It’s not difficult to find the Hallmark brand name in the greeting card section of your local big-box retailer. If only it was that easy to find the Hallmark Channel on DirecTV. As you flip through the hundreds and hundreds of available stations in your TV guide, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack trying to pin down the Hallmark Channel. Thankfully, you don’t have to search like this any longer. We’ll tell you exactly where to find Hallmark and its sister stations on DirecTV — regardless of your city, state, or region.
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Pick your choice of ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney Plus. Plans start as low as $4.99/month for ESPN+ only.
Free trial available. Watch 75+ channels, including local channels and special premium channel offers.
Take a 7-day free trial and stream more than 70 channels live. Record your favorites with unlimited DVR.
Hallmark Channel Guide
| Channel Name | DirecTV Channel Number |
|---|---|
| Hallmark Channel | 312 |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries | 565 |
The History of Hallmark
©Evgeny Atamanenko/Shutterstock.com
The Hallmark Channel is a real favorite among a certain type of romantic TV viewer. Founded in 2001, the popular television network came about after Hallmark Entertainment set out to rebrand a family-friendly channel called Odyssey Network. With the iconic Hallmark name now attached, the channel could hopefully broaden its reach and pull in a whole new audience of loyal viewers in the process. The rebrand was hugely successful, eventually spawning multiple sister stations and a streaming service to boot.
Hallmark put the primary focus on broadcasting movies, television series, and hour-long specials that celebrated wholesome themes like love, relationships, and family. In other words, the same sentimental and heartwarming feeling evoked by the company’s greeting cards. By purchasing the rights to broadcast films and shows that already aired on Canadian television, Hallmark was able to advertise its library of acquisitions as “original productions.” This smart move helped them bring in far more viewers than Odyssey had ever seen during its run.
The warm feelings and cozy moods evoked by this Hallmark programming effectively became a genre unto itself. As a result, Hallmark is — and always has been — a go-to destination for wholesome entertainment the whole family can enjoy. From its Christmas films to its nostalgic television shows to its other seasonal fare, Hallmark appeals to a wide array of loyal viewers, both young and old. In recent years, the brand has become even stronger, with an increased focus on inclusivity and more diverse ideas. Today, Hallmark remains a top cable station for many.
All Hallmark Media Sister Stations
| Hallmark Channel |
| Hallmark Movies & Mysteries |
| Hallmark Drama |
| Hallmark Movies & More |
| Hallmark Movies Now |
Hallmark Programming
The Hallmark Channel is Crown Media’s biggest and most popular network. From its heartwarming movies to its family-friendly TV shows, the station offers an appealing mix of inoffensive entertainment that’s meant to bring joy and positivity to viewers above all else. In recent years, the station has grown and matured beyond its somewhat regressive ways of the past to embrace more diverse perspectives than ever before. DirecTV subscribers can find the station on channel 312.
TV Shows
When Calls the Heart
has aired on Hallmark for more than 100 episodes.©Hallmark Channel – License
Programming on the Hallmark Channel is made up of many original series. Some of the most popular examples include When Calls the Heart, which is a period drama set in a coal town in the early 1900s, and The Way Home, which is a time travel series about three generations of women trying to find one another. Hallmark’s original shows typically revolve around family, friendships, and love over the more serious subject matters on Movies & Mysteries.
Movies
Of course, it wouldn’t be Hallmark without the movies. The station seems to always have a movie playing, with new ones airing every weekend of the year — sometimes even multiple times a weekend. These Crown Media films are almost always romantic in nature. They take either a serious angle or a comedic angle, and they’re typically themed based on the time of year or an upcoming holiday season. The annual “Countdown to Christmas” series marks their greatest lineup of new movies each year.
Syndicated
The other facet of the Hallmark Channel is its syndicated broadcasts of nostalgic network cable shows. Currently, this lineup is made up of reruns of The Golden Girls, Reba, Cheers, and Frasier. All four of these shows have been airing in syndication on Hallmark for more than a decade. These syndicated comedies match the channel’s brand of light-hearted and relatable stories about family and romance.
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Programming
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is Crown Media’s most popular sister station. This television network is dedicated to intriguing mysteries and captivating investigations with a reliably heartwarming Hallmark spin. From crime series to mystery movies to retro shows, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is like a slightly more grown-up Hallmark Channel. DirecTV subscribers can find it on channel 565.
TV Shows
Signed, Sealed, Delivered
is one of the numerous long-running series on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.©Hallmark Channel – License
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries offers a variety of Crown Media original productions. The list includes Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, which follows a librarian with a penchant for solving crimes, and Signed, Sealed, Delivered, which sees a group of post office workers solving mysteries with undelivered mail. Other hits include Garage Sale Mysteries, Crossword Mysteries, and Murder, She Baked. These tend to be a bit more mature than the lighter offerings on the main Hallmark channel.
Movies
While the aforementioned Movies & Mysteries original series are typically made up of feature-length episodes, Crown Media also offers standalone films that fit the Movies & Mysteries bill. From cozy murder mysteries to thrilling whodunits, most of Movies & Mysteries’ programming comes with a holiday or seasonal slant (Fall, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, you name it.) By and large, they’re slightly darker than your traditional Hallmark Channel fare.
Syndicated
Like Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Drama, Movies & Mysteries has its fair share of syndicated television shows from the halcyon days of network television. Uniquely, though, Movies & Mysteries’ syndicated shows are more recent than those on other Crown Media stations. However, fitting with the station’s theme, these syndicated shows still fall under the umbrella of the murder mystery genre. From Monk to Psych, these TV shows aired as recently as the 2010s.
Hallmark Drama Programming
Hallmark Drama is Crown Media Family Networks’ station devoted to throwback television shows during the week and classic Crown Media productions on the weekends. It’s the place to see classic TV shows and your favorite Hallmark movies. Unfortunately, as of this writing, it’s not available to DirecTV subscribers.
Syndicated
Little House on the Prairie
reruns air on Hallmark Drama in syndication.©NBC – License
Hallmark Drama’s current lineup consists of reruns of Little House on the Prairie, Magnum, P.I., Matlock, and The Waltons. These classic shows aired decades ago, but still remain immensely watchable despite their age. Each one radiates a strong sense of nostalgia — a recurring theme across all Crown Media channels, but especially Hallmark Drama.
Movies
While it plays far fewer movies than its other sister stations, Hallmark Drama still finds time in its busy schedule to play classic Crown Media movies on the weekends. You’re unlikely to find any of the company’s many romantic comedies in this weekend lineup, though. Instead, the primary focus is on love stories, building relationships, family healing, and other tales of personal growth.
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Hallmark Media.
