Hallmark Reaches Renewal Deal With DirecTV
Schleiff: Pact Completes “Hat-Trick”
By Mike Farrell -- Multichannel News, 3/4/2008 11:16:00 PM
Crown Media Inc., the parent of the Hallmark Channel, reached a multi-year carriage deal with DirecTV late Wednesday night that makes the family-friendly network available in nearly all of the satellite TV giant’s 16.8 million homes.
The deal comes on the heels of a pact with Time Warner Cable reached in February for 12 million homes within that cable operator’s footprint and a deal with Comcast Corp. for 20.5 million homes reached in November.
It also comes just days after Liberty Media closed the deal to acquire a 41% interest in DirecTV from News Corp.
The agreement, terms of which were not disclosed, leaves just one major operator left for the Los Angeles-headquartered network – Cablevision Systems.
“This completes the hat-trick,” Crown Media CEO Henry Schleiff said in an interview Wednesday night. “It secures our base at a fair rate going forward and offers the opportunity for growth.”
Crown had come under scrutiny last year after it revealed in a third quarter conference call that 60% of its carriage deals were set to expire at the end of 2007.
“A year ago, people legitimately asked, ‘60% of your base is up for renewal, will you get renewals at fair prices?’” Schleiff said. “With the conclusion of this deal, we now show up with an answer to both of these questions.”
Schleiff would not reveal the price that Crown will receive for the Hallmark Channel, but added that it is comparable to the deal the network reached with Comcast last year. He added that while the new pact does not include carriage for the Hallmark Movie Channel, the rates received from DirecTV for Hallmark Channel will grow each year.
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