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THE SECRET TO HALLMARK'S BILLION-MINUTE FANDOM · The Media Odyssey

• Evan Shapiro: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Media Odyssey podcast. That is Marion Ranchet. Marion Ranchet: And that is Evan Shapiro. Evan Shapiro: And the head of distribution for Hallmark Media, John [00:00:15] Sichel[00:00:30] Marion Ranchet: Dude, what's going on with your voice? Evan Shapiro: I was Marion, you know this, right? I was DJing until about 1:00 AM Marion Ranchet: Okay, so I get to do all [00:00:45] of the talking. Evan Shapiro: The talking, for once. Marion Ranchet: Ooh. For once. What a good change. I'm gonna have so much fun with this. Okay I need to know a bit more about Hallmark, 'cause I'm a French, I'm based here, but you do [00:01:00] amazing stuff. I think it's, undervalued. So today what we wanna do is showcase the masterclass that is what you guys have been doing for 100 years. It, I've heard that you're turning 25 as a Hallmark Channel. So [00:01:15] without further ado, we're gonna run a quick clip for you guys, and then we're gonna dig into the flywheel that is Hallmark Channel. Video: Follow your heart to Hallmark+. "Aren't you gonna kiss me cowboy?" Get exclusive new original [00:01:30] series you can't see anywhere else. "I'm looking to build something that lasts." "So am I." And all new fan favorite live channels. "That's great!" Stream new Hallmark Channel series and movies the next day. "I'm in." Plus, enjoy exclusive rewards, coupons, and new [00:01:45] benefits like Hallmark Star eCards. "So happy birthday." "This is gonna be unforgettable." Start your free trial at hallmarkplus.com. Marion Ranchet: Amazing. People love you so much. Jon Sichel: I love it. Thanks. Marion Ranchet: So [00:02:00] tell us about the genesis of Hallmark. Take us quickly to 100 years ago and tell us how you got here today being so loved. Evan Shapiro: 100 years in one minute. Jon Sichel: 116 years to be exact. Evan Shapiro: You look great. [00:02:15] Jon Sichel: thank you. It's moisturizer. I have a good brand. It's so great to be here. Thank you all for coming today, and I sit so humbly to be a steward of this 100-plus [00:02:30] year legacy that was started in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1910. A man named JC Hall came from Nebraska and was told that the [00:02:45] intersection of America at the time was in Kansas City, Missouri. Started with selling postcards at a YMCA and built a legacy that has lasted and endured with our [00:03:00] fans of every type. Of course, started as a greeting card company. JC founded wrapping paper, a little-known trivial fact. We started in television actually in 1951. [00:03:15] For those who may not know, we have one of the longest primetime series in the US called the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which premiered on the weekends every week with the [00:03:30] biggest stars in Hollywood. Evan Shapiro: Yeah, I grew up watching Hallmark Hall of Fame. It was, we all sat down together back when my family was together and watched every Sunday, as it was for a very long time, and then you took that brand [00:03:45] back and started a media company, that has its own channel, a top three channel, pretty much consistently all year round in the US, Hallmark Channel. Jon Sichel: Yeah. We're actually number one in women on [00:04:00] weekends over sports and news during the holiday, which we are well known for. We stick to our brand. We know what we're about, which is bringing positivity, human connection, in a world [00:04:15] that right now needs it. You know what you're getting with Hallmark. We make 100 movies a year. Evan Shapiro: You make 100 movies a year? Jon Sichel: Make 100 movies, give or take. About 40 [00:04:30] of those are holiday. We shoot in two to three weeks a movie. We have a real formula. We shoot around the world, in Bulgaria, [00:04:45] Ireland, Australia, you name it, and Canada. Marion Ranchet: So how you, from retail to a TV channel producing content, we saw that you're actually also on YouTube now. Can you tell us a [00:05:00] bit more about that? Why, did you make that extra move? Jon Sichel: Yeah... Marion Ranchet: Into that space? Jon Sichel: I think YouTube is a great example of how we've taken a retail brand and built a studio that we've been copied, [00:05:15] and seen with other big retail brands. We launched