‘Hallmark Channel’ Rival ‘Great American Family’ Purchases Christian Streaming Service ‘PureFlix’ To Produce More “Faith And Family-Friendly” Entertainment
Earlier this year, the newly-launched Great American Family became the fastest-growing cable network, in large part due to its open effort to distance itself from the ever-growing trend of LGBTQ content overtaking popular media.
Now, in a move that is expected to have major implications across the cable and streaming, the company is looking to expand its reputation as the new hub for true family friendly entertainment by purchasing the Christian streaming service ‘PureFlix’.
As per GAF Media’s May 11th merger announcement, the “leading faith and family streaming platform” will now fall under the larger Great American Media umbrella, joining such other channels and services as Great American Living and Great American Community.
Issuing a statement alongside the news, current Great American Media president and CEO Bill Abbott – who will serve as the CEO of the merged entity and report the company’s board – declared, “In a media environment where programming and distribution business models are in a constant state of flux, this agreement provides a rare opportunity to maximize our potential with the expertise, market knowledge and content creation capabilities of a world class partner like Sony Pictures.”
“This merger will allow us to further our commitment to original, quality content and makes Great American Media and Pure Flix leaders in a large and under-served market,” he added.
PureFlix is a Christian production company responsible for films such as ‘I’m Not Ashamed’, ‘Indivisible’, and ‘Unplanned’. In 2020, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased the Pure Flix streaming video service, though left the rights to the company’s production studio with its founders.
To that end, with this new merger, PureFlix is looking forward to creating a new family-centric home amidst a growing tide of degeneracy.
“Family-friendly entertainment remains an important segment of the industry, and merging these two entities will create the greatest opportunity to achieve more scale for Pure Flix as it continues to build its subscriber base,” exclaimed Sony Pictures Television Studios and Corporate Development chairman Ravi Ahuja.“Bill and the Great American Media team have been successfully leading the Great American Family and Great American Living brands, and we believe they have a winning plan to take Pure Flix to even greater heights.”
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Notably, Abbott founded Great American Media after leaving his role as the then-CEO of the Hallmark Channel due to the latter’s turn to prioritizing ‘diversity and inclusion’ over family-friendly entertainment.
This issue came to a head in 2020 when the network found itself in the hot water after airing an from Zola featuring two women getting married.
The backlash caused a split in Hallmark’s fanbase and talent so severe that a number of the network’s biggest stars, including Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKellar, Gladys Knight, and Jen Lilley, joined Abbott in jumping ship to Great American Family.
“I think that Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” said Bure at the time of her departure. “I think we know the core audience and what they love is exactly how Bill originally built the Hallmark Channel.”
“There’s so much need for family content and the market in this space,” Abbott likewise attested in a separate statement. “It’s pretty scary, quite frankly, the amount of content that’s out there , the vast majority of content is salacious and is not appropriate for any member of the family, really.”
As of 2023, Great American Family has seen their viewership grow 50% over a period of two years. With their newly-acquired access to PureFlix’s library, that number is certain to rise.
And rest assured: their commitment to traditional families will certainly draw the ire of those on the left who value diversity and inclusion over entertainment. The good news is, Abbott’s group looks to be holding strong in their values.
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