[4] From 1987 to 1992, Hallmark was involved in ownership of the Spanish language Univision broadcast network, along with their owned-and-operated stations.
The division's CEO James Hoak—a cable television executive who was formerly chairman of Heritage Communications—held a 2% minority stake in the company.
[6] With a planned move of Cencom's headquarters to Dallas in January 1993, its top executives left to form Charter Communications.
After re-evaluating the business, Hallmark pulled out of cablesystem ownership, and sold its holdings—which served over 800,000 customers—to Charter Communications and Marcus Cable for $900 million.
[5][6] After partnering on the 1996 miniseries Gulliver's Travels, Hallmark Entertainment began a joint venture with The Jim Henson Company to launch Kermit Channel—a chain of family-oriented pay television channels in Asia that would be devoted to carrying the libraries of Jim Henson (including the Muppets franchise) and Hallmark Entertainment, as well as preschool programming provided by Children's Television Workshop.
[6] A digital media subsidiary, Crown Interactive, was established in 2001, which attempted to launch a video on-demand platform in Singapore.
[6] After reaching agreements to distribute a religious digital cable network, among other concessions, Odyssey was relaunched by Crown Media as the Hallmark Channel in August 2001, with plans for expansions to original programming.
While minority investors, Liberty Media International Inc. and JPMorgan Chase, might have sold, company management move to clean up the balance sheet and acquire new programming.
In June 2006, David Evans resigned as CEO then joined RHI as head of global new-media operations and channel.
[28] Crown Media had placed an animated series based on Hallmark's e-card characters Hoops and Yoyo into development in March 2010.
[29] Classic Media took charged of worldwide distribution of the Hoops & Yoyo Ruin Christmas holiday special which is pick up by CBS for a November 2011 debut.
[2] On March 9, 2016, Hallmark Cards announced it was buying the remaining less than 10% of Crown Media Holdings traded publicly and taking the company private.
Hallmark did so via Delaware's short form merger, which allows a parent company owning over 90% to bypass the subsidiary's board of directors and shareholders in approving the purchase/merger.
NBC Universal agreed to purchased Sparrowhawk Media, international operator of Hallmark Channel, in August 2007.
[39] On March 14, 2019, Crown Media announced that it was cutting ties with popular Hallmark Channel actress Lori Loughlin, following her arrest as part of a high-profile federal sting operation relating to college admissions irregularities.
Its first two released, Eat Drink Man Woman and David Mamet's Oleanna, were in the week of June 30.
[51] Hallmark Home meanwhile completed its purchase of Cabin Fever Entertainment, distributor of RHI films, in March 1998 from UST, Inc., former US Tobacco.
[53][54][55] The publishing division began releasing ebooks on October 17, 2017, beginning with their telefilm adaptation Journey Back to Christmas.
[54] On July 26, 2018, at the bi-annual Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, Crown Media announced its first set of original novels.
In 2019 and 2020, two Hallmark Publishing titles—Wrapped Up in Christmas by Janice Lynn,[62] and Country Hearts by Cindi Madsen[63]—hit the USA Today bestseller list.
[7][65] Richard Welsh Company was retained to assist Signboard Hill in developing projects as it had since 1982 for the Hall of Fame.
[7] With RHI, Signboard co-produced Blind Spot, the 177th Hall of Fame presentation starring Joanne Woodward, to have been shown in 1993.