Feel-good movies for everyone! After decades of being the master of holiday movies, Hallmark Channel found itself competing for Christmas viewership at the hands of GAC Media.
When the former CEO of Crown Media Family Networks (Hallmark Channel’s parent company) Bill Abbott acquired GAC, originally Great American Country, in June 2021, the landscape for happy seasonal movies has changed.
In fact, Hallmark has now found itself battling to see which of its stars will take the brand forward and which will jump ship for GAC Media – which has two channels, GAC Family and GAC Living.
A month after GAC Media launched its two channels, Hallmark’s first chart success came in the form of Danica McKellar signature a multi-image agreement with the competition.
“Danica is a world-class talent who is among television’s most beloved and enduring stars,” Abbott said in an October 2021 press release. “Her combination of creativity and passion is second to none, and I’m thrilled to have her join the close-knit GAC family.”
While other Hallmark stars joined McKellar in GAC Media’s fall and winter 2021 holiday lineup, it wasn’t until early 2022 that Crown Media began making its own movements.
Hallmark’s parent company announced in February 2022 that it had reached an agreement with Lacey Chabertwho is the star of one of the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries franchises, signaling that they aren’t backing down from GAC’s fight for talent.
“Lacey’s warmth, talent, relatability and creative sensibilities have endeared her to millions of Hallmark viewers for over a decade, making her one of our most in-demand stars,” said the Executive Vice President of Programming at Crown Media Family Networks, Lisa Hamilton Daly, said in a press release. “In addition to shining on screen, Lacey is a prolific creative partner behind the scenes, developing and executing production on many of our highest quality and most beloved projects of all time.”
Hallmark Channel fans, however, didn’t see it coming when two months later, Candace Cameron Bure announced that she was moving to GAC Media. The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries The star had been in 18 of the network’s mystery films and was dubbed the “Christmas Queen” for her holiday work before she left.
“I do them because I love them,” Cameron Bure said exclusively We Weekly in November 2021 ahead of the release of his final holiday movie for Hallmark. “And I know viewers watching them really love them and they mean something to them.”
Scroll down to see which of your favorite Hallmark Channel and GAC Media stars are hanging out with their respective networks:
Comments are closed.