• by Larissa Faw , April 30, 2018

Crown Media Family Networks has appointed Noble People as its media AOR following a competitive review that began in January. The incumbent agency was Zenith. 

The New York-based Noble People will oversee strategic media planning and buying for the company’s linear networks, Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries including national print, video, radio, digital, social and out-of-home advertising. In addition, the agency will also help raise the profile of Crown Media’s recently-launched subscription video on demand service, Hallmark Movies Now, to serve as a destination for Hallmark’s unique brand of entertainment.

Crown Media's ad budget was $10.44 million in 2017, up from $9.36 million in 2016, according to Kantar Media. 

Noble People will have to do more with less inventory after Crown Media's president/CEO Bill Abbott announced during last year's Upfronts that Hallmark Channel will cut ads in its original primetime shows by more than half to better compete with ad-free platforms like Netflix. Hallmark now airs between five and seven minutes of commercials in new episodes of its original hour-long series, down from 15 minutes of ads per hour in 2017.