Hallmark Channels Dropped from U-Verse

DALLAS/STUDIO CITY: Unable to come to terms on a carriage renewal, AT&T U-verse has dropped Crown Media’s Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel from its lineup.

In the place of the two channels, U-verse is offering Turner Classic Movies and a free preview of Starz Kids & Family.

“We are very disappointed that Hallmark has refused to provide AT&T and its customers with a fair deal—one that is no worse than similarly-sized and smaller providers—and refused to adhere to key obligations under our current deal," the platform said. "We offered to extend the current deal while talks continued, and Hallmark rejected that offer. Hallmark has forced us into a position where we no longer have the rights to carry the Hallmark channels as of 12:01 EDT. We don’t want customers to lose their programming, but we believe strongly that our customers should not have to pay more than their fair share for Hallmark’s channels, which is exactly what Hallmark is demanding.”

Crown Media says it is willing to resume talks "as long as they are fair and in good faith." Bill Abbott, the president and CEO of Hallmark Channels, noted, “I was stunned by the apparent disregard for the facts in AT&T’s recent statement regarding our negotiations.  However, if they are really serious, my team and I are ready for truly fair negotiations."

Hallmark Channel is gearing up to launch season six of The Martha Stewart Show, which is moving to cable from the daytime syndication market.