STUDIO CITY, Calif.—Hallmark Media is well-known across the entertainment industry and is recognized for its family-friendly programming and heartwarming storytelling. We currently have three network channels, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark+ and Hallmark Family, and we aim to be a leading provider of content that families can enjoy together, emphasizing positive and uplifting themes.

We partner with Globecast to manage the origination and distribution of all three television channels, ensuring our content is delivered efficiently and reliably to viewers across various MVPD platforms, digital/OTT/cable/satellite. Our key goals include keeping up with the growing technology in delivering content to customers and maximizing growth potential for viewership and ad sales.

Cloud-Based Efficiency
Our partnership with Globecast began in 2016 with the provision of disaster-recovery services—a decision prompted by the need to enhance our technical operations and ensure reliable content delivery across our television networks.

As our partnership evolved, we have been working more closely with them to address a number of key objectives. First, we wanted to leverage advanced broadcast technologies and services to improve the quality and efficiency of our content origination and distribution.

Next, we wanted a scalable solution to support our growth and ability to adapt to new distribution methods, including digital platforms. In addition, Globecast’s cloud-based services, including playout management and technical support, allowed us to streamline our operations.

We chose Globecast as our technology partner for several strategic reasons, primarily centered around their expertise, global reach and comprehensive service offerings, including their expertise in cloud-based production services. More specifically, they bring deep industry experience with a well-established reputation in the media and broadcast industry. They also have an excellent track record in managing complex broadcast operations for leading media companies.

From a technology standpoint, they deliver a comprehensive, end-to-end service offering that scales according to need and is backed by extremely reliable infrastructure and 24/7 support. Key to our successful relationship is their ability to offer tailored services that match our unique requirements, from seasonal programming events to digital platform integration.

Transition to IP
We are also the first Globecast customer to transition to Globecast’s new state-of-the-art facility in Westlake Village in the Los Angeles metro, which offers IP-based infrastructure that allows for easier and more cost-effective scaling of our operations.

Hallmark Media has been a leader in adopting the cloud and IP networks as a base of technical operations to scale our footprint. The Globecast Westlake Village, California, facility enables us to accelerate this adoption due to their significant increases in networking infrastructure and bandwidth, as well as with the move to SMPTE 2110. Globecast also now supports a more IP-centric distribution model, which we needed for our continued growth into OTT affiliates and streaming services.

Today, Globecast provides us with a range of key services, one of which is playout services. Globecast manages our channel playout, which includes the scheduling, sequencing and transmission of broadcast content. This service ensures that all programming, commercials and interstitial content are aired seamlessly and according to the planned schedule. They also handle the origination of our television channels, ensuring high-quality broadcasting. This includes the technical preparation of content, such as encoding, formatting and integrating graphics and overlays.

Globecast also provides satellite uplink and downlink services, which are crucial for transmitting our content to various cable and satellite providers across domestic and international markets. In addition, Globecast offers fiber connectivity and IP delivery, allowing for the transmission of content over secure and reliable networks. This is especially important for distributing content to digital platforms and streaming services.

Lastly, they provide around-the-clock monitoring and technical support to ensure the smooth operation of our broadcasting activities, helping us to quickly identify and resolve any issues that may arise during transmission.

For Hallmark Media, this is an important strategic partnership that enables us to focus on tech-led innovation and meet consumer needs in a highly competitive market. 

More information is available at www.globecast.com.

Hallmark has extended its partnership with Accedo to elevate the features of its newly rebranded streaming service, Hallmark+, which officially launched Sept. 10th.

Hallmark+ integrates ad-free viewing with exclusive retail and product offers. As part of the launch, Hallmark tapped Accedo to incorporate multiple new features into the Hallmark+ service.

New features include:

• Unauthenticated homepage: This feature allows potential users to access Hallmark+ without having to sign up.
• Conditional containers: Conditional containers display content tailored to individual user preferences, behaviors and login status.
• Gifting options: New gifting options allow viewers to purchase and send Hallmark+ subscriptions.
• Design facelift: The interface has been redesigned with a more intuitive, user-friendly, and visually appealing look, Hallmark said.

“The support we received from the Accedo team during this intense period was unwavering. Utilizing Accedo One platform to further grow and expand our offering has accelerated our progress tremendously, allowing us to bring Hallmark+ to market fast and greatly optimize our internal resources.” says Lusha Bodie, SVP Technology, Hallmark Media.

“We are highly impressed with the Hallmark team, its ambitious vision, and the new direction of Hallmark+. We believe this will greatly benefit its loyal customers. It is especially encouraging to see Hallmark leveraging several new key features of Accedo One in its re-launch.” says Fredrik Andersson, SVP, Accedo SaaS Products.

PASADENA, Calif.—Hallmark has unveiled Hallmark+, a subscription streaming television service that will combine the company’s brand of lifestyle experience with new membership program benefits that reward members for streaming and shopping at its retail stores and web destinations. The new service will bow in September. 

