Comcast On Demand Gets Hallmark Fare

Hallmark Channel announced a spate of deals Tuesday.

The network will provide content from its library to Comcast Corp. for its Comcast On Demand video-on-demand service starting early next year.

“As VOD usage continues to grow, this is an added-value way for Comcast customers to sample and revisit award-winning classics like Lonesome Dove and other popular titles from the Crown Media [Holdings Inc.] library,” Crown Media and Hallmark executive vice president and chief operating officer Paul FitzPatrick said in a prepared statement.

Hallmark is also now available to JetBlue Airways passengers as part of the airline’s expanded DirecTV Inc.in-flight-programming lineup.

On the sponsorship front, Kraft Foods Inc. will be the exclusive sponsor of holiday movie A Carol Christmas, which will air on Hallmark Sunday, Dec. 5 at 9 p.m. (EST/PST).

The agreement includes a reduced commercial load of four minutes per hour, with Kraft products exclusively featured during breaks. The network has also created custom holiday-themed Kraft interstitials.

And the network will launch a national integrated marketing campaign to support its three “Mystery Movie” franchises, which will debut in January.

The campaign will support 12 “Original Mystery Movies,” with four movies for each franchise, beginning Sunday, Jan. 9, and airing every Sunday thereafter.

Hallmark’s campaign includes a sweepstakes that focuses on the first four Hallmark Channel Mystery Movie premieres.

Advertising partners Masterfoods USA and ConAgra Foods Inc. will sponsor the network’s Halloween promotion and sweepstakes.

Highlights of Hallmark’s Halloween-themed month of programming include Adams Family Values, an encore presentation of original miniseries Frankenstein, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, The Canterville Ghost and Alice in Wonderland.

Finally, Hallmark will bring back its “The Hollywood Holiday Sweepstakes” for the third consecutive year.

Holiday movies highlighted during the promotion include Love’s Enduring Promise, A Boyfriend for Christmas, Unlikely Angel, Single Santa Seeks…Mrs. Claus and Angel in the Family.

Hallmark has more than 64 million subscribers.