Hallmark Movies in 2025, October 2025 on YouTube, and it has seen 84 million views [00:05:30] since then. Evan Shapiro: Wow. We have about 2.6 billion minutes, of viewing time. Wherever our audience is, we will find them on every platform, and [00:05:45] YouTube has been a great example of finding them, finding our audiences. Evan Shapiro: And we, worked a bit together on on that strategy. Jon Sichel: We did. Evan Shapiro: Yeah, and one of the things that we're...I think was most [00:06:00] interesting to me was there's a television audience, but we discovered that there was a complete, there was a fandom for Hallmark Movies not on TV that wanted to, it was a pent-up demand. 'Cause this is, I hope you're okay with me saying this, but Hallmark Movies, as you [00:06:15] saw, Hallmark especially holiday movies, is a bit of a cult. People are really rabid in their fandom. Giving them access to it on YouTube, and you're working with Merzigo on that to a certain extent. Jon Sichel: We are. Yep. Evan Shapiro: Has really found a whole new audience, a younger [00:06:30] audience, to a certain extent, than you're finding on television. Has that been your experience? Jon Sichel: It's absolutely been our experience. You think of our typical Hallmark viewer as somebody who's in their home, cozy by a fire. We have [00:06:45] attracted, with our YouTube audience and other places, a tremendous fandom. One thing I will say is we have an enduring fandom in this world of contraction, [00:07:00] merger, changes in our media ecosystem. Our fans stay with us on YouTube, and certainly our partnership with Merzigo has showed that. But we've also built a flywheel, which is an [00:07:15] often used word in other ways. We have a cruise, that we run every year. We've had two- Evan Shapiro: Sells out like instantly, right? Jon Sichel: It not only sells out, I'm sorry to say we have a 70,000 person wait [00:07:30] list. Evan Shapiro: For the cruise? Wow. Jon Sichel: We just launched a bigger ship. Evan Shapiro: We're gonna need a bigger boat. Jon Sichel: We're gonna need... We do need a bigger boat. Evan Shapiro: It's from Jaws. Jon Sichel: We have a live tour in the US. We just did a live tour with our talent in 10 cities, [00:07:45] and we turn Kansas City into a Christmas experience. Evan Shapiro: And we saw a bit of that. That also is like, it's a it, it's a rush, right? Your tickets sell out immediately. People convene on Kansas City. Jon Sichel: Yeah. This has [00:08:00] been a few years in the making. This will be our third year. We run what we call our Hallmark Christmas Experience for four weekends, starting at the end of November through the end of December. We have [00:08:15] 100,000 visitors to Kansas City. I don't know how many people have been there, but it's a great place to experience the holiday. We have talent panels, talent meet and greets. We premiere movies [00:08:30] there. We have Christmas markets. We have card makers. Hallmark also owns Crayola, the crayon, among many other creative brands. And so we have [00:08:45] ways that we show people all the talent in our business. Marion Ranchet: So having a flywheel is one thing. It feels like you are in many bubbles. How do you make sure that you're driving people from one thing to the other, right? Because [00:09:00] one might argue that your audience on TV is there and that's it, but when you get people from YouTube, how do you then get those people excited about your stores? Or you have an SVOD, we'll get to that a bit later. How, do you essentially take [00:09:15] people, you know, in that entire flywheel? Jon Sichel: We look at our world, like many people do as a funnel. Wherever we can find them, we try to bring them closer and closer to the brand. You mentioned our stores. We have 1,000 retail stores [00:09:30] as well. What we have done over the last couple years, we've done a really amazing creation of what we call One Hallmark. So the retail brand, [00:09:45] the stores, the cards, wrapping paper, ornaments, have been enduring for a long time. And what we've built is what we call One Hallmark. So we are promoting ways for our fans, [00:10:00] our consumers, new people to our brand between or among each of our platforms. So on YouTube, we'll promote to Hallmark+, which is a streaming service that we launched a couple years ago, which [00:10:15] has taken off tremendously. We will promote our channels from