The company, which announced Hallmark+ at the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif., is offering Hallmark+ as a one-stop destination for people to immerse themselves in the brand, it said.

“Hallmark+ marks a seminal moment for Hallmark,” said Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark. “By intertwining new, rich content experiences with tangible rewards and premium Hallmark gifts, we are delivering a unique, new program that reflects our commitment to spreading joy through our deeply beloved brand touchpoints.”

Available for $7.99 per month or$79.99 annually, the subscription service will offer original titles in new genres and formats, including: Hallmark’s first foray into holiday-limited series, such as “Holidazed” and “Mistletoe Murders"; unscripted, aspirational series with an emphasis on heart, home and community; a new movie trilogy called “Groomsmen,” which is inspired by the success of “The Wedding Veil"; a new scripted series adaption of the best-selling novel “The Chicken Sisters.” 

 More information is available online. 

NEW YORK—Nielsen has inked a multi-year renewal agreement with Hallmark Media to measure linear TV across all three of their networks (Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama). 

The company will also continue to utilize Nielsen's streaming platform and content ratings for insights related to its SVOD and FAST/AVOD services. 

The companies reported that the renewal comes as Hallmark Channel completed the full 2023 year as the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network among key demographics (#1 most-watched network of the year in Total Day and Weekend Total Day among Households; Total Viewers; Women 25-54; Women and Persons 18+ and 55+). 

In addition, the channel's holiday programming event Countdown to Christmas boosted the network to top the linear charts last quarter, elevating it to be the most-watched entertainment cable network in Q4 among Women 18+ for the entire 2020s. 

"Our renewal extends our partnership with Nielsen to continue to utilize their authoritative suite of services to provide analytics and insights for our company," said Hallmark Media's senior vice president of revenue and strategic research, Tom Ziangas. "As viewing patterns continue to evolve and fractionalize across the industry, this partnership will allow us to understand the interaction of our widely beloved brand of content across platforms and meet the needs of our advertisers and viewers alike."

"We are excited to continue our long-standing relationship with Hallmark as their provider of audience measurement, and deliver the data and insights to help power their strategic growth initiatives and showcase their unique value proposition to advertisers," said Amilcar Perez, chief revenue officer at Nielsen. "As The Gauge shows, streaming content consumption continues to grow. Nielsen is at the forefront of providing the most comprehensive view of consumer behavior across both linear and streaming today."

NEW YORK—Hallmark Media has inked a deal with EDO to provide measurement insights focusing on the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ original scripted series and tentpole movie programming events – including Countdown to Christmas, New Year New Movies!, and Loveuary, and mystery franchises.

“With our programming consistently delivering strong results, we are always looking for innovative solutions to further demonstrate the impact of our brand,” said Ed Georger, executive vice president of ad sales and digital media. “EDO’s granular, real-time insights will significantly help us reinforce the true value our audience brings to our advertising partners.”

EDO analyzes real-time consumer behavioral data to help advertisers and publishers understand how and where ads generate interest with viewers. Hallmark will continue leveraging EDO to deliver ad outcomes and immediate proof-of-performance insights for custom integrations during Hallmark programming.

“Hallmark is known for its storied seasonal movies, and we’ve only just begun uncovering actionable performance insights for both the network and its advertisers,” said Kevin Krim, president and CEO at EDO. “Hallmark joins the ranks of leading media companies who value predictive outcomes that go beyond basic reach metrics.”

Data from the agreement is already showing that Hallmark consistently performs in the top 20% of linear cable network ad performance, per EDO data, with a noted increase in engagement in Q4 year-over-year. The network’s Countdown to Christmas primetime movie programming, which begins in October, launched Hallmark into the top 10% of cable networks in Q4 2022, according to EDO.

EDO is also reporting that ads during Hallmark movie premieres and new series episodes are 52% more likely to engage viewers than during the average Hallmark program.

Other insights from the measurement partnership include: 

• Countdown to Christmas programming accounted for 96% of Hallmark’s top-performing primetime programs in Q4 2022. The most engaging holiday themed Hallmark Channel movie in Q4 was Making Spirits Bright, which performed 79% better than the cable average for a primetime movie in Q4.
• New Year, New Movies! programming saw The Wedding Veil trilogy debut on Hallmark in January. The Wedding Veil Journey was the most likely to drive consumer engagement, outperforming the average Hallmark primetime program by 32%.
• Loveuary, Hallmark’s romance-filled February programming, kicked off with the Sweeter Than Chocolate movie premiere on February 4. The movie outperformed the average Q1 Hallmark program by almost 60% through mid-February.
• The mid-January premiere of new drama series The Way Home earned a spot in the top five cable primetime programs and continues to generate significant engagement above the average cable program.

Movies have and always will be a staple of the holiday season. As families come together and reunite with their loved ones, both new flicks and classic favorites alike are central to drumming up the holiday spirit and spending quality time together for many in the U.S. and beyond.

