As Hallmark Steps Into Streaming, Execs Are ‘Very Confident’ Audiences and Cord-Cutters Will Follow Them

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As Hallmark steps into the streaming world, the brand’s executives are “very confident” both loyal audiences and cord-cutter fans will follow them to their rebranded platform.

Transforming from Hallmark Movies Now, Hallmark+ will serve as a hub for Hallmark’s original movies and series, including a new slate of unscripted programming led by the network’s biggest stars like Jonathan Bennett and Lacey Chabert. The new streamer, which will also feature membership benefits for retail products, is set to launch mid-September, with annual plans starting at $79.99 and monthly subscriptions starting at $7.99.

“The world is a hard place, and Hallmark provides an escape, a sense of comfort, and everybody is looking for that,” EVP of streaming and digital platforms Emily Powers told TheWrap. “Based on the success of the Hallmark experiences that we’ve recently rolled out, people want new ways to interact with the brand … We’re very, very confident that there’s an audience for this and that it’s going to continue to grow.”

While EVP of programming Lisa Hamilton Daly admitted Hallmark is “a little late” to the streaming game, seeing how the streaming wars have played out so far enabled the brand to “see what’s worked and what hasn’t worked,” especially when it comes smaller platforms going up against streaming giants like Netflix.

“The center of this is the power of our brand … when I look at some of the smaller streamers, the ones with the really clear brands are the ones that have a passionate following, like the Criterion Collection,” Daly told TheWrap. “Hallmark’s brand is is bigger and wider, so we’ll exist in our own space.”

Though Hallmark already has a streaming presence through a partnership on NBCUniversal-owned streamer Peacock, Daly said Hallmark+ enables the brand to have a “unified Hallmark entity,” which certainly rings true when it comes to the streamer’s retail component. In addition to ad-free viewing, Hallmark+ subscribers will receive benefits and rewards, including monthly coupons, free unlimited eCards, shopping rewards and surprise gifts.

By providing a “single destination” for Hallmark shopping and content, the company hopes to embrace the shared feeling that their products and content evoke, with Powers explaining, “you feel uplifted … happy [and] positive when you watch the shows — you feel that way when you give cards.”

“We’re providing an experience for our superfans, but we do think it will attract the retail customers who may not be regular viewers of the programs,” Powers said. “It’s both for the superfans, but also allows us to reach new audiences that we maybe haven’t in the past.”

As Hallmark+ aims to attract a new generation of cord cutters — which Daly identifies to be around 40 years old — the streamer is also differentiating its content to align with the interest of new streaming viewers, who crave fresh and diverse content.

“We really thought about who are those people [who don’t have cable] and how are they different from our linear viewer,” Daly said. “With that in mind, we’re creating content that we feel will be acquisitive and fun and [has that] must-see factor to it.”

For the first time, Hallmark is unveiling a new slate of unscripted content, including a reality competition series called “Finding Mr. Christmas” led by Bennett and Melissa Peterman, as well as other shows fronted by Hallmark talent like Chabert, Wes Brown, Ashley Williams and Luke Macfarlane.

“Before I even got the job I really felt that [unscripted] was unexplored territory for us,” Daly said, noting the importance of examining what it is that makes Hallmark special and then translating it into an unscripted brand. “[We] really [leaned] on the talent and that DNA … If it feels like it could be a Hallmark movie, but it’s real, that feels right for us.”

From finding the next leading Hallmark man to throwing surprise parties for deserving kids, families and adults, Hallmark’s unscripted programming is a steep departure from both catty competitive series as well as drama-filled reality shows, which prompted the brand to reframe the concept of an unscripted series.

“Nobody’s drunk in our shows,” Daly said. “It’s about positivity, which in reality television is often not the push, so figuring out how to get drama out of a show that doesn’t have as much conflict as you might normally have requires, I think, a lot of thought and intelligence in putting these shows together.”

Whereas the network has a well-oiled production machine when it comes to filming a stack of Christmas movies with similar sets, the move to unscripted programming involves a few more moving parts as the network brings in unique producers for the shows’ differing needs.

After the smashing success of “Three Wise Men and a Baby,” the network is also leaning into more male-led content with a new trilogy, titled “Groomsmen,” pushing the bounds of their mostly female-led movies and shows.

“The success of that made us realize people really love watching those three brothers interact with their mother, have a family life, fall in love [and] parent a child,” Daly said. “In our quest to eternally find new stories to tell — at some point the story factory has run out of stories — this was a great way for us to diversify what we’re doing.”

These emotion-based male-led stories not only appeal to women, but are also relatable to male co-viewers, widening the reach of Hallmark+’s offerings, which Powers points out has enabled the company to “open up the aperture of our storytelling.”

“In a linear space, you are targeting a female audience; in streaming, we want everybody,” Powers said. “We’re not selling a demo. We’re not selling an audience. We’re just looking to make great content for everyone.”

With changes afoot both in entering the streaming world and adding some new content to the mix, Daly sees no shift to the Hallmark mission or brand, and understands the expansions as “finding new avenues for the brand to reach consumers.”

“It’s enhancing the mission,” Powers added. “As a company, we’re all about how can we give people ways to care and connect … and all of us see Hallmark+ as another way to do that.”

The post As Hallmark Steps Into Streaming, Execs Are ‘Very Confident’ Audiences and Cord-Cutters Will Follow Them appeared first on TheWrap .