Alliance Atlantis reports that HGTV has jumped to the top spot in Canadian specialty nets when it comes to attracting women 25-54, pushing Corus Entertainment’s W Network into second place – at least for the spring season.

It’s the first time in HGTV’s history that the net has captured the top spot for the key W25-54 demo, and it represents about 36% growth over last year.

The spring season audience BBM/Nielsen numbers arrived yesterday, comparing viewership for April 2-June 25, 2007 to the same period in 2006. However, Corus Entertainment’s data for the ‘broadcast year’ has W Network leading in the demos W18+, W18-34, W18-49, and W25-54, for which it is tied with HGTV.

Following W Network at #2 on the spring data, Bravo! took third place in W25-54 viewership, and Alliance Atlantis’ Showcase took fourth.

HGTV’s A25-54 demo was up 26% in the spring data, with growth in all day parts but most significantly in primetime. The net attributes the growth to its strong real estate programming.

The net reports three shows, stripped across Monday through Friday, that contributed to the growth with consistent audiences: House Hunters, Location, Location, Location, and Buy Me. Holmes on Homes, stripped Monday through Friday, also delivered strong audiences. ‘Design Tuesdays’ on HGTV performed particularly well with women 25-54, with shows such as Home to Stay, Design Inc. and Sarah’s House.