wfn.org | Odyssey Channel morphs into the Hallmark Channel

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Note #6476 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

5-April-2001
01118

Odyssey Channel morphs into the Hallmark Channel

Re-launch or ecumenical cable venture will take effect Aug. 6

By Jerry L. Van Marter

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The evolution of ecumenical religious television
programming in the United States takes another leap Aug. 6 when the Odyssey
Channel officially becomes the Hallmark Channel.

	The seeds of the transformation were sown two years ago when Hallmark and
the Jim Henson Company bought into the Faith & Values Network, a religious
cable television network founded by the National Interfaith Cable Coalition
(NICC) and renamed it the Odyssey Channel.

	The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) was a founding member of NICC.

	Crown Media, Hallmark's parent company, has now completed its purchase of
the network, which currently reaches a cable audience of 29 million viewers
in the U.S. With the re-launch, the Hallmark Network will go international,
reaching 65 million subscribers in more than 100 countries.

	In a statement announcing the changeover, Crown Media said the goal of the
revamped network will be "to deliver quality family-friendly entertainment."
NICC-produced programs will have a small niche on the new network.

	The new network will feature productions from Hallmark's award-winning
"Hallmark Hall of Fame" collection, which is celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year.

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