From Christmas cruises to Halloween romcoms, family-friendly seasonal content is helping revive the made-for-TV movie sector – and driving year-round engagement across linear and streaming platforms.

Once a staple of linear television, the TV movie is enjoying a revival, fuelled in no small part by the booming demand for holiday programming. As audiences increasingly seek out feel-good, nostalgic content, broadcasters and streamers are capitalising on the seasonal surge in viewership – and the impact is being felt across the made-for-TV movie sector.

At the forefront of this seasonal resurgence is Hallmark Entertainment. “It’s always Christmas at Hallmark,” says chief marketing officer Darren Abbott, referencing a well-worn company joke that rings more true than not. The Kansas City-based brand, best known for its greeting cards, operates three TV networks and a streaming service and has gradually transformed its approach to the holiday season.

Hallmark is extending the Christmas window beyond the traditional end-of-year slot. July has become a key activation point, marked by initiatives such as its Christmas in July partnership with the Boston Red Sox and its Christmas-themed cruises, the latter selling out within a day. “We’re always thinking of great Christmas stories and we’re always talking about Christmas,” says Abbott. “But it really gets going with our event that we have in July. That’s when we really start leaning into the new programming.”

Hallmark’s longstanding Countdown to Christmas event now kicks off in mid-October. Abbott says the company is also embracing Halloween as a content opportunity for the first time, calling it “a missed opportunity” historically. The channel’s new movie Haul Out the Halloween will be the centrepiece of its Fall into Love season this September and is the latest is a holiday movie franchise that began with Haul Out the Holly in 2022. “We’ve got to go where the audience is,” he says. “They want those types of stories.”

The appetite for classic festive films remains strong. In December 2024, Home Alone ranked as the second most popular title globally, despite being released in 1990, according to Ampere Analysis. How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Love Actually also performed strongly. “Like clockwork, every year you will see engagement with those titles rise as families view together,” says Rahul Patel, principal analyst at Ampere. He notes that movies outperform series during the festive season. “Certainly, within the festive space and the Christmas space, the right movies are the optimal way to go,” he says. “Just from the duration perspective, TV shows don’t quite hit that.”

Louise Oliver, senior VP of international sales at LA-based studio Happy Accidents, says there’s been a notable uptick in demand for TV movies, particularly Christmas-themed ones. “People are going back to them time and time again because they’re looking for familiarity, they’re looking for comfort, they’re looking to be transported to a picture perfect, small-town holiday fantasy,” she says. She adds that broadcasters are expanding the Christmas viewing period into the new year: “The demand seems to be really strong.”

Oliver has seen an expansion in international interest too. “I am surprised, having handled all the major territories, that the likes of the BBC and ITV – which years ago would never have picked up Christmas movies – are now doing so.” She cites growing acquisitions by platforms such as ITVX, Paramount, Channel 5 and Sky. Happy Accidents recently signed 50 licensing deals for 19 TV movie titles across Europe, including holiday films starring Candace Cameron Bure such as Home Sweet Christmas. “Candace is very well known in the TV movie space,” says Oliver. “We’re distributing several titles internationally that star her.”

While no deal has yet been finalised with the BBC, conversations are ongoing. “They are full for TV movies for this year, but we’ll meet in Cannes and see what we could do for 2026,” says Oliver. “It’s really interesting. You would never have thought that you would see a Hallmark TV movie scheduled on the BBC.”

The BBC has yet to confirm its 2025 Christmas line-up but has already announced animated special The Scarecrow’s Wedding and the family comedy Stuffed for this year. Last year, Gavin & Stacey drew 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day – the highest in over a decade. Muriel Thomas, international distribution director at Magic Light Pictures, says their annual BBC Christmas Day animation tradition, which began with The Gruffalo in 2009, is unique. “It’s a very specific event in the UK market,” she says.

Magic Light’s specials are timed with school holidays globally, not necessarily Christmas. “They’re the type of content that will build up an audience over time,” says Thomas. “There is a bit of a snowball effect.”

Canadian studio Sullivan Entertainment has taken a similar long-term view. Its Anne of Green Gables franchise and sequel Road to Avonlea have been licensed over 1,600 times across more than 150 territories. Phil Sequeira, head of international film and TV, says embedding seasonal episodes into franchise spin-offs is a core strategy. “The BBC has done a fantastic job of this with shows such as Gavin & Stacey and Call the Midwife. They always have a Christmas special.”

Even streamers are leveraging the holiday season for growth. Ampere’s Patel notes a significant share of their new releases cluster in November. “It’s a period they can expect a lot of sign-up activity,” he says. For instance, Disney+ led last year’s Christmas line-up with Home Alone and streamed five NBA games and its Disney Parks parade on Christmas Day.

NBCUniversal is also aggressively expanding its holiday live programming. Its Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reached one in three US households last year. “There’s tradition, it’s how people watch these events with their families,” says Jen Neal, exec VP of live events and specials. “They’ve done it year after year… and that drives the brand loyalty for us.”

Looking ahead, NBCU plans to further extend the season with live musical special Wicked and a two-hour New Year’s Eve show hosted by Snoop Dogg. “Streamers don’t always have the advantage of being able to put their content on broadcast as well,” notes Neal. “We use the combination… as our superpower.”

For the TV movie sector, this growing appetite for festive, family-friendly, event-led content is more than just seasonal cheer – it’s fuelling a business renaissance.

