The channel has its origins in the religious broadcasters American Christian Television System (ACTS) and the Vision Interfaith Satellite Network (VISN).

The strategy sought to create synergies with Hallmark's core greeting card business, and build upon the strength of the "Countdown to Christmas" programming event it first introduced in 2009.

In addition, Roman Catholic, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Jewish, and Islamic faiths also provided some programming.

Both channels aired several hours a week of religious children's programs, some of which overlapped, including Sunshine Factory, Joy Junction, Davey and Goliath, and Jot.

In 1993, VISN-ACTS was relaunched as the Faith & Values Channel; it began adding a few secular programs during this time, including news, information, and lifestyle programming[7] In 1995, cable conglomerate Tele-Communications Inc.'s Liberty Media acquired a 49% ownership stake in the Faith & Values Channel, and took over operational control of the network.

Liberty had convinced Hallmark not to launch its own domestic channel, citing difficulty in getting carriage for a new network on existing cable systems.

While adding Henson's and Hallmark's libraries, the channel could not make major programming format changes, so cable systems could not drop them.

The channel began to focus more on family-targeted entertainment programming, including classic sitcoms and variety series (such as ALF and The Muppet Show), children's programs (such as The Archie Show, Fraggle Rock, and Zoobilee Zoo), and family-oriented films and miniseries (such as the cable broadcast premiere of Hallmark and Henson's 1996 adaptation of Gulliver's Travels).

[28] In January 2008, the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign purchased an hour of Hallmark Channel's primetime slots under a paid programming arrangement to run a town hall special promoting Clinton's campaign for President of the United States on February 4, the day before the multi-state "Super Tuesday" primaries.

[37] Crown Media and MSLO were also reportedly exploring the formation of a lifestyle cable network as a joint venture, tentatively named "Hallmark Home".

[35] In June 2010, the channel ordered several additional MSLO-produced series to accompany Martha, including Mad Hungry with Lucinda and Whatever with Alexis and Jennifer.

with Marie Osmond, as well as a slate of original movies that would include pilots for adaptations of the novels Cedar Cove and When Calls the Heart.

[42] In October 2012, ahead of the January 2013 premiere of its pilot movie, Cedar Cove was given a series order as Hallmark Channel's first original primetime program.

Thus in May 2016, Carey signed a three-film deal for her to develop, executive-produce, direct, co-star, and write an original song for three movies with one for "Countdown to Valentine's Day".

[53] At its March 2016 upfronts, Hallmark Channel executives revealed that they planned to divide their programming into themed seasons year-round, to build upon the success of Countdown to Christmas and other franchises.

In November 2017, the channel beat all four major broadcast networks in the ratings one night with its Hallmark Hall of Fame movie, The Christmas Train.

[57] In March 2019, Hallmark announced it had dropped Lori Loughlin from future company projects due to her role in the 2019 college admissions bribery scandal.

A main complainant was One Million Moms, a division of the socially conservative American Family Association, which has been described as an anti-LGBTQ hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

[61] On December 15, Hallmark reversed its decision and said it would reinstate the advertisements and work with GLAAD, an LGBTQ media monitoring organization, to create more inclusive programming.

[63][64] Abbott quietly and abruptly stepped down as president of Hallmark Channel in February 2020;[65] the following year, a group led by Abbott acquired the Southern lifestyle channel Great American Country (GAC) from Discovery, Inc. to relaunch it as a direct competitor to Hallmark, Great American Family.

[66][67] On October 31, 2022, Hallmark announced a distribution agreement with NBCUniversal, under which live and on-demand programming from its networks would be available to Peacock subscribers.

[40] Despite largely being an apolitical brand, Hallmark Channel has garnered a following among politically conservative viewers in suburban and rural areas who, according to Manhattan Institute for Policy Research's Steven Malanga in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, feel the network and its original programming feed their desire to "express traditional family values and also to steer away from political themes and stories that denigrate religion.

[75] The New Yorker felt that the often-formulaic structure of Hallmark's films contributed to their popularity, describing them as usually featuring "independent women with interesting jobs", "appealing romantic prospects", and often being set in towns where residents "care for one another, run viable small businesses, and compete in gingerbread bake-offs—America as we might wish it were, and as some believe it once was.

With the introduction of its "Countdown to Christmas" branding in 2009, the channel gradually expanded the number of seasonal programming events it holds.

Crown Media's then-CEO Bill Abbott explained that this strategy allowed the network to be positioned as "a year-round destination for celebrations", which need not depend on a single series or franchise to bolster its viewership.

[78][54][79] From the last weekend in October until January 1, Hallmark Channel runs an event known as the Countdown to Christmas, where the network's schedule is devoted to a mix of holiday movies, specials and holiday-themed original programming.

[79] The block is branded as Countdown to New Years from December 26 until January 1 and culminates with the channel's broadcast of the Tournament of Roses Parade.

[103] The Hallmark Channel has been criticized for editing its programming to remove what its Standards and Practices department considers offensive words.

[104][105] Blogger Donna Cavanagh criticized the channel's content policies in July 2011, describing them as "censorship at its worst", with removal of profanities or epithets such as "ass" and "hooker".

[110] On October 25, 2018, Corus Entertainment announced that W Network would become the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of Hallmark Channel original series and films beginning November 1.