Dish Targets 'Heartland' With $5 Family-Themed Package

'Heartland Package' includes Hallmark and RFD nets, GMC, PixL for $5 per month

By Mike Farrell, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/14/2012 12:19:51 PM

Dish Network unveiled a specialty programming package aimed at rural families -- the Heartland Package -- that includes movies, classic TV series, inspirational concert specials and rural lifestyle content.

Dish said the new content package includes GMC TV, the Hallmark Channel and the Hallmark Movie Channel (which announced an affiliate extension with Dish), PixL, RFD-TV and, starting tomorrow, RFD spinoff Rural TV.

A Dish spokesman said the channels (other than newcomer Rural) already exist in broad channel packages from the satellite-TV provider. This $5 package could appeal to subscribers who get entry-level packages, such as the $19.99 Dish Family service, that don't include the Heartlans networks

"Just in time for Valentine's Day, Dish delivers a programming package that courts the heart of America with family-friendly entertainment," Dish senior vice president of programming Dave Shull said in a release. "Parents want to be involved and watch TV with their children, and the Heartland Package brings the whole family together around this combination of family-focused networks. In addition, DISH provides advanced parental control technologies that equip parents to choose the content their children can access."

More information about the new Heartland Package and other Dish programming packages is available on itsweb site.