Layer3 TV Adds Hallmark Networks

Layer3 TV, the Denver-based next-gen cable operator, said it has expanded its “allHD” package with the launch of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

Financial terms were not announced, but Layer3 TV said both channels – from Crown Media Family Networks – are now available on its mostly widely-distributed package, called Platinum.  Its allHD lineup features more than 250 channels and includes the HD feed of all channels that offer one.

Layer3 TV said it’s also adding those channels amid Hallmark Channel’s annual “Countdown to Valentine’s Day” programming tilt, which features five new original love-themed movies, and started on Jan. 29 with the premiere of Love Locks, starring Jerry O’Connell and Rebecca Romjin.

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Layer3 TV currently offers service in the Washington, D.C., metro and in the Chicagoland markets. It’s expected to launch in Denver next. According to The Denver Post, Layer3 TV was anticipating a service launch in its home market by mid-January, but that timing appears to have slipped. At last check, Layer3 TV’s Web site notes that the company plans to bow services in the Mile High City “soon,” but does not cite a specific date.

Layer3 TV is an IP-delivered video service, but does not consider itself an “over-the-top” offering in part because its video signals do not traverse the public Internet from their origination point to the local market. But, unlike a traditional cable operator, Layer3 TV doesn’t own and operate the local-access network.

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 “We are thrilled to bring our customers Crown Media’s two distinct networks, which provide top quality family entertainment for everyone in the household,” said Lindsay Gardner, Layer3 TV’s chief content officer, in a statement. “Layer3 TV is dedicated to bringing customers a premium service and will always be adding content, features and experiences to achieve that end.”