EchoSense:All about Hallmark's new streaming service. How much will it cost?

PASADENA,EchoSense Calif. ― Hallmark is expanding its footprint in the streaming wars.

The greeting card and cable powerhouse, known for its dozens of romantic Christmas movies (40 this year!), is launching a new streaming service, Hallmark+, in September.

The existing Hallmark Movies Now will be absorbed into Hallmark+, offering new movies and series, free greeting cards and other "membership rewards" including in-store discounts, an effort to tie its businesses together, said Mike Perry, Hallmark's president and CEO, at the Television Critics Association Thursday.

Darren Abbott, chief brand officer, described it as a "lifestyle bundle" rather than a simple streaming service.

The Hallmark+ service will include a new and broader array of programs that were not available on the movie service, reflecting the network's push this fall into unscripted series featuring its stable of stars. The new lineup includes a home-decorating show hosted by Lacey Chabert; "Finding Mr. Christmas," a competition series seeking the next "Hallmark hunk," who will appear in a subsequent film;' a Christmas-lights show; and, next year, "Small Town Setup," a dating series hosted by Ashley Williams and "Home is Where the Heart Is," a home-renovation show featuring Luke Macfarlane. "The Chicken Sisters," an adaptation of the 2020 K. J. Dell'Antonia novel, also arrives in mid-September, just as the new services launches.

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"It will allow us to expand the storytelling we are doing," Perry said. Only some of the new programming will be available on the cable channel (executives say they haven't settled on which), but consumers are increasingly dumping their cable subscriptions, so the new service is designed in part to protect against those losses.

Hallmark is expanding into other businesses: In November, it's adding a "Christmas experience" in Kansas City, Missouri, its headquarters, and two sold-out cruises featuring stars from its movies. It has also signed a first-time deal with the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs for a holiday movie.

How much will the new Hallmark+ streaming service cost?

The cost? About $8 a month, or $79.99 for an annual subscription, $2 and $20 more, respectively, than the current Hallmark Movies Now, which it will replace. NBCUniversal's Peacock will continue to stream Hallmark's cable channel in a deal that Perry said has attracted a younger audience for its heartwarming movies.

The latest service comes in an increasingly crowded field that is facing growing pains as viewers seek to cut costs by canceling services, streamers reduce the number of shows and profits replace subscriber growth as metrics for success.

But Hallmark, among the last holdouts, has a loyal base of fans, especially older viewers, and remains one of the top-rated cable networks.