Hallmark Channel's foray into scripted Primetime programming captured the hearts of viewers Saturday night, with the 2-hour movie premiere of its first original series, "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove", becoming the #1-rated ad-supported cable movie of the week and day, attracting over 3.8 million unduplicated viewers, and securing a 2.4 household rating. The pilot was also the #3-rated drama premiere on cable among households this summer to-date.
In addition to watching the show, viewers took social media chatter by storm - tweeting, posting, liking, and checking in during the broadcast on a variety of platforms, making the world premiere of "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove" the most buzzed about
Primetime television program overall and #2 cable program on social media according to Trendrr Research for Saturday, July 20. Further demonstrating the strength of fan engagement, Hallmark Channel's live Facebook chat with the show's stars, which took place 1 hour before the premiere, reached 3.4 million fans. And, in the week leading up to the series' debut (7/15 - 7/22), "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove" reached nearly 8 million fans on the "Cedar Cove" Facebook page and generated approximately 16 million impressions on Twitter.
"Saturday night's premiere of 'Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove' marked the beginning of a new era for Hallmark Channel and we are incredibly proud of the show," said Bill Abbott, CEO and President, Crown Media Family Networks. "Its strong performance right out of the gate is a clear indication there is an appetite for family-friendly episodic programming on Hallmark Channel and we look forward to building on 'Cedar Cove's' early success and further broadening our programming slate with the addition of new series projects to our lineup in the coming months."
In the Saturday 8-9:45pm time period, "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove" was #1 in HH (2.4 rtg) and P2+ (1.2 rtg) and #2 among women 25-54 (.8 rtg). In addition, the series pilot ranked #1 in HH (2,044,000) and #1 in P2+ (2,624,000). "Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove" elevated Hallmark Channel to be the #2 cable network in prime time for the day among HH (1.9 HH rtg) and #3 among women 25-54 (.7rtg).
Set in the idyllic town of Cedar Cove, Andie MacDowell stars as Judge Olivia Lockhart, whose
Cedar Cove Municipal Court is the professional milieu and social microcosm of issues the judge will face in her own day-to-day life with family and friends. Dylan Neal plays Jack Griffith, the new editor of the
Cedar Cove Chronicle and budding love interest for Judge Lockhart. In the two-hour pilot, Judge Lockhart is overjoyed to hear that her name is being put forth for appointment to a Federal judgeship in Seattle and asks that her family keep the news a secret. However, Jack Griffith, desperate for a meaningful news story, corners Olivia's mother who inadvertently tells the editor about everything in her daughter's life - including the possible appointment. Suddenly, Olivia (much to her chagrin) is front page news. Stars Andie MacDowell, Dylan Neal, and Katharine Isabelle.
"Cedar Cove" is just the first of four series projects in varying stages of development for Hallmark Channel, including "When Calls the Heart", "Dead Letters," and "The Mystery Cruise".
Source: The Nielsen Company, July 15 - July 22, 2013
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