HALLMARK CHANNEL ANNOUNCES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF AMERICA'S MOST TREASURED CELEBRATION 'COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS'

Hallmark Channel Launches Year-Long Salute to TV's Highest-Rated Program Event

PASADENA, CA - February 9, 2019 - Hallmark Channel, the worldwide leader in celebrations, announces the 10th anniversary of America's favorite, most-watched holiday tradition, "Countdown to Christmas." Hallmark Channel will honor the 10th anniversary of "Countdown to Christmas" with the biggest holiday season yet, featuring a programming extravaganza of a world record number of original premieres, celebrated talent, holiday specials and more! Currently, the network is in production on its first original holiday movie, "The Christmas Song," starring Kristin Chenoweth, Scott Wolf and directed by Eric Close. The announcement was made today as part of Crown Media Family Networks' bi-annual Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour.

"More than 115 million viewers in the past two years have seen 'Countdown to Christmas' programming and many have made the event a tradition in their homes," said Michelle Vicary, Executive Vice President, Programming and Network Publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. "The 10th anniversary of 'Countdown to Christmas' will bring even more high-quality, holiday content and bring world renowned talent because while there are many imitators, there is still only one, the original and the best, 'Countdown to Christmas,'" Vicary concluded.

"Countdown to Christmas" 2018 ratings delivered historic numbers and Hallmark Channel continued its stake as the highest-rated and most-watched cable network for the entire fourth quarter among W18-49 and W25-54. In addition to crushing the cable competition, Hallmark Channel out-performed the broadcast networks on Saturday nights, delivering more HHs and W25-54 than ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX in the 8-10 p.m. time period throughout the nine-week "Countdown to Christmas" run. The network also beat all of cable and broadcast among W25-54 delivery every Saturday night in the same two-hour time slot for the entirety of fourth quarter.