From Christmas cruises to Halloween romcoms, family-friendly seasonal content is helping revive the made-for-TV movie sector – and driving year-round engagement across linear and streaming platforms.

Once a staple of linear television, the TV movie is enjoying a revival, fuelled in no small part by the booming demand for holiday programming. As audiences increasingly seek out feel-good, nostalgic content, broadcasters and streamers are capitalising on the seasonal surge in viewership – and the impact is being felt across the made-for-TV movie sector.

At the forefront of this seasonal resurgence is Hallmark Entertainment. “It’s always Christmas at Hallmark,” says chief marketing officer Darren Abbott, referencing a well-worn company joke that rings more true than not. The Kansas City-based brand, best known for its greeting cards, operates three TV networks and a streaming service and has gradually transformed its approach to the holiday season.

Hallmark is extending the Christmas window beyond the traditional end-of-year slot. July has become a key activation point, marked by initiatives such as its Christmas in July partnership with the Boston Red Sox and its Christmas-themed cruises, the latter selling out within a day. “We’re always thinking of great Christmas stories and we’re always talking about Christmas,” says Abbott. “But it really gets going with our event that we have in July. That’s when we really start leaning into the new programming.”

Hallmark’s longstanding Countdown to Christmas event now kicks off in mid-October. Abbott says the company is also embracing Halloween as a content opportunity for the first time, calling it “a missed opportunity” historically. The channel’s new movie Haul Out the Halloween will be the centrepiece of its Fall into Love season this September and is the latest is a holiday movie franchise that began with Haul Out the Holly in 2022. “We’ve got to go where the audience is,” he says. “They want those types of stories.”

The appetite for classic festive films remains strong. In December 2024, Home Alone ranked as the second most popular title globally, despite being released in 1990, according to Ampere Analysis. How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Love Actually also performed strongly. “Like clockwork, every year you will see engagement with those titles rise as families view together,” says Rahul Patel, principal analyst at Ampere. He notes that movies outperform series during the festive season. “Certainly, within the festive space and the Christmas space, the right movies are the optimal way to go,” he says. “Just from the duration perspective, TV shows don’t quite hit that.”

Louise Oliver, senior VP of international sales at LA-based studio Happy Accidents, says there’s been a notable uptick in demand for TV movies, particularly Christmas-themed ones. “People are going back to them time and time again because they’re looking for familiarity, they’re looking for comfort, they’re looking to be transported to a picture perfect, small-town holiday fantasy,” she says. She adds that broadcasters are expanding the Christmas viewing period into the new year: “The demand seems to be really strong.”

Oliver has seen an expansion in international interest too. “I am surprised, having handled all the major territories, that the likes of the BBC and ITV – which years ago would never have picked up Christmas movies – are now doing so.” She cites growing acquisitions by platforms such as ITVX, Paramount, Channel 5 and Sky. Happy Accidents recently signed 50 licensing deals for 19 TV movie titles across Europe, including holiday films starring Candace Cameron Bure such as Home Sweet Christmas. “Candace is very well known in the TV movie space,” says Oliver. “We’re distributing several titles internationally that star her.”

While no deal has yet been finalised with the BBC, conversations are ongoing. “They are full for TV movies for this year, but we’ll meet in Cannes and see what we could do for 2026,” says Oliver. “It’s really interesting. You would never have thought that you would see a Hallmark TV movie scheduled on the BBC.”

The BBC has yet to confirm its 2025 Christmas line-up but has already announced animated special The Scarecrow’s Wedding and the family comedy Stuffed for this year. Last year, Gavin & Stacey drew 12.3 million viewers on Christmas Day – the highest in over a decade. Muriel Thomas, international distribution director at Magic Light Pictures, says their annual BBC Christmas Day animation tradition, which began with The Gruffalo in 2009, is unique. “It’s a very specific event in the UK market,” she says.

Magic Light’s specials are timed with school holidays globally, not necessarily Christmas. “They’re the type of content that will build up an audience over time,” says Thomas. “There is a bit of a snowball effect.”

Canadian studio Sullivan Entertainment has taken a similar long-term view. Its Anne of Green Gables franchise and sequel Road to Avonlea have been licensed over 1,600 times across more than 150 territories. Phil Sequeira, head of international film and TV, says embedding seasonal episodes into franchise spin-offs is a core strategy. “The BBC has done a fantastic job of this with shows such as Gavin & Stacey and Call the Midwife. They always have a Christmas special.”

Even streamers are leveraging the holiday season for growth. Ampere’s Patel notes a significant share of their new releases cluster in November. “It’s a period they can expect a lot of sign-up activity,” he says. For instance, Disney+ led last year’s Christmas line-up with Home Alone and streamed five NBA games and its Disney Parks parade on Christmas Day.

NBCUniversal is also aggressively expanding its holiday live programming. Its Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reached one in three US households last year. “There’s tradition, it’s how people watch these events with their families,” says Jen Neal, exec VP of live events and specials. “They’ve done it year after year… and that drives the brand loyalty for us.”

Looking ahead, NBCU plans to further extend the season with live musical special Wicked and a two-hour New Year’s Eve show hosted by Snoop Dogg. “Streamers don’t always have the advantage of being able to put their content on broadcast as well,” notes Neal. “We use the combination… as our superpower.”

For the TV movie sector, this growing appetite for festive, family-friendly, event-led content is more than just seasonal cheer – it’s fuelling a business renaissance.