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Crown Media Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWN), owner and operator of the Hallmark Channel, today reported that the Hallmark Channel's ratings and delivery continue to soar as the network achieved its best ever quarter in third quarter 2005 and its best ever September. Network officials attribute the stellar performance to the channel's aggressive slate of original movies and innovative scheduling tactics, leading it to rank #2 in A18-49 and #3 in A25-54 year-to-year Total Day growth among all non-news ad supported cable networks. Hallmark Channel continues to rank in the Top 10 in year-to-year household delivery growth in Total Day (#4) and Prime Time (#7), and also ranks #9 for Total Day in household ratings performance.
David Kenin, Hallmark Channel's EVP of Programming, stated: "Once again, Hallmark Channel has outperformed itself and set an even higher standard for the network moving forward. It has been a remarkable quarter, with each month delivering record rankings. Compared to previous summers, we premiered more original movies and we more aggressively counter-programmed. The success speaks for itself."
Third quarter 2005 versus third quarter 2004, Hallmark Channel delivered several all-time-high performances in Prime Time growth, including: 1.1 household rating, up +22%; 755,000 homes, up +41%; 306,000 A25-54, up +28%, and 217,000 A18-49, up +38%. The network's Q3 '05 Total Day growth (vs. Q3 '04) also experienced all-time highs, including: 498,000 homes, up +42%; 234,000 A25-54, up +41%, and 176,000 A18-49, up +53%.
In addition to its exceptional third quarter success, Hallmark Channel also experienced its best-ever September, and the eleventh consecutive month in the top 10 for Total Day household ratings. In Prime Time, the channel delivered a 1.0 household rating and 721,000 homes, up +25% and +41% year-to-year, respectively. Key demo delivery also increased year-to-year: 297,000 A25-54, up +22%, and 216,000 A18-49, up +24%. In Total Day, the channel delivered 482,000 homes, up+33% over September '04; 220,000 A25-54, up +26%, and 165,000 A18-49, up +30%.
Hallmark Channel continues to produce and air more original movies than any ad-supported cable network, with seven premieres in third quarter 2005 alone. The movies, "The Colt," "Back to You & Me," "McBride: Tune in For Murder," "Mystery Woman: Game Time," "McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty," "Supernova" and "Jules Verne's Mysterious Island" were very successful. The seven original movie premieres averaged a 1.5 household rating and delivered nearly 1.4 million viewers.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
About Crown Media Holdings
Crown Media Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWN) owns and operates cable television channels dedicated to high quality, broad appeal, entertainment programming. The Company currently operates and distributes Hallmark Channel in the U.S. to nearly 70 million subscribers. Through its subsidiary, Crown Media Distribution, LLC, Crown also distributes titles in the U.S. from its award-winning collection of movies, mini-series and films for exhibition in a variety of television media including broadcast, cable, video-on-demand and high definition television. Significant investors in Crown Media Holdings include: Hallmark Entertainment Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Incorporated, Liberty Media Corp., and J.P. Morgan Partners (BHCA), LP, each through their investments in Hallmark Entertainment Investments Co.; VISN Management Corp., a for-profit subsidiary of the National Interfaith Cable Coalition; and The DIRECTV Group, Inc.
