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The Hallmark Channel, known for its famous “Countdown to Christmas” rollout of dozens of films in November and December, released four new holiday movies during a “Christmas in July” stunt that saw more than 12.6 million viewers flock to the network outside of its high season.
Hallmark put out four new Christmas movies this month, one each Saturday, and a docuseries called "Christmas at Sea" following the channel's superfans on a Christmas-themed cruise that took place last November.
The "Christmas in July" event, which Hallmark first launched in 2012, made the network the most-watched entertainment cable network on weekends all month long, according to Nielsen data.
The programming drew 12.6 million unduplicated total viewers, about one-third as many as watched Hallmark Channel's Countdown to Christmas and Hallmark Mystery's Miracles of Christmas last season.
The original movies—"Unwrapping Christmas: Tina's Miracle," "Unwrapping Christmas: Mia's Prince," "Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny" and "Unwrapping Christmas: Olivia's Reunion”—each ranked as the No. 1 most-watched entertainment cable program on their release dates.
The four-episode “Christmas at Sea” docuseries was the No. 2 most-watched entertainment cable program by women in its time period (Mondays at 8 p.m.).
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The Hallmark Channel is regularly the most-watched entertainment network of the year among women over 18 thanks to its extensive holiday movie lineup and other original programing. Last season, Hallmark released 32 original holiday films including "Chiefs Love Story," inspired by the real-life romance of pop star Taylor Swift and NFL tight end Travis Kelce, and featuring cameos from Donna Kelce, Travis Kelce's mom, and Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid. The holiday movie season drew 36 million unduplicated total viewers to the Hallmark and Hallmark Mystery channels last year and produced the top three most-watched cable movies of the year in total viewers: "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story," "Three Wiser Men and a Boy" and "Santa Tell Me."