Is the switch to the Lifetime channel going to rejuvenate Project Runway?
Almost 16 months after Lifetime Television struck a deal to snag the fashion reality hit “Project Runway” from Bravo the show will finally debut in its new home tonight. A lot is riding on this for Lifetime, which needs “Project Runway” and its stars Tim Gunn and Heidi Klum to bring in a big young audience for its investment to pay off. According to Nielsen Media Research, Lifetime’s prime-time audience has fallen in the last six years from an average of 1.7 million viewers in 2004 to 1.2 million this year, a drop of almost 30%. Among women ages 18 to 49 during the same period, the drop is 33% and for women ages 25 to 54 Lifetime is down 37%. While the network has had some recent successes with “Drop Dead Diva” and the drama “Army Wives,” its median age is still hovering around 50. So can one show heading into its sixth season turn everything around? Probably not, but it’s a start. During its last two seasons on Bravo, “Project Runway” has drawn more viewers than Lifetime’s prime-time
Has Lifetime Ruined Project Runway? (Updated) This Thursday, Project Runway premieres on Lifetime after five seasons on Bravo. Lifetime executives, Heidi Klum, and Tim Gunn have made a painstaking effort to reassure the public the show is exactly the same as it was on Bravo. But with a reality-television show as important as this one and networks as disparate as these, even Gunn’s word can’t be trusted. The Daily News likens the move to “kidnapping Diana Ross and forcing her to wear work shirts made for Martha Stewart.” But will Diana Ross throw on a pair of killer heels, steal a belt from her man, pop the collar, leave the top buttons undone, and make that shirt fierce, fabulous, and hers? Or will she simply flatten her hair and try to grow the best heirloom tomatoes this side of the Mississippi? The Daily News saw the first episode and reports that the former might be a possibility. The show retains the same production company — the Magical Elves — it had on Bravo. It was shot, but n
