure that those hours include Hallmark+ too. As well as Hallmark Family. It will be interesting to see how many new movies are made, where they are premiering and if any of the reality shows are going to debut Primetime on the weekend. When a network announces reality programming they are doing it because reality programming is cheaper to make than movies.
DeleteAnon,
DeleteWhere did you read this? - I never heard that they had made this announcement.
Could it be 40 over all channels which would still be a reduction.
TBH I personally felt there were too many in the last couple of seasons and if they were to cut their programme on the main channel by 25% i.e. 40 to 30 I would be very happy. - Florence
The burning question is will the showing of Mistletoe Murders, The Twelve Dates Of Christmas etc on the main channel eat into the number of new Christmas movies? - Florence
ReplyDeleteThis was a lot to read, but I am hoping many of these things will be on Hallmark, and not on + cause I am never getting +.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see the baking show. I loved when drama channel years ago did that cookie bake off. And I LOVE food networks, holiday, spring, kids baking championships. Many of these things I would watch, but hopefully us old time hallmark fans get it before the plus do. No matter what they do, I will not get plus. We live in rural area and streaming is not easy and I will not pay for something I cannot use.
Sabrina
You living in a rural area doesn't have anything to do with not being able to stream. If you have internet like you used to visit this site you can stream. You can use Hallmark+ on their website. And not their app if you dont like apps like you would use on a roku/firestick. Its pretty easy to stream if you want to
DeleteAnon, I can't speak for my friend, Sabrina, but I understand exactly where she's coming from as someone who has always lived in the country, and for years we struggled with our internet access.
DeleteStreaming was impossible for us in our area because our internet speed was extremely low, and many areas don't offer high-speed internet. We also used a hotspot on our phones, but that can be costly if someone goes over the plan limit.
Thankfully, we were finally able to get Wi-Fi, so now I can stream, but I know it's still more difficult for people in rural areas to get access to high speed internet, and without that, sure you can look at websites, but I recall videos are extremely frustrating to watch with all the buffering and reloading.
Anyway, I wish internet availability was more accessible for everyone.
I did NOT care for the Chicken Sisters and I gave it a try but so not a fit.
ReplyDeleteWho knows about these other shows but I know I and many of the people I know do not watch the reality type shows.
Anon, I've been hearing this a lot about the Chicken Sisters series and they are filming season 2. Interesting, right???
DeleteSounds like they are competing with Disney to see who flames out the fastest. How about a few more movies with heart and less glitz. Think they have really forgotten what Christmas is really about. So many now are everyday situations that just happen to be at Christmas so you can call it a Christmas movie. Thankfully I have a lot of purchased “good” movies and a few decent ones on the DVR to fall back on. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteJoCo, I completely understand what you're saying. Last year, I watched a number of so-called Christmas movies that didn't give me that festive, Christmassy feeling at all.
DeleteI've often heard that reality TV might be cheaper to make/produce, so that makes me question a lot with Hallmark.
Glad you have a lot of the classics to enjoy! I agree; those are still the best! :)
I do not see the average hallmark fans watching the reality shows. They like movies. . I see them making less Christmas movies this year and I would not be surprised if they lose the rights to more movies. This could end up being a big mistake for them .
ReplyDeleteexciting news
ReplyDeleteThe viewers have been waiting new movies that haven’t pick up from streaming services as such as Meet Me in New York, Cinderella in Caribbean, Sister Dating Swap, etc… Those movies haven’t pick up any network
ReplyDelete