Last week, Project Runway’s season finale aired on Lifetime instead of Bravo for the first time in the show’s six-season history. And the ratings were down. Thursday’s episode drew 4.2 million viewers, down from the 4.8 million who watched the season-five finale on Bravo. Despite a strong season premiere, ratings for the show dwindled to an average of 3.2 million each week, while an average of 3.6 million watched the show on Bravo. We suspect the stellar season premiere on Lifetime was due to the curiosity of the show’s longtime fans, especially after the program had been off the air for ages while the Weinstein Company worked out the mess of lawsuits related to the network move. Though Lifetime maintained the formula that had made the show successful for five seasons, the network shift alienated a small yet key demographic: straight men. Straight men sometimes watch Bravo thanks largely, we think, to Top Chef. They could justify catching a few minutes of Runway here and there. But Lifetime? That’s too embarrassing, even for many women.
RUNWAY WALKS OFF [WWD]
