Hallmark Channel’s Christmas Movies Get Big Viewership with Early October Start, Janel Parrish’s New Film Leads Numbers
Hallmark Media
Hallmark Channel gets an early start to the Christmas season each year by launching their “Countdown to Christmas” movies in mid-October and the 2026 film slate is off to a strong start!
Forbes is reporting that 12 million unique viewers watched the new Countdown to Christmas programming in a 10-day period between its start date on October 16 and October 25.
That 10-day span featured the premiere of six new movies, including the tentpole film Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story, which is the third film in partnership with the NFL.
Janel Parrish and Daniel Lissing have the most-watched movie so far!
Forbes reports that Forgotten Holiday, starring Janel Parrish and Daniel Lissing, is the most popular movie of those first six films.
1.5 million live viewers tuned in to watch the movie on Saturday, October 24 during its premiere. That number doesn’t include delayed viewing or Hallmark+ streaming viewership.
Credit: Hallmark Media
Total viewership is off to a very strong start
38 million unique viewers were reached during 2025’s 70-day Countdown to Christmas programming block.
Forbes reports that in the first 10 days of Hallmark’s 2026 programming, 12 million unique viewers have already tuned in, representing more than 30% of last year’s total viewership for the whole season.
34 new movies will air during the 2026 season, which is 10 more than last year. These numbers only represent viewership for six of those movies!
Some of the highlights to come include Lacey Chabert‘s Holiday Ever After: A Disney World Wish Come True on November 28, Hunter King‘s Hanukkah movie Eight Nights for Love on November 29, Holland Roden‘s A Grand Biltmore Christmas on December 5, and Jonathan Bennett‘s Save the Date for Christmas rounding out the lineup on December 20.
Here’s the full lineup and schedule of all the movies airing this year!
The post Hallmark Channel’s Christmas Movies Get Big Viewership with Early October Start, Janel Parrish’s New Film Leads Numbers appeared first on Just Jared – Celebrity News, Entertainment News & Photos.
