Hallmark Channel's First-Ever Winterfest Programming Event is Ratings Hit

Hot on the heels of a highly successful holiday season, Hallmark CHANNEL jump-started the New Year with its first-ever Winterfest programming event, featuring new original movies every Saturday night in January. Love in Paradise, the first original premiere of 2016, garnered a 2.6 HH rating and 3 million total viewers, becoming the #1 rated movie of the week among HHs and W25-54. Additionally, in its 9pm time period, the Saturday, January 2nd debut elevated Hallmark CHANNEL to rank 2nd - only behind sports - among HH and total viewer rating and delivery.

Hallmark Channel's sister network, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, also attracted viewers over the weekend, with the Sunday, January 3rd premiere of Garage Sale Mystery: Guilty Until Proven Innocent averaging a 1.2 HH rating and becoming the 2nd most-watched original premiere in network history. In addition, the film made an impact on Twitter, becoming the #1 Tweeted original movie premiere of the week across cable and broadcast.

Winterfest continues this weekend with the original premiere of Love's Complicated on Saturday, January 9th at 9/8C. Please see here for more information on Love in Paradise.

Source: Nielsen, December 28, 2015-January 3, 2016; Nielsen Social Guide Twitter TV Ratings.

ABOUT CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS

Crown Media Family Networks is the umbrella unit of Crown Media Holdings, Inc. housing cable's leading family friendly networks, Hallmark CHANNEL and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, as well as their corresponding digital extensions HallmarkChannel.com and HallmarkMoviesandMysteries.com. The company operates and distributes both channels in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) with Hallmark CHANNEL available to 90 million subscribers and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in 62 million homes in the United States. Hallmark CHANNEL features an ambitious slate of original content, including movies; scripted series, such as Cedar Cove, When Calls the Heart, and Good Witch; annual specials like Hero Dog Awards and Kitten Bowl; world premieres of HALLMARK HALL OF FAME presentations, and a daily 2-hour lifestyle show, Home & Family. Hallmark CHANNEL is also home to annual holiday franchise, Countdown to Christmas, featuring a lineup of 24/7 holiday programming. Rounding out the networks' lineup are television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, The Middle, Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, recently rebranded from Hallmark Movie Channel, is a 24-hour digital cable network featuring a unique mix of original movies and acquired series focused on the lighter side of the suspense and mystery genres. The network also features its own annual holiday programming franchise, the Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas, as well as presentations from the award-winning HALLMARK HALL OF FAME library.

Hallmark Channel on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest

Image courtesy of Hallmark Channel