Slice, the re-branded Life Network, is bringing a Canadian edition of Project Runway to life for its fall schedule. The multi-partnered deal teams Alliance Atlantis with Toronto-based Insight Production Company and UK-based FremantleMedia Enterprises. The announcement should be music to marketers’ ears considering the eyeballs and product integration the show has enjoyed in the US. Like the original series, Project Runway Canada, will pit Canadian fashion designers against each other in head-to-head competitions.
Although Alliance Atlantis would not reveal audience numbers for Project Runway‘s third season, it ranked number one on the Life Network for adults 25-54 and women 25-54 in fall 2006. In the US, the show’s third season finale shattered Bravo’s previous record on Oct. 18, 2006, which captured 5.4 million eyeballs in the 10 pm time slot. The show was able to raise its bar by 57% over the previous season, topping off a great season of integration for its sponsors: L’Oreal Paris, Saturn, Macy’s, Orbitz, TRESemme, ELLE magazine and Delta Air Lines.
The show’s got a US microsite backing the program (see www.bravotv.com/Project_Runway/) with bios, video, photos, message boards, mash-ups, mobile, and other engaging features like ‘Rate the Runway,’ which is sponsored by L’Oreal Paris.
Slice will debut Project Catwalk, the UK version of the show, on March 5. It will also be the Canadian broadcaster for the fourth season of Project Runway‘s US show, hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum – who’s not afraid to give up the spotlight for the 2007 Saturn Sky Roadster, the grand prize that got its motor running for a short trip around the stage.
Slice will debut 15 new series when it launches in March. Thirteen of them are original productions created exclusively for the new net, including: Outlaw In-Laws (Canadian), UpRooted (Canadian), The Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp (Canadian), The Real Housewives of Orange Country (U.S. Acquisition), and Beauty and The Geek (U.S. Acquisition). Premiere dates have been set for Newlywed, Nearly Dead (March 5 at 8:30 pm ET/PT – 13 episodes), featuring a marriage expert on a mission to lower North America’s divorce rate one marriage at a time. Rocker Moms (Tuesday, April 24 at 10:30 pm – 13 episodes), follows a group of moms who are also members of a rock band. Three Takes (Weekdays at 12 pm and 6 pm ET / 9 pm and 3 pm PT, starting March 5 – 65 episodes), is a daily talk show that goes behind the scenes to reveal what being single, married and divorced is really all about.
The new programming scheduled for Slice will allow seamless integrated product placement and co-marketing opportunities in a number of categories, including: health and beauty, alcohol, automotive, telecommunications, fashion and retail.
For MiC‘s Nov. 2, 2006 story about the re-branding of Life Network to Slice, click here.
