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/.
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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?
CLICK HERE TO SEE
THE 2016 CHRISTMAS TV SCHEDULE!
