Mariah Carey is all Hallmark wants for Christmas. The Crown Media-owned cable network is turning to the pop diva and onetime "American Idol" host to help it attract a younger and more diverse audience this holiday season. Carey - who can be counted on to belt out her holiday classic "All I Want for Christmas" while doing her best impression of a sexy Mrs. Claus - will ride on the first-ever Hallmark Channel float during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
The 45-year-old mother of two is also trying her hand at directing and starring in an original movie for the channel, "A Christmas Melody". What's more, Hallmark is sponsoring the songbird's December concert run at the Beacon Theater. "She's synonymous with Christmas," Crown Media Chief Executive Bill Abbott told The Post. "She does so much for our brand, and we are doing the same for her. We're looking at future projects like greetings cards."
Hallmark is counting on "Mimi" - who has had her fair share of career highs (18 No. 1 singles) and lows (box-office flop "Glitter") - to kick up the octave on its holiday schedule, "Countdown to Christmas". The network has been expanding its hundreds of hours of Christmas-themed programming to draw marketers and consumers during the all-important shopping season.
Some 74 million viewers tuned in to its Christmas slate last year when it was the No. 1 network during the day and second in prime time in its "demo" - or target audience, of women 25 to 54 years old. While some may knock the channel's feel-good programming as schmaltzy, Hallmark Channel has been growing in contrast to most of the cable universe. Hallmark Channel and sibling Hallmark Movies and Mysteries have been gaining advertisers and viewers. But winning over younger audiences has been a challenge. The median age for Hallmark Channel viewers is 58.
"We're casting much younger and making story lines relevant. It's not sexy - it's more contemporary, and that's driving a younger audience," said Abbott. "We'll never be 18-34 years, but we're hitting the demo women ages 25 to 54 years old squarely in the middle with stars like Mariah Carey."
(New York Post)
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