Just a month after The Hallmark Channel publicly apologized for removing its controversial advertisement, the CEO and president of the company that owns the network has apparently chosen to step down from his position. Crown Media announced in a statement that its CEO Bill Abbott would be leaving the company.
Abbott has been the CEO of Crown Media Family Networks for the past 11 years. Hallmark Cards Inc, the company that owns Crown Media, released a statement announcing Abbott's department. In the statement, the company thanked Abbott for his many years of services and his contributions to the success of both Crown Media and Hallmark. The company did not provide a specific date for Abbott's departure nor did it specify a reason for the decision.
Crown Media currently owns and operates several entertainment brands including the Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Publishing, and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. The brands primarily attract more politically conservative viewers in rural and suburban areas as the programs are generally targeted at families.
Hallmark Cards CEO, Mike Perry mentioned in the company's statement that Abbott's departure does come at a time of increased competition in the network television and video streaming space. However, the network is apparently more than ready to find new ways to continue the growth of its business and to continue to provide quality programming to its growing audience.
Last month, Hallmark was caught in the middle of a nationwide controversy after it decided to pull an advertisement for an online wedding planning company. The ad that was aired featured same-sex couples celebrating marriage. Following the release of the ad made for the wedding planning company Zola, Hallmark immediately received backlash from conservative groups, including a group called One Million Moms. The group had publicly called on Hallmark to immediately remove the advert and to impose a ban on similar content in its programming.
After the ads' removal, Hallmark issued a statement explaining that its decision was based on the fact that the debate surrounding the commercials were distracting it from the its main purpose, which is to provide quality entertainment. LGBT groups and other pro-same-sex marriage organization lashed out at the company's decision by running online and offline campaigns. Hallmark later reversed its decision to remove the advert and issued a public apology.
During a televised interview, Hallmark Cards' CEO explained that the company has been agonizing over its initial decision. Perry acknowledged that the removal of the ad might have unintentionally hurt or offended some people, which was never really its intention in the first place.
