Hallmark is not the only romcom network that has laid off a high-profile executive. GAF’s parent company Great American Media has quietly laid off a baker’s dozen of their own high profile executives. This is the network that focuses on faith-based and family-oriented movies. The network, which boasted big holiday number increases laid off some of its top employees.
Who is no longer with the network that Candace Cameron Bure calls home?
GAF Parent Company Lays Off 13 Executives
Hallmark Media made headlines when they eliminated Lisa Hamilton Daly’s EVP of Programming position. However, the parent company of GAF, whose CEO is former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott, also made some deep cuts to their executive lineup.
According to Deadline, “roughly 13 people were cut from top jobs” at the same time as Daly. They include Chief Marketing Officer Loren Schwartz; EVP Digital & Strategic Growth Jamie Kramer; Chief Financial Officer, Max Pinigin; VP Corporate Communications Angela Sullivan; Exec VP User Experience & Operations, Brian Pancarik; Head of Financial Planning and Analysis, Michael Hough; and Pure Flix Creative Director, Nicole Gardner. These are about half of the employees that were laid off.
Great American Media shared a statement with the publication. “in 2023, Sony invested in Great American Media and rolled its PureFlix streaming video on demand service into GAM’s business to be run by GAM management for the purpose of maximizing the synergies between the two.”
On the heels of the highly successful year, we excelled with our Christmas launch and we kicked off 2024 hosting the Rose parade, announced the network’s first-ever original series, Country Rescue, and announced the launch of our own mystery franchises. And we will be launching even more programming, content, and experiences throughout the year.
Great American Media Boasted Of Fast Growth
These extensive layoffs happened just a week after Abbott shared on Instagram about the success of 2024. “This year has been filled with incredible milestones and none of them would have been possible without your unwavering support and believe in our mission.” Abbott boasted that GAF was “TV’s fastest growing linear channel.” However, they could not get close to Hallmark’s vast viewership.
In 2024, the network added some new exclusive stars. This includes Mario Lopez, who previously worked with the Lifetime Channel. In addition, they added long-time Hallmark favorites, Carlos and Alexa PenaVega. Lastly, Sleuthers were heartbroken when Cameron Mathison chose to leave Hallmark and the Hannah Swensen Mystery series for Great American Family.
GAF fans, are you surprised or concerned about the many executive layoffs with Bill Abbot’s network? Also, have you checked out their streaming service Pure Flix?