Hallmark Channel Exec Explains New Streaming Service, Reveals Which Content Won't Be Available
An exec for Hallmark Channel is opening up about the network’s plans to launch a new streaming service.
Hallmark Movies Now will be rebranded as Hallmark+ later this year and new content will be available on the app, though there will be some major differences from other apps like Peacock and Paramount+, which host content from networks like NBC and CBS.
Hallmark+ will be available for $7.99 per month or $79.99 per year. Subscribers will also get Hallmark Store rewards for having a membership.
Keep reading to find out more…
Hallmark Media’s EVP of Programming, Lisa Hamilton Daly, told Variety that the app will not host a live stream of the linear Hallmark Channel content.
The 40 original movies airing during the Countdown to Christmas series will also not be available on the app. You can only watch those on Hallmark Channel.
“‘Countdown to Christmas’ remains a linear experience,” she told Variety. “The content on the app is going to be Holidazed, Mistletoe Murders, our unscripted shows and a couple of movie trilogies coming up that we haven’t announced yet. There’s going to be a bunch of holiday content, but it’s going to be separate and different from what’s on linear.”
Hallmark Channel’s massive library of original movies will be available, though it’s unclear how many of the films will be steaming at any given time.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience in terms of both programming and the functionality and look of it. We’re looking at the linear landscape. It’s a little grim. We’re still doing pretty well, but there’s only so long that that may last,” Lisa told Variety. “We’re thinking about how we find our viewers where they’re watching, and that’s where our viewers are. And look, I know we’re a bit late to the game. But we’ve had a chance to look around and see what everyone else is doing, see what the mistakes were. We have this opportunity to do this larger, cross-company idea.”
Read all about the original content heading to the streaming service.