'Project Runway' returns in style
Lifetime reality series premieres to record numbers
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“Runway” drew 4.2 million viewers -- the largest crowd for any reality competition series preem on cable this year -- and a 3.2 rating among women 18-49, the demo the network covets. That number was 32% higher than the show’s fifth-season premiere on Bravo.
The rating for the couture competish was also the highest for a series premiere in Lifetime’s history in women and adults 18-34.
“I’ve never heard more excitement and laughter in the halls here at Lifetime,” network topper Andrea Wong told Daily Variety in reaction to the debut. “We’ll keep the pedal to the metal in terms of promotion.”
She expects the numbers to drop for this week’s show but then build again as the series moves along in choosing a winning fashion designer.
Cabler is hoping the strong turnout can elevate viewership for other programming. Net made sure to promote skeins “Army Wives,” “Drop Dead Diva” and upcoming comedy “Sherri” during the hourlong show.
The fashion-themed skein, which moved from New York to Los Angeles this season, had been on hiatus for 10 months. The delay came after NBC Universal sued producers the Weinstein Co. for moving the show from Bravo to Lifetime. The show wasn’t allowed to air until the legal wrangling was finally settled in April (Daily Variety, April 2).
Opposite “Runway,” Bravo’s current top series “Real Housewives of Atlanta” averaged 2.8 million viewers. USA’s “Royal Pains” outperformed “Project Runway” in total viewers with 5.3 million in the 10 o’clock hour and also was the top cable show in the timeslot among adults 25-54 (2.0/6).
Prior to “Project Runway,” the two-hour special “All-Star Challenge” garnered a 2.2 rating in the 18-49 women’s demo. “Models of the Runway,” a weekly skein that will follow “Project Runway,” scored a 1.4 rating in women 18-49.
