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The holidays are (almost) here and so is the ever more competitive war for Christmas movie viewers.
(See also:BachelorNation.
Abbottleft Hallmarkthe next month.
Normally, there wouldnt be anything that unusual about Abbotts actions.
Usually this takes the form of jumping to a rival data pipe and working to outperform the old place.
But even before GAC Media was an actual thing, there were some red flags.
Over the summer, thats pretty much what happened.
Abbott, backed in part by Hicks Equity, took control of the two channels in June.
And some holiday-movie superfans have expressed concern over exactly that.
But heres where things get tricky.
(It made NetflixsA Christmas Prince, too.)
One of the guest stars on that special?
Hallmark regular/convicted felon Lori Loughlin, in her first big acting gig since getting out of jail.
Abbottwas replaced as president and CEOby Wonya Lucas, a Black woman.
GAC Media did offer some guidance on a few issues, however.
It also says Hicks, Jr. has no investment stake in GAC Media or in Hicks Equity Partners.
When asked what kinds of movies GAC will and willnot make, a GAC Media spokesman offered few specifics.
Quality is the primary focus for our movies, he said.
A spokesman for Abbott and GAC Media declined to give an on the record answer to either question.
It also said it wants to make stories about meaningful relationships and that such relationships come in many forms.
In other words, a classic PR non-answer, or in political-speak, a non-denial denial.
I also asked whether GAC would make movies about non-Christian holidays, such as Chanukah or Kwanzaa.
The company also noted its management team is nearly two-thirds female.
Its obviously still very early days for GAC Family.
(This exec did not haveanyconnection to Hallmark Channel or Crown Media, by the way.)
It doesnt help that GAC Familys movies arent actually exclusive to GAC Family.
In the U.S., Mariah Careys 2017 animated specialAll I Want for Christmas Is Youclaimed the No.
7 spot on the streamers U.S top-ten list on Wednesday.
Globally, new Christmas movieLove Hardhas ranked as Netflixs No.
A company insider says there was no specific strategy to ramp up production of holiday fare outside the U.S.
