Why this matters: Big news: GAC Family (formerly Great American Country) is the latest entrant in the annual holiday TV wars. They will air 13+ original holiday movies while bringing out the big guns with Becky Tanner Lori Loughlin. She will make her post-prison debut in “When Hope Calls.”
Why this matters: Holiday movies have value beyond keeping Granny Screens occupied for most of the year. They drive outsized viewership with little cost compared to other scripted programming.
Flashback: The Holiday TV Wars
Hallmark Christmas movies per year (YoY change):
1) 2009 – 8
2) 2010 – 12 (↑ 50%)
3) 2011 – 12 (↑ 0%)
4) 2012 – 12 (↑ 0%)
5) 2013 – 12 (↑ 0%)
6) 2014 – 18 (↑ 50%)
7) 2015 – 21 (↑ 17%)
8) 2016 – 28 (↑ 33%)
9) 2017 – 34 (↑ 21%)
10) 2018 – 37 (↑ 9%)
11) 2019 – 40 (↑ 8%)
12) 2020 – 40 (↑ 0%)
13) 2021 – 40 (↑ 0%)
Netflix Christmas movies per year (YoY change):
1) 2014 – 1
2) 2015 – 1 (↑ 0%)
3) 2016 – 2 (↑ 100%)
4) 2017 – 5 (↑ 150%)
5) 2018 – 10 (↑ 100%)
6) 2019 – 10 (↑ 0%)
7) 2020 – 23 (↑ 130%)
8) 2021 – 13 (↓ 43%)
Video: Could You Survive Home Alone?
More #1: Hallmark’s Christmas Movie Battle With Upstart Channel Means Double the Holiday Sap
More #2: Holiday Movie Ad Wars Get More Competitive
More #3: We tried teaching an AI to write Christmas movie plots. Hilarity ensued. Eventually.
