Hallmark is getting fully into the streaming game.
The cable outlet known for its annual bounty of Christmas movies and series like When Calls the Heart is planning to launch a streaming service — titled Hallmark+ — in September. The platform will replace the company’s current streaming option, Hallmark Movies Now, and offer a wider menu of programming, including more originals, and benefits for Hallmark’s other businesses including coupons for its retail stores and free gifts.
“Hallmark+ marks a seminal moment for Hallmark,” said president and CEO Mike Perry. “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.”
Hallmark Movies Now has been around since 2017, and the company also operates a FAST service called Hallmark Movies & More. Additionally, it signed a content deal with Peacock in 2022 that includes streaming simulcasts of Hallmark’s linear channels and access to some library titles via the NBCUniversal-owned streamer.
The Peacock deal will remain in place when Hallmark+ launches. Hallmark+ will cost subscribers $8 per month or $80 on an annual plan. That’s more than the current $6 monthly/$60 annually for Hallmark Movies Now, but the retail perks (which include monthly $5 discounts at Hallmark Gold Crown stores) could help offset the extra cost for the streaming service.
Among the original programming set for Hallmark+ are the company’s first holiday-themed limited series, titled Holidazed and Mistletoe Murders; a series adaptation of KJ Dell’Antonia’s best-selling novel The Chicken Sisters; a movie trilogy titled Groomsmen; and unscripted shows including Finding Mr. Christmas — in which contestants vie for a leading role in a holiday movie — and Small Town Setup, where parents play matchmaker for their adult children.