Hallmark
From Muppet Wiki
Hallmark is a multifaceted company that was started in Kansas City by JC Hall in 1910. Its product lines include everything from greeting cards to keepsake ornaments to television production, through the Hallmark Hall of Fame (now RHI Entertainment, Inc.).
The Jim Henson Company partnered with Hallmark in 1998 to purchase controlling interest in cable television's Odyssey Network (known as the Faith and Values Channel until 1996 and prior to that, ACTS). The channel began running episodes of Henson shows, including The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock, when Henson and Hallmark took over.
In 2001, Henson sold their interest in Crown Media for $90 million, as part of the Henson family’s effort to buy the Jim Henson Company outright from EM.TV. At that point, Odyssey became the Hallmark Channel and much of the Henson programming was discontinued.
The partnership under Crown Media also created the Kermit Channel in 1998, a 24-hour, multi-lingual, global pay-television channel dedicated to family entertainment. This venture was also discontinued in 2001.
Outside of their network ventures, Henson and Hallmark worked in partnership producing television shows and mini-series. They co-produced Gulliver's Travels in 1995, Farscape from 1999 to 2003, and Jack and the Beanstalk: the Real Story in 2001. Jim Henson's Creature Shop also produced characters and effects for numerous Hallmark productions.
See also
- See the Hallmark category for a list of Muppet and Fraggle products
- Hallmark Channel
- Hallmark Entertainment
- Hallmark Home Entertainment
