Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment to License Hallmark Movies for Home Video

NEW YORK: A new deal with Crown Media Family Networks sees Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment taking on the exclusive DVD and digital-sell-thru distribution rights to a select collection of Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel original family programming for a three-year term.

Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment will have the exclusive rights to release a wide variety of original programming that includes Hallmark Channel original movies such as Trading Christmas, Fairfield Road and Duke. The two companies will work together to expand the brand through a variety of home-entertainment releases. The agreement is effective through 2015.

“The GVE and Crown Media partnership is an exciting step towards providing outstanding family programming and compelling original movies to audiences everywhere,” said Bill Sondheim, the president of Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. “This new deal reflects GVE’s strategic expansion into mainstream entertainment while allowing us to remain committed to our corporate goals of helping people live a more active and socially responsible lifestyle. And we look forward to leveraging the Hallmark Channel’s continued brand success and its well-known content leadership with our industry-leading media distribution platform to expand the awareness of Hallmark’s original programming brand and content over the course of the agreement.”
 
Chad Harris, the senior VP of business development at Crown Media Family Networks, commented, “Crown Media Family Networks and GVE share a commitment to high-quality family content. We look forward to working collaboratively with the GVE team on creative programs that will increase the awareness of our content and help to grow the Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel brands, which we believe will ultimately lead back to growing success for our linear channels.”