the FAST channel, our TV channels that we have we'll... Evan Shapiro: How many, you have a number of FAST channels too, right? Jon Sichel: we [00:10:30] actually only have one. Evan Shapiro: Oh, one, I apologize Jon Sichel: Which encompasses everything that is best about Hallmark. Not only do we have hundreds and hundreds of movies that we've made, we also have series, [00:10:45] where we also distribute on Hallmark platforms, but on other places where we're able to bring our fans from Netflix, for example, [00:11:00] which is a- Evan Shapiro: You did a a 10-picture deal with Netflix? Jon Sichel: We have licensed, select films and content to other platforms, Peacock, Netflix. And again, that's another way that we introduce our fans. [00:11:15] An example is The Way Home, which is a four-season series with Andie MacDowell, and we have earlier seasons on Netflix, and then for our fans who wanna continue watching, we bring them back to [00:11:30] our platforms. Another great example is we have a direct-to-consumer streaming app called Hallmark+, which not only do you get the full library of content, including Hallmark [00:11:45] Hall of Fame movies back to 1951- Evan Shapiro: Some of the biggest stars in the world in those films, by the way. Jon Sichel: Absolutely. Yeah. Every big star, Sidney Poitier, Glenn Close. I could go on and on. But [00:12:00] we also provide discounts to our stores. Evan Shapiro: Hallmark+ subscribers get a discount at the Hallmark stores, right? Jon Sichel: On our direct to consumer, you get discounts, you get free cards, you get unlimited e-cards, you get access to our events. [00:12:15] So again, it's an example of how we're pulling two, what have been disparate businesses, Hallmark products and Hallmark media, into one ecosystem. And it's, we've just seen a tremendous, [00:12:30] outpouring of support for again, a brand that has stayed true to itself, since the beginning. Evan Shapiro: I think that's a key component. I think a lot of people, the temptation is you start off with one genre, or you start [00:12:45] off with one core brand pillar, but then the race is to just let's go into everything. Let's go into animation. Let's go into edgy stuff. Let's broaden our audience into every, all four quadrants, right? But I think sticking to the knitting, [00:13:00] sticking to the core and because it's so inspirational, right? On on one hand, it allows you to just be indelible. Jon Sichel: Yeah. Evan Shapiro: You, if you stand for nothing, what do you stand for? And you stand for something very particular. Jon Sichel: We, I [00:13:15] have to say, being at, watching this video, and we have many more promotional videos of our fans. I feel like my job is to be a steward of this brand that was started by J.C. [00:13:30] Hall in 1910. We have tenets of our, what the company is about, including personal connection and making a difference in everyday lives. You will never see edginess [00:13:45] in our content. You will never see a world that's dystopian. You know what you're getting, and I have worked in many different companies with many different brands that have succeeded, but I've [00:14:00] never seen a brand like Hallmark when you tell anybody, you know exactly what you're getting. It's a formula in many ways. Evan Shapiro: But that's, the other component to it. So everybody knows what you're standing for and in fact, there's a certain point of I expect this, [00:14:15] right? For Hallmark Channel and the brand and Hallmark+, Christmas starts when? Like Labor Day? Jon Sichel: It starts the beginning of October at Countdown to Christmas. Evan Shapiro: I was pretty close, right? Jon Sichel: But it starts even earlier because we, [00:14:30] we launched Christmas in July a few years ago. Marion Ranchet: That was you? Jon Sichel: Yeah, we did. We, we like to say that we own Christmas. Evan Shapiro: You do without question. Jon Sichel: and so we have a [00:14:45] week in July where we run Christmas movies. I suppose there's no reason we can't run it all year long, but we have 50 other movies that are other holidays that are just rom-coms, in exotic [00:15:00] locations that our fans are looking for. But, not just in the US, but around the world. We're in 145 countries. Evan Shapiro: And you say formula and like it's not a good thing, right? But because you're so indelible, because you mean that one thing, because people wait for it, like they