Before we can look to the future, let’s look at where we are right now. As previously mentioned, Hallmark vacation films continue to be hugely successful, generate tremendous search interest, and are routinely the most-watched scripted program on which they air each night. All of this is true, even if the total viewership is only nominally the same.
Comparing the first 32 Hallmark films (including Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) of 2022 to the first 32 of 2021, ratings are down — on average — by 130,000. That’s not much considering the natural wear and tear of the cable and the dent GAF made (if any). That also doesn’t take into account that Hallmark struck an unprecedented deal with Peacock to make her films available on the streaming service for a limited time following her network debut. And don’t forget: Hallmark scored too Most viewed film since 2019 in Three Wise Men and a Baby — which is also the most-watched TV movie of 2022 across the cable network.
Now let’s look at the Great American Family.
Considering that no GAF film charted that year when the network was known as GAC is an improvement from 2021. However, Great American Family is far from overtaking or even tying Hallmark in ratings. It’s also hard to imagine what GAF could possibly do to improve their ratings. They’ve already poached the competition’s biggest star and it made no appreciable difference in Hallmark or GAF ratings.
To top Hallmark, GAF must first overtake Lifetime’s list of vacation movies, which regularly stars Mario Lopez and Melissa Joan Hart. That’s a far more achievable goal: Lifetime’s average holiday movie viewership in 2022 is 428,000, down from 603,000 in 2021. Still, GAF has to work hard to keep up with Lifetime, a network that’s been known for decades and is known as a cinema destination, even if it’s attracting fewer viewers this year.
Hallmark’s lead in ratings is so significant that it would probably take Hallmark a lot of fumbling for any other network to catch up. And given how ambitious Hallmark’s plan is for 2022, with films that differ more than ever in genre, storyline and tone, and cast, the future looks brighter and happier for the network. And as for GAF, they’ll have to work a lot harder — and probably wait a while longer — to become a holiday tradition like Hallmark.