Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
Over the last decade or so, as entertainment giants such as Disney and Warner Bros.
Instead of making fewer original series and movies for their linear channels, they mademore.
Thats about to change.
The linear business is extremely important to us, says John Matts, chief operating officer of Hallmark Media.
Even now, Hallmark understands that the bulk of its audience is still watching cable.
How would you describe HMNs place in the Hallmark universe?
We werent really thinking about how to program that separately or differently.
Lisa Hamilton Daly:There was nothing new on it.
Has HMN gotten much traction with audiences?
:We dont release numbers.
Were not a public company.
It was bigger than you would have expected, frankly.
:It was definitely intentional.
We were really thinking about how we would be unrolling content across the two platforms.
What sort of questions were you trying to answer with these experiments?
And what did you discover?
We hope that bodes well for when we launch Hallmark+.
I think people are going to be excited about all the exclusive content were going to have over there.
Were these projects you were planning for Hallmark Channel but then decided to move to streaming?
Or had they been green-lit with the thinking that youd be changing streaming strategies and would need more programming?
:We were definitely aiming for a relaunch of the streaming service.
We think streaming is where people are going to come for that.
I think people are going to love it.
We then will have some unscripted series that are going to be debuting, too.
Is that pace going to continue once we get into 2025?
Do you want to have something original premiering almost every week?
:Were looking to have a fairly similar cadence throughout the year.
The idea is to have at least three new H+ Original movies every month.
What about the user experience on Hallmark+?
Will it be dramatically different from what Hallmark Movies Now is right now?
A few months ago, I noticed you had quietly redesigned the app a little bit.
:Weve definitely made some usability improvements.
I would call the Hallmark+ launch a rebrand and a refresh of the interface.
Its not going to look completely new; its going to feel similar.
But its going to be smarter and its going to work better and be easier to use.
Itll do a better job of serving up content that you tend to enjoy.
It will feel like Hallmark Movies Now, but a much fresher version.
You could see some of the series were doing window back within six months or eight months.
You could see some movies window back in six to 12 months.
There could also be shows like the reality programs were doing that stay exclusive to Hallmark+.
:Yeah they both benefit from this.
Weve had some really successful series in the past.
It sort of raises all boats once we do this and we do it right.
But the windows will not be super short, right?
Will 2024 holiday shows likeHolidazedandMistletoe Murdersair on Hallmark Channel this year?
:They will not.
But its possible they could air on the linear channel next year?
L.H.D.:Yes.
How much is that going to evolve now with Hallmark+?
:Unlike some other folks out there, weve continued to program at the same levels.
Weve always programmed on linear.
Thats how our audience likes to consume our content.
We dont want to be the ones who bring the bundle down because were not programming anymore.
The linear business is extremely important to us and were going to continue to lean into it.
All the things that are available to consumers of Hallmark+ through Hallmark arent available through a channels customer.
If youre a big, hard-core Hallmark fan, we want you to come into our universe.
But we understand that theres value elsewhere in those channels stores, and those are great partners for us.
Theyre able to reach audiences we cant.
So we could see the value that was possible to be added by creating Hallmark+.
And your retail stores are going to be a big part of the marketing push for Hallmark+, right?
And were not just pushing a streaming service on them.
Were pushing this lifestyle brand and these other benefits that matter to the people that come into the stores.
I hope youre giving those store employees Hallmark+ for free.
So what does success look like for Hallmark+?
:Its going to be way bigger than it is now.
