HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL'S FOURTH ORIGINAL MOVIE OF THE YEAR, "SHADOW ON THE MESA", DELIVERS 1.1 HH RTG

Becomes Network's 2nd Highest Rated and 2nd Most Watched Original Movie

Hallmark Movie Channel's 2013 ratings momentum continues, with the Saturday, March 23 premiere of "Shadow on the Mesa" garnering a 1.1 household rating with nearly 1.1 million unduplicated viewers. The fourth movie in the network's expanded slate of 10 original movies for 2013, "Shadow on the Mesa" replaces "Our Wild Hearts" as the 2nd highest rated and 2nd most watched original movie in network history among households and total viewers.

This success comes on the heels of the network's announcement in January that it had reached the distribution benchmark of 50mm homes.

In the Hallmark Movie Channel original, "Shadow on the Mesa", a hidden family history leads a lone gunfighter to meet his long-lost father in the midst of a violent range war. When Wes Rawlins, one of the best bounty hunters in the west, discovers his mother was beaten and left for dead, everything in his life changes. Wes believes that his long lost father, Ray Eastman, is responsible and sets off to avenge his mother. However, he discovers that his father is involved in a territorial battle with feuding neighbors. When Wes jumps in to defend his new family, he learns the truth behind his mother's murder and soon his life will never be the same. The film stars Kevin Sorbo, Gail O'Grady, Meredith Baxter, and Greg Evigan.

Source: The Nielsen Company, March 18-24, 2013

ABOUT HALLMARK MOVIE CHANNEL

Hallmark Movie Channel, the second linear channel from Crown Media Holdings, Inc., simulcast in SD (Standard Definition) and HD (High Definition), is a trusted family-friendly network devoted to quality storytelling. Available in 50 million homes and one of the fastest-growing cable TV networks, Hallmark Movie Channel is a 24-hour digital cable network dedicated to bringing viewers original movies with a mix of classic theatrical films, and presentations from the acclaimed Hallmark Hall of Fame library. In today's crowded television landscape, the network offers viewers a diverse range of film genres, including mysteries, westerns, coming-of-age dramas, and epic fantasies.