Wong is widening Lifetime's focus, adding a slew of programs from every genre, from comedies to reality, such as “Project Runway,” which it just snagged from Bravo, to dramas along the lines of its returning “Army Wives,” to the type of reality soaps MTV airs. She’s moving many of the network's signature movies over to Lifetime Movie Network.

In the range of its programming, the new Lifetime will far more resemble a traditional broadcast network.

It’s a risky move, but it’s also probably the best strategy for the network to differentiate itself from other women’s networks while boosting its ratings closer to those of mass networks like USA and TNT.

“We think Lifetime can be a lighter and brighter channel where women feel like it’s relatable to them and fun at the same time,” says Susanne Daniels, president of entertainment at Lifetime.

“In the past, when you thought of Lifetime, you thought of the infamous women-in-peril movies. What I want to set about doing is say, ‘No more women in peril movies.’”

The network’s identity
Lifetime has long been a network for older women based on its emphasis on movies that tug at heartstrings. It will remain a women's network but under Wong it will aim to engage women on a lot of other levels as well, and it will aim to attract a younger, more diverse viewership.

That's not a change of identity as such, but it will be a challenge.

“It’s a lot more challenging to go after that younger group because they’re elusive,” says Brad Adgate, senior vice president and corporate research director at Horizon Media. “But if they can make their programming resonate with that audience, they’ll reap a lot of advertiser revenue.”

The network’s target audience
Lifetime has always done best among women 18-49 and 25-54, and its median age, 46, reflects that.

But in going after younger women, say those in their 30s, Lifetime faces another issue beyond attracting them. That's the risk of alienating its core audience.

Daniels says the aim is to appeal to both audiences, attracting the new while holding onto the old, but if Lifetime must give up either, it will be the longtime older core viewer.

“Ideally, we’ll do this like we did with ‘Army Wives,’” she says. “That core audience loves ‘Army Wives’ but we also brought in new, younger viewers. That’s my first choice. My second choice is to abandon that core audience.”

The network’s ratings
Lifetime has recently been doing fairly well, ranking No. 1 among women 18-49 and 25-54 in 2007, according to the network and, most promising, it was up 12 percent in 18-34s.

But its overall audience dipped 9 percent on a year-to-year basis in first quarter, to 1.4 million viewers in primetime, and it was down as well among adults 18-49 and 25-54.

The network’s competitive set
Lifetime sees its competitors as mass networks like USA but it still competes with similar, smaller networks like Hallmark and Oxygen because of the similarity of programming.

What’s new for 2008/09
Lifetime’s biggest move was stealing away “Project Runway.” It’s bringing back the couple of hits it has: “Army Wives” and the reality show “How to Look Good Naked.”

In addition, it's rolling out a lot of new shows like “Rita Rocks,” a comedy with Nicole Sullivan of “King of Queens,” and dramas like “Drop Dead Diva” from one of the producers of “CSI,” and “Trump Tower” from Donald Trump. Reality shows include “Salsa and the City,” a reality soap about dancers in Los Angeles.

The network’s upfront outlook
On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being excellent: 3.5.

Lifetime has long been appealing to media buyers because of audience and its size as a top-10 network, and it's certainly going to have a strong story to tell with its ambitions to diversify and grow its audience.

Yet at the same time any network that's talking about revamping itself raises the worry that it will drive away viewers in the process. Lifetime under Wong faces the challenge of showing it can pull it off what it promises.