Alliance Atlantis’ Slice, formerly known as Life Network, claims it has upped its average minute audience by 52% for adults aged 25-54, and by 47% for women aged 18-49 over the summer, compared to 2006.

Slice VP of content Vanessa Case says that the channel, which brands itself as ‘guilty pleasures’ for women, has also succeeded in dropping its average age from 43 in 2006 to 37 this year. ‘Women who were in their 30s primarily were not being targeted very aggressively,’ she says, noting that the most competitive demo in the marketplace is women aged 25-54. ‘We went from mid-to-low 40s as the average age on Life, to a 37 on Slice.’

The channel refused to provide more specific ratings. But reality shows such as Superstar Hair Challenge (pictured), Tori and Dean: Inn Love and Newlywed Nearly Dead? are among its most-watched series, according to BBM Nielsen Media Research data provided by Slice.

Slice advice series Outlaw In-Laws will resume shooting next month. The show, which premiered in the spring, has grown viewership for its Friday 8:30 pm and Sunday 10:30 pm time slots by 60% among women aged 18-49 versus a year ago.

Cable channels tend to do well in summer, but Slice will face stiffer competition when the season and its reruns end and viewers head back down the dial to the major networks.

This story first appeared in Playback Daily.