wait [00:15:15] for Santa Claus, they wait for the Hallmark movie, right? It enables you to keep that production really nimble, right? You make 100 films per year. You don't spend $30 million per film. Jon Sichel: We don't. Evan Shapiro: And that's how you get to that [00:15:30] volume. You're very, very, very rigorous about your budgets, right? Yeah, and your tax credits and everything. Jon Sichel: Yes. I think there's something to I, every movie is different. Every piece of content is different. You look at The Way Home with Andie MacDowell [00:15:45] versus, you know, Holiday Touchdown with our partnerships. Evan Shapiro: Kansas City Chiefs, right? Jon Sichel: Yes. That was our first. We did a a three picture deal in partnership with the NFL. So we have we did the [00:16:00] Kansas City Chiefs. I know this is very US-centric, but it's. Evan Shapiro: Yeah, but you call it soccer. Jon Sichel: No, it's football. Evan Shapiro: I'm kidding. Jon Sichel: It's, yeah. Yes, you're right. Yeah. It's, that thing. Evan Shapiro: It's the American version, It's the American version of football. It's not round. [00:16:15] Jon Sichel: We know exactly what our audience wants to see. Like you said, we have a production formula [00:16:30] that is tried and true. We take advantage of tax credits around the world. We, like I said, we shoot our movies in two to three weeks. We know what our budgets are. We have producers. We're always looking for new producers, but producers [00:16:45] need to understand what we're about. But we have to watch out about taking pitches, obviously. We have to be very sensitive, but sometimes I'll get a pitch from a producer who wants to have, you know, [00:17:00] somebody's had a little too much to drink. And I will say, "Go back and watch one Hallmark movie, and you'll understand that is not our brand." Marion Ranchet: So, whether that's the channel, the cruises, [00:17:15] the shops, it is in the US. The question is then how do you take Hallmark Media and take it globally, so to say? What's been your strategy outside of the US? Jon Sichel: Yes. We've, we're building, [00:17:30] it globally. We... Like I said, we're in 145 countries. We have significant partnerships in many territories. TF1 here in France, [00:17:45] Corus in Canada, RAI in Italy, Sky in the UK. I could go on and on. And I had a job once where I worked in London and ran an international business [00:18:00] in content, and one thing I learned immediately is that every country is different. Every culture is different. There's not one size fits all. So our movies appeal to different territories based on the [00:18:15] content, based on some want more rom-coms, some territories want more Christmas movies. Marion Ranchet: And could you consider taking Hallmark+ globally? Jon Sichel: [00:18:30] Absolutely. That's, I took over this role of global distribution about six months ago, and that is my one of my top priorities. We're actually talking to partners here on ways that we can build Hallmark+, our streaming [00:18:45] service, and take it abroad, in different ways, in partnership. So it's been a really positive experience. Talking to our international broadcasters who want to see [00:19:00] Hallmark in a new light and on platforms that are taking hold around the world. Marion Ranchet: Yeah, and considering how deep the library is I think there's definitely a scenario where you can exist on those broadcast channels still, but have that [00:19:15] place where people come. And it could be that perhaps I didn't know, it was coming from you guys, but I've seen most likely a lot of your movies. And what I've noticed, and I was talking about Christmas in July, is we've started seeing this happening in Europe too. We never [00:19:30] had that before. But with FAST channels, we're starting to see the Christmas Channel popping here and there. So clearly, and especially because a lot of the recipes you've mentioned, I think you're bringing comfort, to people, and [00:19:45] a bit of softness in a world that's been a bit rough. So I would be excited to see you growing, particularly in Europe. But as you know, I'm miss Europe, so I will work you so that it happens here first. Jon Sichel: I love it. We're building our [00:20:00] presence, internationally, and the interest we're getting is so tremendous. Again, because We provide comfort. We provide a safe place for your whole family, [00:20:15] to