Hallmark’s Christmas Movies Are Already Among Cable’s Most-Watched Programs

Topline

A new original Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel last week broke into the top 100 cable broadcasts for the first time this season, beating everything on CNN and all but one show on MSNBC, a sign the network’s annual holiday dominance is already on the way.

Janel Parrish and Parker Young in “Christmas on Duty.”

Hallmark Channel

Key Facts

“Christmas on Duty,” which premiered Saturday, was watched live by 1.34 million people, making it the 97th most-watched cable program in the week of Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, Nielsen data shows.

The movie was watched more than any program on CNN, everything except one episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show” on MSNBC and several live sporting events, including the South Carolina-Ole Miss football game and an NBA game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics.

“A Newport Christmas,” which debuted Sunday, was the 124th most-watched cable program of the week with 1.08 million live viewers.

The Hallmark Channel was the fourth most-watched cable channel in primetime last week, averaging 536,000 viewers between 8 and 11 p.m. to beat CNN (443,00 viewers on average), Home and Garden TV (427,000), TLC (410,000) and the Food Network (363,000).

Hallmark rose from the fifth most-watched channel in the week before and the ninth in the week of Oct. 13 to Oct. 19, when the first new holiday movie of the season debuted.

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Key Background

The Hallmark Channel started rolling out its lineup of new holiday content in mid October and has already premiered five original movies, two new series and a second season of the “Finding Mr. Christmas” reality show. At least two new original movies will debut every weekend until Christmas, with the season finales of original shows “Mistletoe Murders,” “Finding Mr. Christmas,” “Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas” and “Baked with Love: Holiday,” airing between Nov. 21 and Dec. 19.

Big Number

24. That’s how many new Hallmark original movies will be released this season.

What Are The Most Anticipated Hallmark Christmas Movies This Year?

“The Wisest Men,” the third installment in the series that started with “Three Wise Men and a Baby” in 2022, will debut at 8 p.m. EST Saturday, Nov. 15. The first film in the series was the most-watched original TV movie of 2022 and the second, “Three Wiser Men and a Boy” was one of two Hallmark originals last year to break into the top 40 cable programs following its debut. “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” is expected to draw a crowd after the success of “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” last year. The 2024 film capitalized on the buzz around real-life lovers Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, and included cameos from Kelce’s mom Donna and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Though Hallmark hasn’t said it, “A Bills Love Story” is suspected to have been inspired by quarterback Josh Allen and actress Hailee Steinfeld, who got married earlier this year. The movie will feature cameos from players Damar Hamlin, Dion Dawkins and Ray Davis, among others.