HALLMARK CHANNEL'S "COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS" IS BIGGER THAN EVER

NATASHA HENSTRIDGE AND GABE HOGAN STAR IN "CHRISTMAS SONG" A HALLMARK CHANNEL ORIGINAL WORLD PREMIERE HOLIDAY 2012

When budget cuts force the merger of two New York City high schools, two music teachers aim to compete in the largest, televised Christmas Carol competition that will determine the fate of the school's music program and the teachers' jobs. Natasha Henstridge ("The Whole Nine Yards," "The Secret Circle") and Gabriel Hogan ("Heartland") star in "Christmas Song," a Hallmark Channel Original Movie, premiering Holiday 2012. Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" is the biggest holiday destination on television, premiering more original holiday programs than any other network.

Though two schools have recently merged into one, students at the newly formed Carter-Cresswell Academy have yet to blend into one harmonious body. Particularly for the award-winning choral groups of the two former schools, old rivalries die hard. Music teachers Diana Deason (Henstridge) and Ken Stoddard (Hogan) are forced to compete for a single music department position by entering dueling musical acts in a televised Christmas song competition. The success of either group will determine the fate of the music department and will determine who will get the job as the school's only music director. As the musical teams duke out their differences at the competition and in the school halls, sparks begin to fly between Diana and Ken; romantic and otherwise. Confused by these sentiments, Diana is forced to reevaluate her priorities and choose what is really worth fighting for.

"Christmas Song" is a Chesler/Perlmutter Productions LTD. Lewis Chesler, David Perlmutter, Rob Vaughn are executive producers. Marek Posival is the producer. Timothy Bond directed from a script by Kevin Commins.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming available in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) to a national audience of over 87 million subscribers. The top-tier program service is distributed through approximately 5,500 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel is the nation's leading destination for quality family programming with an ambitious slate of original TV movies and specials, as well as some of television's most beloved sitcoms and series, including The Golden Girls, Frasier, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons. Since 2010, Hallmark Channel has also been home to original daytime lifestyle programming and is debuting two new daily series, Home & Family and Marie, on October 1, 2012. Hallmark Channel's sibling network is Hallmark Movie Channel, also available in HD and SD, which focuses on family-friendly movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library, original Hallmark Channel movies and special events.