know what you're getting, and there's a happy ending. There's a little bit of conflict, but there's, you can watch with your grandmother, with your kids, with [00:20:30] friends, and Evan Shapiro: It's comfort food as television to a certain extent. Jon Sichel: It is. Evan Shapiro: Can I ask a question? I don't know that I got this out of your comments. Do you make, do you dub and subtitle the films in other territories, or do you [00:20:45] make, individual, do you make films in the language natively as well, or? Jon Sichel: We mostly dub, in over 50 languages. Evan Shapiro: And how's it doing, internationally? It sounds like the films do, even though it's dubbed, and nothing against [00:21:00] dubbing, but it does really well here because of the Hallmark formula, because of the Hallmark brand. Jon Sichel: It does really well. The interest is growing across the world, in every territory that we've been in. [00:21:15] The demand for more content, not only for linear channels, but for other platforms, is growing. 'Cause I don't... Anybody can make a romantic film, and I will say [00:21:30] that many people have tried, Netflix, Amazon- Evan Shapiro: To tap into your formula unsuccessfully. Jon Sichel: To tap into our formula. Evan Shapiro: They've done it, but they have not been able to replicate what you do. Jon Sichel: They, they haven't, and we get constant requests from these [00:21:45] platforms around the world to have our movies, and we're being very selective about how we roll it out. Again, we are a private company, and- Evan Shapiro: Still family-owned for the most part, yeah... Jon Sichel: It's family-owned, and the [00:22:00] grandsons of J.C. Hall are still very much active in running the company. And it, there's a number of parts. Like I said, there's Crayola, which most people don't know. There's the product business, [00:22:15] retail. There's media, and then, we own a lot of real estate in Kansas City. But in the mission that J.C. Hall set in the early 20th century was that it will always remain [00:22:30] private. So it is in the four tenets of- Evan Shapiro: The family is not interested in selling, right? Jon Sichel: They're not interested in selling at all. None. And we've been approached to sell because- Evan Shapiro: The [00:22:45] library alone is worth a tremendous amount of money. Jon Sichel: The library, the yes, the artwork- Evan Shapiro: Real estate on cable. Jon Sichel: Yeah, that we've invested in. Yes, because the family wants to keep this legacy going. It's, like I said, it's [00:23:00] 116 years old. They see this going for another 200 years. Evan Shapiro: But that creates an environment, at least in my work, and Jamie and I actually worked on that project together, and you brought us in. Thank you for that. But the culture there, it, there's [00:23:15] a chill to it. Do you know what I mean? Because there's not a threat of "You gotta hit this number or we're gonna sell the company." It's, "No, take the money that we make," and it's a very profitable business, Hallmark Media, and put it back into the company. Keep the company [00:23:30] going. Jon Sichel: That's right. Evan Shapiro: Keep the company growing. It's a reinvestment strategy that is very, I think, enviable, especially from for a brand as old as Hallmark's is. Jon Sichel: That's true. I feel in a lucky position, having worked in public companies. We are not public, so [00:23:45] we don't have to report to the financial street every quarter. There's a there is a culture of innovation. There's a culture of reinvestment and again, the [00:24:00] family is doing just fine and they want to see this business growing. I say this and I've thought about this that, if you're not embracing the culture, you're not, you- the [00:24:15] workplace is as comfortable as the movies that we make. Evan Shapiro: Yeah, I gave a keynote here at MIPCOM earlier, which Marion skipped. And, but I said the problem [00:24:30] right now is that the focus of a lot of these media companies is on the shareholder, not the audience, and it is just the opposite of Hallmark. The focus is on the fans first, always. Always. The user at the center of everything. The shareholders encourage that. [00:24:45] Yeah. You have this family shareholders. I did make a movie with you. Jon Sichel: I know you did. Evan Shapiro: so I did pitch, the original pitch was something different than we made. It's called Very '90s