'Runway' struts
to record for Lifetime
Sixth-season premiere averages a 3.3 household rating
By Toni Fitzgerald
Aug 24, 2009
“Project Runway” was apparently worth the wait.
More than a year after Lifetime wooed the show away from Bravo, and following a sometimes ugly court battle over rights to the reality program, “Runway” made its Lifetime debut Thursday, becoming the top-rated premiere in the network’s history.
“Runway” averaged a 3.3 household rating, up 32 percent over the show’s season five bow. Among Lifetime’s target women 18-49, the Heidi Klum-hosted show averaged a 3.2 rating, up 28 percent over last year.
It was the highest-rated premiere ever for the network on those measures as well as women 18-34 (3.8 rating) and 18-34s (2.5).
It drew 4.2 million total viewers in its new Thursday 10 p.m. timeslot.
“Runway” aired its first five seasons on Bravo, where it became the network’s top-rated show.
Lifetime acquired the rights to “Runway” from producer The Weinstein Company last year for a reported $150 million, to the great anger of Bravo parent NBC Universal, which said it had not been given the right of first refusal.
NBC Universal took the Weinsteins to court, and an injunction barred the show from airing until this year, after the two sides reached a deal, terms of which were not released.
Since “Runway” skedaddled, Bravo has since launched its own designer program, “The Fashion Show,” which has drawn less than half the audience of “Runway.”
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