From Staff Reports

The Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority recently spent $500,000 on a Hallmark movie promotional deal that resulted in the production and release of  “A Biltmore Christmas,” filmed at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville.

The film, co-starring Kristoffer Polaha co-stars and Bethany Joy Lenz, premiered on Nov 26 on the Hallmark Channel.

“During the commercials, (the) Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority announced that it had sponsored the production of this movie, which wasn’t even up to Hallmark’s own mediocre standards,” a recent Asheville Watchdog story noted. 

“So, is the TDA now into financing movies?

“Love it or hate it, the movie, ‘A Biltmore Christmas,’ has generated a lot of media attention for Asheville and the estate. And yes, the TDA does have a marketing deal with Hallmark.”

Asheville Watchdog’s story added, “‘The $500,000 national promotional partnership spans six months — July through December — and is delivering 36.4 million national TV and digital impressions, including built-in broadcast trivia units and custom website content, TDA spokesperson Ashley Greenstein said via email.

“Greenstein said Explore Asheville, the TDA’s subsidiary, and Hallmark ‘crafted a first-of-its-kind destination partnership leading up to the premiere of ‘A Biltmore Christmas.’

“She also pointed out that Hallmark is the ‘most-watched entertainment cable network among households and total viewers in the last quarter of the year.’”

Greenstein also told Asheville Watchdog that “Hallmark is particularly popular with women,” noting the following: 

“It might be well-known that women serve as the primary decision-makers and planners of travel, but what may surprise many is Hallmark Channel’s extensive audience.

“It not only ranks highly with women, but also with households and total viewers. The destination promotion included Asheville-focused TV spots leading up to and during the broadcast as well as integrated digital media on hallmarkchannel.com.”