Streamers Replicate Hallmark Channel's Seasonal Strategy

Discovery and its streaming service Discovery+ are known for their wealth of unscripted series. For the holidays, though, the company’s streamer is trying out something new: its first-ever step into scripted fare with Candy Coated Christmas, a holiday movie featuring Ree Drummond of Food Network’s Pioneer Woman fame. “We're doing a bit of an experiment, a toe dip into the scripted space just around the holidays,” explained Lisa Holme, group svp of content and commercial strategy at Discovery+. “We believe that we can satisfy our consumers—and keep them from leaving us—by letting them watch the kind of content we know that they like within our platform.” Candy Coated Christmas is just one example of how holiday movies are becoming a fast-growing and increasingly essential genre in streaming services’ libraries. For years, cable networks like Hallmark Channel, Freeform and Lifetime have turned their holiday marathon programming into one of the most lucrative times of the year. But those offerings are also key for streaming services that want to capitalize on consumers’ holiday viewing habits. “Offering entertainment that everyone can enjoy this season is critical to driving continued engagement,” said Tanya Giles, chief programming officer of ViacomCBS Streaming, who is overseeing Paramount+'s holiday lineup. “The data tells us that consumers seek out seasonal programming during major holidays, so curating a selection of compelling holiday content that complements our larger offering is an important part of sustaining year-round subscriber growth.” Holiday movies have long been a reliable driver of audiences and advertising dollars, even before streaming video services became ubiquitous. Just look at the Hallmark Channel, which, since airing its first holiday movie in 2002, now devotes more than two months to holiday content with its Countdown to Christmas. That 24/7 holiday programming strategy has become the most wonderful—and lucrative—time of the year for parent company Crown Media Family Networks due to the surge in audiences (and the advertising dollars following suit). Several other networks also released marathon programming, including Freeform’s 25 Days of Christmas, AMC’s Best Christmas Ever and Lifetime's It's a Wonderful Lifetime. Those linear programming blocks have given advertisers an easy way to appear near holiday programming. While festive fare is key for streamers looking to grow subscribers and audiences, it remains challenging for buyers since they typically sell audience segments, not specific programming. “It isn’t like our clients are going to buy streaming services specifically to be in the holiday content since we can’t confirm that they will air in it,” one integrated investment lead at a holding company media agency, who asked to speak on background to speak freely about the trend, told Adweek. “To me, this is more about the streamers jumping on the bandwagon of easy-to-produce holiday movies that perform incredibly well with audiences.” But an easy-to-produce holiday title that performs well with audiences can make all the difference for streaming services and their advertisers in the long run. Holiday-themed content can lure in new customers or give subscribers a reason to come back. That, in turn, can deliver audience sizes and segments that attract more advertising dollars. The stakes are high—if subscribers can’t find a holiday show to watch on one streaming service, they’ll go elsewhere. “The goal, foremost, is this: Don’t give people a reason to leave you,” Holme said. "If you can satisfy what they might be interested in watching, then you have to try." Like most kinds of programming, holiday programming’s creep onto streaming has been gradual and ongoing. Netflix threw its hat in the ring in 2015 with Bill Murray’s A Very Murray Christmas and has bulked up holiday programming every year since. Disney+ has a robust holiday lineup, including a newly released Home Sweet Home Alone, while AMC+ is planning an expanded lineup this season, including the dark holiday film Silent Night featuring Keira Knightley. In what can only be interpreted as a sign of the times, some cable channel’s holiday lineups are making at least a partial jump to streaming. For the second year in a row, AMC’s Best Christmas Ever is available to stream on AMC+, and Hallmark’s ad-free subscription streaming service, Hallmark Movies Now, is premiering two new original films for streaming-only audiences. “Christmas is baked into our DNA,” said Chad Harris, Crown Media’s svp of new media and innovation. “As viewing and content consumption habits continued to evolve, we knew it was imperative to meet viewers where they are and create a place where they can enjoy our unique brand of storytelling, including our holiday movies, on their terms.”

Streaming & OTT

Streaming Services Crash Linear's Holiday TV Programming Party

Platforms like Discovery+ look to replicate Hallmark Channel’s seasonal success

Kelsey Sutton

About

Subscriptions

Events

Publications

WORK SMARTER - LEARN, GROW AND BE INSPIRED.

Subscribe today!

Kelsey Sutton