With more than 136 original Christmas movies, it’s no wonder the Hallmark Channel, owned by Crown Media, has become synonymous with the holiday season. In fact, the Hallmark Channel is regularly ranked as one of the top three most-watched cable channels during the Christmas season.

SEEKING CHEER BEYOND THE HOLIDAYS

Despite Hallmark’s success capitalizing on the holiday movie market, Crown Media recognized that delivering content through a variety of platforms is critical for television networks today to meet evolving consumer preferences. In order to remain competitive year-round, the company recently expanded program content both beyond the holiday season and traditional cable television.

With the streaming market growing and consumers shifting toward multiplatform video experiences, Crown Media seized the opportunity to launch two additional linear networks—Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama—along with both video on demand (VOD) and subscription video on demand (SVOD) platforms for all three of its networks.

MORE PLATFORMS, MORE PROBLEMS

Crown Media’s programming success is undeniable. The network has produced so much content over the years that it easily airs movies 24/7 during the holiday season. Despite this success, the launch of the new networks and services presented Crown Media with a new task of managing multiple platforms. This encompassed reaching new viewers and needing to understand them to best serve advertisers—a tough-but-necessary task for any network.

From video tagging and encoding to delivery, Crown Media initially worked with multiple vendors to individually address various aspects of its multiplatform strategy, resulting in sometimes complicated workflows. The media company was also forced to manage multiple video players native to each platform, as its original solution could not adequately support live linear channels or Neilsen viewer measurement. This required that the same functionality be repeatedly built out for each player.

Crown Media recognized it needed more sophisticated and streamlined workflows, media players and reporting to help track and understand its new platform network.

Crown Media enlisted the help of Akamai, which it was already using for content delivery network (CDN) services. In implementing Akamai’s Adaptive Media Player (AMP) and adaptive bitrate playback capabilities, Crown Media was able to reduce the vendor complexity and minimize integrations, ultimately, simplifying a monster task within its streaming workflows.

By using Adaptive Media Player, Crown Media deployed both on-demand and linear content playback for its expanding catalog. The company could also tap the FreeWheel AdManager for ad regulating, certify Nielsen measurement, deploy Comscore and Adobe measurement and gain visibility into its streaming video performance through Akamai Media Analytics.

KEY RESULTS

Akamai’s AMP helped Crown Media launch a single player for top devices and platforms: web (desktop and mobile), mobile (iOS and Android) and connected TV (tvOS and Fire TV).

The Media Player also helped maximize the impact of Crown Media’s evolving media workflow. For example, despite having a more sophisticated workflow to power its growing requirements, the media company actually now faces fewer touch points throughout the workflow. Crown Media platforms can support both on-demand and linear on major platforms, with Nielsen tracking across all of them.

With easy access to Nielsen viewer measurement, Crown Media can also better understand its traditional and digital viewership and monetize audiences for both traditional TV and its streaming properties. The company has also gained greater visibility into its video performance through Akamai Media Analytics with the ability to quickly identify and mitigate issues potentially impacting the viewer experience.

Perhaps most impressively, Akamai’s AMP helped Crown Media to nearly double its audience reach over the Christmas 2018 season. It has been a win-win: Crown Media has been able to fully monetize its content, and users have enjoyed an improved catalog and user experience as evidenced by increases in app store ratings.

UNWRAPPING SUCCESS ALL YEAR LONG

Looking ahead, Crown Media is positioned to take advantage of Akamai’s experience and Adaptive Media Player to advance its capabilities well beyond the holiday season. With support for header bidding and server-side ad integration, AMP can help make it possible to continue to monetize Crown Media content. In the meantime, Crown Media is enjoying an expanded reach and greater insight into audiences across web, mobile and connected TVs, ultimately providing better viewer experiences and helping the business reach new heights.

Frank Paolino is the senior director of Global Services for Akamai.

LOS ANGELES—Globecast is partnering with Los Angeles-based Crown Media Family Networks to supply a twofold disaster-recovery system for Crown’s networks, including Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, which together reach more than 150 million homes in the United States. The collaboration is said to safeguard the continual security of the channels, represents a powerful recognition of Globecast Americas’ cutting edge capabilities.

Under its DR plan, Globecast Americas is providing continuous channel origination services using its 24/7 server-based playout system and associated storage, controlled by advanced automation technology. This end-to-end service includes content aggregation and tracking, playout and distribution including 24/7 monitoring and long-term content storage.

Globecast’s DR service includes the encoding and transmission for both channels in the event of a failure. This entails encoding for MPEG-4 HD and DVB-S2 satellite transmission to Crown’s transponder on the AMC-11 satellite.

Crown’s disaster recovery plan is being serviced by Globecast’s Media Center in Los Angeles. The Center boasts the company’s Media Factory technology, which manages ingest, media logistics, transcoding, and order/schedule management for linear and VOD content to satellite, fiber, cable headends, CDN, IP and OTT. It features technology from leading providers centered on the Evertz Mediator platform.