FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 10, 2013 Contact: Katherine Wong, 212-445-6683 [email protected] CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS IS DECKING THE HALLS THIS JULY WITH TWO WEEK-LONG SUMMERTIME CHRISTMAS PROGRAMMING INITIATIVES Hallmark Channel’s “Keepsake Christmas Week” and Hallmark Movie Channel’s “Gold Crown Week” Kick off July 8 “Keepsake Christmas Week” to Feature #Keepsake40, a 360 Multiplatform Experience; “Gold Crown Week” to Include Social Extension Crown Media Family Networks is once again getting into the Christmas spirit early with a return of Hallmark Channel’s popular summer-time holiday movie extravaganza, “Keepsake Christmas Week”. The network supersized this year’s campaign from a weekend to 7 full days of some of the network’s most popular holiday titles from its popular “Countdown to Christmas” programming initiative. Further fortifying its stronghold as the leader in holiday programming, Crown Media is launching sister network Hallmark Movie Channel’s own summertime Christmas movie marathon with the network’s inaugural “Gold Crown Week”. Featuring nearly 70 hours of seasonal fare, including timeless classics from the award-winning Hallmark Hall of Fame library and an array of fan favorites from Hallmark Channel, “Gold Crown Week” will give viewers an advance look at Hallmark Movie Channel’s new holiday programming initiative, “The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas”, launching this November as a companion franchise to Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas”. “Keepsake Christmas Week” and “Gold Crown Week” are being launched in conjunction with parent company Hallmark Cards’ Inc. annual Keepsake Ornament Premiere Event, the official debut of this year’s additions to the beloved collection of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments in Hallmark Gold Crown stores on July 13th. “Back by popular demand, our summertime Christmas movie marathons are a great vehicle for us to further drive awareness of our holiday programming and keep our viewers, who love all things Christmas, in the seasonal spirit year-round,” said Bill Abbott, president and CEO, Crown Media Family Networks. “This year we are especially excited to launch Hallmark Movie Channel’s ‘Gold Crown Week’, a great introduction to the network’s distinct new seasonal programming franchise, ‘The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas,’ which will have its own unique approach to the holidays, while also serving as a complement to Hallmark Channel’s ever-popular ‘Countdown to Christmas’”. In a natural synergy, Hallmark Channel will collaborate with Hallmark to announce Hallmark Channel’s “Keepsake Christmas Week” and celebrate the 40th anniversary of Keepsake Ornaments through #Keepsake40, a 360-degree interactive multiplatform campaign. Beginning Monday, June 24, Hallmark Channel will solicit photos & stories from consumers about their favorite Keepsake Ornaments via Facebook and on-air keyables, including the hashtag #Keepsake40. The user-generated images will be uploaded to Facebook and promoted via Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram. One winning entry will be chosen at random for every movie airing during the weekend of July 12-14. The winner, and accompanying winning image, will be named on-air in a lower third banner and awarded with a new Keepsake Ornament, North Pole Countdown. Hallmark will share the news of the #Keepsake40 campaign through social media and digital efforts, including Facebook, Twitter, Hallmark.com, and consumer email. Programming for “Keepsake Christmas Week” includes Hallmark Channel original holidays favorites such as “The Case for Christmas”, “Hitched for the Holidays”, “The Christmas Card”, “Matchmaker Santa”, “A Holiday Engagement”, and “A Princess for Christmas”. Additionally, in anticipation of the July 20 debut of Hallmark Channel’s first ever primetime series, “Cedar Cove”, based on a book series by best-selling author Debbie Maccomber, “Keepsake Christmas Week” will feature several original Hallmark Channel Christmas movies based on other books by the author, including “Debbie Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle”, “Debbie Macomber’s Call Me Mrs. Miracle”, and “Debbie Macomber’s Trading Christmas.” Hallmark Movie Channel’s “Gold Crown Week” will include a social extension on the network’s Facebook page, featuring iconic imagery from viewers’ favorite holiday films, embedded with hidden Gold Crowns and unique trivia. Viewers will be prompted to locate these crowns and answer trivia questions to receive gift cards to Hallmark Gold Crown Stores. This “Gold Crown Week” is a precursor to Hallmark Movie Channel’s “Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas”, anchored by its first-ever original holiday movie premiere, “Christmas with Tucker”, starring James Brolin and Josie Bissett, and will also feature five newly licensed holiday classics, including “Holiday Affair”, “It Happened on 5th Avenue”, “Christmas in Connecticut”, “The Bishop’s Wife”, and “Babes in Toyland”. ABOUT CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS Crown Media Family Networks is the umbrella unit of Crown Media Holdings, Inc., which houses Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel. The company operates and distributes both channels in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) with Hallmark Channel available to 87 million subscribers in the U.S. and Hallmark Movie Channel in over 50 million homes. 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, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Frasier. Hallmark Channel is home to a range of lifestyle programming, anchored by Home & Family, a daily two-hour live show shot in a fully functional house located on the Universal Studios California lot. Hallmark Movie Channel is one of America’s fastest-growing cable networks and provides family-friendly movies with a mix of original films, classic theatrical releases, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library. In addition, Crown Media Family Networks includes the online offerings of HallmarkChannel.com and HallmarkMovieChannel.com. For more information, please visit www.crownmediapress.com Hallmark Channel on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter (Join the conversation at #HeartofTV), Pinterest, GetGlue, YouTube Hallmark Movie Channel on Social Media: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest ###.