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American cable television network From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hallmark Mystery (formerly known as Hallmark Movie Channel (HMC) and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (HMM)) is an American digital cable and satellite television channel owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel was spun off from sister network Hallmark Channel, and airs family-oriented feature and television films along with a limited number of murder- and mystery-themed television series.
| |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Nationwide |
| Headquarters | Studio City, Los Angeles, California |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format |
|
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Hallmark Media |
| Sister channels | Hallmark Channel Hallmark Family |
| History | |
| Launched | January 20, 2004 |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | www |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Service(s) | Frndly TV, fuboTV, Philo, Sling TV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV |
As of February 2015, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is available to approximately 55,827,000 pay television households (48% of households with television) in the United States.[1]
The Hallmark Movie Channel was launched in January 2004 as an outlet for additional movies and series available to the Hallmark Channel (HC) that the station did not have the airtime to run. Two series were initially picked up, with Magnum, P.I. available at launch and Diagnosis Murder available in January 2005.[2] Crown Media shifted showing their Mystery Movie film series in 2008 from Hallmark Channel to this channel as they were having more success with lighter romances.[3][4] On April 2, 2008, the channel was switched over to HD format.[5]
AT&T U-verse dropped Hallmark Channel and sister channel Hallmark Movie Channel on September 1, 2010, due to a carriage dispute.[6] As of July 23, 2015, both channels have returned to U-verse.[7] In July 2012 during a retransmission consent dispute with Hearst Television, the network was slotted by Time Warner Cable in place of Hearst's broadcast television stations as a 'free preview' and make-good for viewers until the dispute was settled.[8]
On March 14, 2014, Crown Media Holdings announced that Hallmark Movie Channel would be rebranded as Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in October 2014.[9] In rebranding, the company was trying to differentiate between the two channels, which feature different programming. With the new name, Hallmark reestablished a mystery wheel series under the name "Original Mystery Wheel" in 2015,[9] having previously had one on the Hallmark Channel from 2004 to 2008.[3][10]
After running several repeats of the Jesse Stone films in 2015, the channel agreed to pick up the next two films in the series from Sony Pictures Television.[11] On Monday, November 11, 2015, Hallmark Movie Channel started its first "The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas" seasonal programming.[12]
On July 28, 2017, it was reported that Crown Media would add a brand new cable network titled Hallmark Drama (now Hallmark Family), which launched on October 1, 2017, and a subscription video on demand streaming service titled Hallmark Movies Now on October 3 of the same year.[13][14]
Two new development deals along with new installments of existing movie series were announced by the channel. Al Roker signed a deal for his The Midnight Show Murders: A Billy Blessing Novel and Scandal inspiration Judy Smith, a crisis communications specialist, made a deal for the movie The Adjuster.[15] Although The Adjuster never made it into production, in 2021, Smith was developing a new film titled Redemption in Cherry Springs.[16]
On February 6, 2024, Hallmark Media announced Hallmark Movies & Mysteries would be renamed Hallmark Mystery on March 6, 2024.[17]
The channel features mystery, western, and family-friendly movies and mini-series mainly from the Hallmark Channel library, notably original films that had once premiered on Hallmark Channel at an earlier date. The channel also has featured a small number of films from Hallmark Hall of Fame, Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. It also broadcasts the McBride, Murder 101, Jane Doe, and Mystery Woman film series, as well as later Perry Mason and Matlock made-for-TV movies produced after the end of those series.
The first original movie to premiere on the channel was Son of the Dragon on April 2, 2008, this was followed by a continuous stream of original movie premieres.[18] In July 2010, the channel began airing scripted television series to its schedule. Currently, these syndicated series mostly include mystery series and Hallmark Channel original series.
As a companion to Hallmark Channel's "Countdown to Christmas" event, the network also airs a large number of Christmas-themed films during the later months of the year, branded as "Miracles of Christmas".[19]
In March 2009, the network announced that it was partnering with the NYU Tisch School of the Arts’ Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and TV to showcase short films by the school's students and alumni. The shorts began airing in October, and were also available for viewing online at the network's website hallmarkmoviechannel.com. Alec Baldwin is a Tisch alum who served as one of the judges to determine which films would appear on the network.[50][51]
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