Crown Media Family Networks Changes Name to Hallmark Media

Crown Media is finally focusing on its crown jewel. Crown Media Family Networks, the parent company of Hallmark's cable networks and streaming service, has renamed itself Hallmark Media, it announced at the Television Critics Association's virtual summer press tour on Wednesday. "It is meaningful to have the Hallmark name front and center. No more saying Crown Media, the home of the Hallmark Channel, like I have said a few times a day and every day. When you say Hallmark, no caveats or 'home of' references are required. People know what they're getting," Wonya Lucas, the company's president and CEO, explained during the TCA presentation. "And as we collaborate more closely with our parent company, Hallmark, this evolution in our own brand's identity is just a no-brainer. It allows us to better align with Hallmark. It makes sense, and it resonates with our viewers and our business partners. And, of course, we are now in name where we are at our core," said Lucas. The company includes three linear networks—Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries and Hallmark Drama—as well as streaming service Hallmark Movies Now. Hallmark Touts Nearly 100 Original Movies and Series in Upfront Push During her TCA executive session, Lucas also touted her company's brand extension with Mahogany, the more than three-decade-old Hallmark greeting card line. Hallmark Media is now expanding Mahogany into an entertainment brand focused on Black culture and Black women. The brand will launch on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel with quarterly movies, and the brand's first project, Unthinkably Good Things, will launch at the end of August. Mahogany will later expand through brand extensions such as podcasts and scripted shows. "The launch of Mahogany marks a seminal moment in the evolution of Hallmark content with authentic stories about friendship, family, community and love through the unique lens of Black women," Lucas said. The CEO mentioned that Mahogany is just the first of the company's upcoming brand extensions, with Crayola, a brand Hallmark owns, being another possibility. More programming possibilities The company also gave an overview of its upcoming programming, including more Mahogany projects on the way, When Calls the Heart coming back next year for its 10th season, new shows Ride and The Way Home debuting in 2023 and 40 new holiday movies kicking off on Oct. 21 as part of Countdown to Christmas. According to Lisa Hamilton Daly, the company's evp of programming, the Countdown to Christmas programming initiative has kept Hallmark Channel the No.1 network among women in the fourth quarter for eight years straight. "My primary challenge as the leader of the programming team is staying true to the essence of our brand, to continue delivering that content that our audience knows and loves while enhancing and expanding our offerings. We're doing that with new shows and formats, a continued commitment to the DEI in front of and behind the camera, improved production values, deeper, more fully developed characters and more multi-dimensional storytelling that explores the nature of love, relationships and the human experience," Daly said. And even more new programming is on the way. Speaking with Adweek in May, Ed Georger, evp of advertising sales and digital media at Hallmark Media, said Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries would add nearly 100 original movies and series between them in the next year. Hallmark Media also announced a new female-focused initiative to create opportunities for aspiring filmmakers, the Make Her Mark reciprocal director mentor initiative. The program is designed to continue Hallmark's DEI efforts and embrace a female perspective in front of and behind the camera.

TCA Press Tour

Crown Media Family Networks Changes Name to Hallmark Media

The Hallmark Channel parent company's rebrand was a 'no-brainer,' said CEO

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