Christmas. And the experience was great. I was, it was I don't make [00:25:00] movies necessarily for a living, but I was a little, I, this is not...I'm a pretty edgy guy, and I thought, "how will this process be?" And we went on set, of the movie, and the efficiency and the the ability to know what you're making [00:25:15] for the very specific audience and what they want. So this formula, again, I think that is used as a bad word so far, but we, if there's a, formulas work for a reason, right? They're repeatable. They're scalable. It allows you, in this case, I think, [00:25:30] to your point, to say yes or no very quickly. That's a Hallmark movie. That's not a Hallmark movie. That is for our audience. That isn't for our audience. And that enables you to scale to the volume that is necessary to retain an audience. The volume is keep [00:25:45] part of this, right? The hundred is a, it's not a bug, it's a feature. Jon Sichel: It is. It's built into our culture. You do know what a Hallmark moment is Hallmark moment, right, as we call it. And it is easy, and [00:26:00] maybe formula isn't the right word. It's an experience. It's, a feeling you get. Evan Shapiro: A brand. Jon Sichel: It is a brand. It's just the longevity of the brand, and again, I've worked in a number of media [00:26:15] companies who are trying to define what their brand means. In a food brand or a home renovation brand. You understand what that is. Evan Shapiro: Yeah, I think one of the one of the reasons Netflix may be having some issues now is [00:26:30] what is the Netflix brand? It's everything to all, it's everything, right? Yeah. And that's hard to be around the world. Jon Sichel: We are sought out by much bigger companies to be part of their world. [00:26:45] Every major media company has approached us to bring our world into their environment, and we have certainly tried it. We've tested it. But we are [00:27:00] independent. We're gonna remain independent. We do watch as Netflix and others try to create holiday movies, and I could name a few, which I won't, that just didn't work, and then we get a [00:27:15] call back saying, "Can we have your movies with your brand?" Marion Ranchet: When I look at what you've been doing, it's the OG fandom playbook. Evan Shapiro: The first fandom, first, yeah. Marion Ranchet: I think playbook is a better word than [00:27:30] formula. Evan Shapiro: I agree. Marion Ranchet: Ah? Evan Shapiro: Nice. Jon Sichel: Playbook. Marion Ranchet: And what I'm seeing right now happening with creators, with the creator economy, the, it's actually your playbook. From the get-go, they know what they stand for. They build an ecosystem. Like you've mentioned [00:27:45] Hallmark+, it feels like it's more a membership than it is a subscription. Yes. Evan Shapiro: Ooh. Jon Sichel: That's the way we look at it. Marion Ranchet: Something that here, no one is yet to be able to do. Like I've been a Netflix and Spotify subscribers for 10 years, and if you sign up tomorrow, you'll have exactly [00:28:00] the same thing. I don't feel cared for in a way. It feels like you wanna bring so much more to folks, and you're laser focused on that. And this thing about trying to be something for everyone- Evan Shapiro: Being all things to all people. Marion Ranchet: Yeah, all... That just doesn't work. It's a great Evan Shapiro: way to lose an audience. Marion Ranchet: Yeah, [00:28:15] 100%, especially right now. There's so much noise, so good for you guys. Jon Sichel: I wanna add that you're right. Membership is a great way. We're all members of this Hallmark family. But we can't [00:28:30] stand still. We're still, we're doing well. Our company, our brand endures, but we also know that we're in a fragmented world. So whether it's YouTube, [00:28:45] whether it's SVOD, whether it's events and experiences, we are constantly pushing ourselves forward even though we are still rooted in what J.C. Hall [00:29:00] started 116 years ago. Evan Shapiro: You can be a legend and still be improving. It's really amazing. Yeah. It's been great to have you here. Thank you very much for coming to the Media Odyssey podcast. Marion Ranchet: Thank you, everyone. Evan Shapiro: That is Marion Ranchet. Jon Sichel: Thank you so much. Marion Ranchet: And that [00:29:15] is who is that? This is Evan Shapiro. Evan Shapiro: Thank you very much. We'll see you next time. Jon Sichel: Thank you so [00:29:30] much.