Philo Becomes Streaming Home of ‘Deck the Hallmark’ Holiday Movie Podcast as Countdown to Christmas Continues
Video podcasts are all the rage nowadays. It seems every genre — from sports to true crime to niche entertainment — offers at least one superstar podcaster who streams their recording sessions on video, either live or on-demand. The live-tv-streaming company Philo is taking advantage of the popularity of video podcasts, announcing that it has become the streaming home of the “Deck the Hallmark” podcast.
Hosted by Brandon Gray and Daniel Thompson, the “Deck the Hallmark” podcast is a watch-and-review podcast dedicated to the Hallmark Channel’s yearly offering of original holiday movies. The “Deck the Hallmark” podcast channel will be a part of Philo’s base package and will feature five original episodes weekly with exclusive movie reviews and previews, rankings, and interviews with the stars of the movies, as well as back catalog episodes from the past few seasons.
Hallmark began its yearly blitz of holiday films on Oct. 21, and will be coming out with new Christmas and holiday movies every week until Dec. 25.
Related: Holiday Movie Roundup: All of the Christmas Films from Hallmark, Great American Family, Lifetime, Netflix, More
More and more streaming companies are taking note of the power of podcasts. In June of 2021, Netflix hired N’Jeri Eaton as its first-ever director of podcast programming. Eaton was previously head of content for Apple Podcasts and senior manager of program acquisitions at NPR. So far, the streaming giant’s podcasts have primarily been companions to shows and movies available to stream on the platform, but more content could be just around the corner.
Apple has also recently taken note of the versatility of podcasts. The company announced a deal with podcast studio Futuro wherein Apple will provide funding for future podcast ventures. In return, Apple receives the first right of refusal when any of the studio’s podcasts’ rights are sold for TV or movie development.
None of these companies have taken the step of providing a video streaming home for already-established podcasts as Philo has done, but if “Deck the Hallmark” is successful, more streamers will almost certainly take notice and try to scoop up other podcasts as well.
Philo
Philo is a live TV streaming service designed for entertainment lovers which includes 60+ channels for $28 per month. It’s an especially attractive option for fans of live TV who don’t watch sports. Your subscription includes ad-supported AMC+. Anyone can sign up for Philo’s free service, which offers 80+ channels.