Hallmark faces a year of scandals. First, one of their marquee stars gets charged with committing fraud to get her daughters admitted to an elite college. Then, in the midst of their Countdown to Christmas programming, the channel’s decision to pull an ad featuring two brides generates massive backlash. Hallmark ekes out a ratings win, but the cracks in its dominance are starting to show. Listen to new episodes 1 week early and to all episodes ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App https://wondery.app.link/businesswars. Support us by supporting our sponsors! Podium - Get started free today at podium.com/BW See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Over the past decade, made-for-TV holiday romance movies have gone from a seasonal guilty pleasure to a mainstream phenomenon, drawing in millions of viewers year over year. While Hallmark and Lifetime still seem to be guiding this sleigh, streamers like Netflix and Hulu are getting in on the action as well, putting their own spin on the cheesy Christmas classics — and it’s paying off. So what makes these movies such an iconic holiday tradition? Here to answer that and more is Danny Pellegrino, host of the Everything Iconic podcast, and co-host of A Very Merry Iconic podcast. He’s taking us deep into the world of Christmas movie magic, and sharing a few films you’ll definitely want to add to your Christmas list. Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino: https://everythingiconic.com/ Please support us by supporting our sponsors! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.