Hallmark Launches New Movie Channel

Weeks after rebranding two of its existing cable channels, Hallmark Media announced on May 1, 2024, that it’s launching another. According to MediaVillage, the company has unveiled Hallmark en Español, a new channel designed for Spanish-speaking fans of Hallmark’s feel-good TV movies and series.

Here’s what you need to know:

Hallmark en Español Will Begin With 130 Movies & ‘When Calls The Heart’ Episodes

Heavy/Hallmark Heavy/HallmarkAlexa PenaVega, Juan Pablo Di Pace and the new Hallmark en Español logo

The launch of Hallmark en Español marks a major expansion of a concept Hallmark Media has tested over the last two years, hoping to connect more deeply with its Hispanic and Latino fans. In November 2022, Hallmark partnered with Canela Media to distribute select movies on its Spanish-language, video-on-demand service, CANELA.TV, according to NextTV.

The initial Hallmark movies that were dubbed in Spanish and distributed to viewers in the United States, Mexico, and Colombia, per NextTV, included “Christmas Made to Order (Navidad a la Medida),” “Open by Christmas (La Tarjeta de Navidad)” and “Jingle Bell Bride (La Novia de Navidad).”

Expanding on the success of that partnership, Hallmark en Español will feature over 130 original Hallmark movies and the first six seasons of “When Calls The Heart,” all dubbed in Spanish, according to Advanced Television.

Lauri McGarrigan, Hallmark Media’s SVP of Streaming Distribution, Business Development and Operations, said in a statement, “The success of our first distribution deal of Hallmark movies in Spanish a couple years ago proves there’s tremendous appetite for Hallmark’s content in Spanish.”

According to Media Village, many of the 130-plus movies on Hallmark en Español will include “Hispanic-led talent” such as Cuban actor William Levy in “South Beach Love,” Puerto Rican actress Rosalyn Sanchez in “A Taste of Summer,” Argentine actor Juan Pablo Di Pace in “Raise a Glass to Love,” and Hispanic couple Carlos PenaVega (“Love at Sea”) and Alexa PenaVega (“Taking a Shot at Love”).

Hallmark’s new channel will continue to be available through CANELA.TV, but Media Village said the it will also be distributed on HITN, which is available through “all major cable and satellite operators,” per its website. Hallmark en Español will also be available on streaming platforms EstrellaTV, Plex, PlutoTV, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi, and Xumo Play.

Hallmark began selling Spanish-language greeting cards in the 1980s and, in 2016, launched a successful card and product line called Hallmark VIDA for “consumers from the broad range of Hispanic cultures represented in the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Latin America.” The company says its top five markets for Spanish cards are Puerto Rico, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

Hallmark en Español Announcement Comes After Hallmark’s Rebranding of 2 Other Channels

Getty GettyHallmark Mystery panel at 2024 TCA Winter Press Tour featuring (L-R back row) Hallmark exec Elizabeth Yost, Paul Campbell, Aimee Garcia, Danny Griffin, Ali Skovbye, ((L-R) front row) Victor Webster, Alison Sweeney, Luke Macfarlane, and Lyndie Greenwood on February 6, 2024 in Pasadena, CA

Hallmark’s new Spanish-language channel comes on the heels of the company’s rebrand of two other cable channels.

During Hallmark Media’s presentation to the Television Critics’ Association on February 6, per CableFax, executives announced that Hallmark Drama would become Hallmark Family on February 28 and that Hallmark Movies & Mysteries would be revamped and renamed Hallmark Mystery on March 6.

While Hallmark Channel remains home to rom-coms, series like WCTH and “The Way Home,” and Christmas movies from October through December, the old Hallmark Movies & Mysteries featured a blend of original dramatic movies and Hallmark’s popular mystery franchises.

Hallmark programming EVP Lisa Hamilton Daly told Multichannel News (MCN) that rebranding felt necessary to give passionate “sleuthers” their own channel, and to seriously commit to producing more of the crime-solving programming they love.

“We saw so much more fan sentiment around our mysteries,” Hamilton Daly said. “The rebranding of the channel is just calling attention to that focus.”

Hallmark Family, meanwhile, was revamped to focus on “wholesome family stories,” she said. In addition to airing classic Hallmark movies, its daytime programming includes “The Waltons,” “Little House on the Prairie,” and “Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.”