HALLMARK CHANNEL'S ORIGINAL HOLIDAY MOVIE "THE CHRISTMAS CHOIR" BEATS "JOHN ADAMS" TO WIN EPIPHANY AWARD FOR MOST INSPIRING TV PROGRAM OF 2008

Hallmark Channel's 2008 original holiday movie, "The Christmas Choir," was awarded the MOVIEGUIDE Epiphany prize for Most Inspiring TV Program of 2008, it was announced at last night's 17th annual awards gala in Beverly Hills, Calif.

"We are so proud to win this prestigious award against such worthy competition as the critically acclaimed �John Adams' mini-series," said David Kenin, Executive Vice President, Programming, Hallmark Channel. "This is exactly the type of programming we love producing, one that's relevant, appreciated for its values and attracts wide and enthusiastic audiences. This win supports Hallmark's mission that viewer's want programming that is inspiring and uplifting."

"The Christmas Choir," starring Jason Gedrick and Rhea Perlman, premiered on the family-friendly network on Saturday, December 6 (9-11 p.m., ET/PT) with a 3.1 HH rating ranking the movie as the second-highest-rated cable movie of the day and the fourth-highest-rated movie of the week. Source: Nielsen Media Research, December 1-7, 2008

"The Christmas Choir," based on a true story, examines the life of Peter Andrews (Gedrick, "Desperate Housewives") who is a workaholic accountant with no interest in the holidays. He has shut out everyone from his life, including his fianc�e Jill (Cindy Sampson, "Swamp Devil") who decides she can't go through with the marriage. Peter soon finds his calling in helping the less fortunate when he meets a homeless man named Bob (Tyrone Benskin, "300"), who inspires Peter to start a choir at the homeless shelter. With the help of Sister Agatha (Perlman, "Cheers") and the men at the shelter, Peter turns his life around, making the choir's success his main priority. Working with the homeless allows Peter to realize that everyone deserves a second chance at life, love, and relationships.

"The Christmas Choir" is a Towers Pictures/Muse Entertainment production. Lisa Towers, Joel S. Rice, Irene Litinsky and Noel Hedges are the executive producers, and Michael Prupas is the producer. Peter Svatek directed from a script by Donald Martin.

The MOVIEGUIDE Epiphany Awards were conceived by Sir John Templeton and Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and publisher of MOVIEGUIDE: A Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment, to encourage filmmakers and television producers to create movies and television shows that help increase man's understanding and love of God.

Hallmark Channel, owned and operated by Crown Media Holdings, Inc., is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 86 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,450 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Prime Time and Total Day household ratings and is the nation's leading network in providing quality family programming. Crown Media also operates a second 24-hour linear channel which plays the greatest family movies of all time, Hallmark Movie Channel, and launched Hallmark Movie Channel HD in April, 2008.