Upfront News and Views: Crown Media’s Virtual SnowFront

And then they did something incredibly timely and forwardthinkingamp160 Undeterred by the heavy snowfall on Wednesday President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Abbott Advertising Sales Executive Vice President Ed Georger and two of Hallmark Channelamp8217s most popular madefor movie personalities Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar made their way to Central Park for an impromptu Facebook Live transmission during which many Upfront announcements were made amp160McKellar Georger Abbott and Bure are pictured at top left to right amp160More than 100000 people watched Crownamp8217s Facebook effort live or on replay as of Thursday night and at least 23000 more have viewed that shortform production sinceFor Georger reaching out on the fly via Facebook did ease the disappointment of not holding court at one of the most elegant spaces in New York for the first time in three years amp8220We were excited about getting everyone togetheramp8221 he noted during a special debrief for MediaVillage last Friday morning amp160amp8220The room is gorgeous and stands for itself amp160Itamp8217s a beautiful setting and the perfect place for a celebrationamp8221Hereamp8217s what Crown Media planned to offer at its event broken down by our usual categoriesPresentation amp160The overall focus was on the ability of Hallmark Channel and sister service Hallmark Movies ampamp Mysteries to grow both viewership and advertiser support in a climate where other cable networks are enduring downturns in both categoriesamp160 Relevant content mostly arranged around holiday periods and seasonal experiences like weddings in June presented in a familyfriendly atmosphere matters most amp160amp8220Weamp8217re a safe place for advertisersamp8221 Georger explained amp160amp8220We39re creating an environment where the advertising works harder and is more effective because the ads are in content synchronized with the marketeramp8217s messageamp8221 amp160Testimonials from oncamera talent at both channels would have showcased the production quality of Crownamp8217s contentNews amp160Three new amp8220mystery wheelamp8221 elements will launch on Hallmark Movies ampamp Mysteries next year Crossword Mysteries crossword puzzle editor works with police investigations costarring Lacey Chabert and Brennan Elliott Picture Perfect adventures of a photographer sleuth played by Alexa Vega and The Chronicle Mysteries Alison Sweeney as a novelistpodcaster working the crime beat amp160All three will get a set of madefor movies amp160At Hallmark Channel scripted favorite When Calls the Heart and new unscripted series Meet the Peetes will continue into a sixth and second season respectively while new animal competition special Cat Bowl will launch next February 2 as part of an expanded multielement pet adoption campaign amp160Separately look for more original Hallmark programming featuring musical talent based on successes during the last two years with films starring Mariah Carey and Jewel amp160amp8220You generate a positive environment for viewers to connect to the programmingamp8221 added Georger amp8220Weamp8217re looking for heartfelt singersongwriters who tell great stories that we can translate into great moviesamp8221 amp160So far in this new initiative Five for Fighting leader John Ondrasik who performed at Crownamp8217s Upfront two years ago will codevelop a movie based on his hit single amp8220Christmas Every Dayamp8221 and country music star Kellie Pickler cohost of the new daytime talklifestyle hour Pickler ampamp Ben which was honored with several Daytime Emmy Award nominations last week will be involved in another project full details forthcomingSide Note No 1 amp160For the second year in a row Hallmark Channel did not greenlight an original weekly scripted series amp160Donamp8217t conclude that parent Crown Media is through with the format Georger maintainedamp160 A development team was recently formed in Los Angeles to consider various concepts amp160amp8220We want to do original scripted in a strategic way versus putting on a lot of product and hoping something sticks beyond one or two seasonsamp8221 he said amp160amp8220Weamp8217ve done well taking successful movies and book series and spinning them into longrunning original series When Calls the Heart The Good Witchamp160Cedar Cove andamp160Chesapeake Shores to name four amp160That format worksamp8221Side Note No 2 amp160Hallmark Drama introduced last October is now available in nearly 10 million TV households amp160Until the networkamp8217s circulation builds up programming will run with limited commercial interruption amp160Georger anticipates the network will participate in next yearamp8217s Upfront in lockstep with Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies ampamp MysteriesHosts amp160Abbott and Georger would have shared the podium with a group of celebrity testimonial presenters including Bure McKellar and Witch costar Jack WagnerStar Time amp160Pickler had a set of songs she would have performed in front of the Rainbow Room crowdCuisineamp160 The menu highlights included burrata salad seared diver scallops with truffled Montauk lobster potatoes or filet mignon as the entramp233e choices and a dessert assortment including minibaked Alaskans and caramel popcorn ice cream lollipops amp160My own mouthwatering scale suggests a score of 4 or 45 Jacks was in the making Note Cuisine ratings never figure into our overall Jacks scoresData Insight amp160Hallmark Channel was the No 1rated cable network among women 2554 and No 2rated among women 1849 in totalday ratings during fourth quarter 2017amp160 Also a Nielsen study concluded the network increased advertising effectiveness in several categories advertiser brand and message memorability and brand likeability by doubledigits last year and up to 50 percent in at least one categoryInnovative Opportunity amp160Longrunning and now Daytime Emmynominated weekday series Home ampamp Family will conduct a amp8220Dream Holiday Home Decorating Contestamp8221 this Christmas season with the winning viewer having his or her home made over to a holiday themeamp160 For 2019 the programamp8217s own studio space a house complete with backyard will be upgraded through a amp8220Renovation Feveramp8221 campaign with viewer and affiliate participation optionsThere will be no overall Jacks score awarded to Crown Media Family Networks this year because there was no actual event to consideramp160 But they deserve an informal 5 Jacks for making the most of a bad situation over which they had no control and using it as an opportunity to do something inspired pulling together what some are referring to as a Virtual Upfront and others the firstever SnowFrontamp160 Well doneNoteamp160 MediaVillageamp8217s EB Moss managed to bring Candace Cameron Bure and Danica McKellar in from the snow to record an upcoming episode of her Insider Insights podcastamp160 Look for it soonClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Upfront News and Views: Crown Media’s Virtual SnowFront

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