Bravo battles Lifetime over "Project Runway"

If you heard a collective gasp Monday afternoon, that was the sound of TV reporters learning that Lifetime had picked up the rights to air five seasons of Project Runway, snatching the popular show away from Bravo. Bravo, meanwhile, is suing, saying that they weren't given the chance to beat Lifetime's offer, even though that's stated in Bravo's contract with the show.

In the past few years, Lifetime has found its claim as the "network for women and their gay men" challenged by networks like Oxygen, with its younger and more outrageous voice, and Bravo, which transformed itself into a style and culture network. Lifetime, however, has been fighting back, finding success with new, original series like Army Wives and with reality shows like How to Look Good Naked, which is hosted by Carson Kressley, another name we first got to know at Bravo.

The most interesting bit, here, is the timing. According to the Chicago Tribuine's Maureen Ryan, Bravo has the rights to five seasons of Project Runway but has only aired four so far (casting for the fifth season is in progress). Meanwhile, Lifetime is eager to air Runway themselves and hopes to be airing new episodes by the fall. That means both networks could plausibly end up airing new episodes of different seasons at the same time, or that Bravo's fifth season could air after the show makes its debut on Lifetime. Is your head spinning yet? It's going to be really interesting to see how this story develops.

What do you think? Will the show feel the same airing on Lifetime? Does it give Lifetime a hipper image? What goes better with "Auf Wiedersehen": Golden Girls reruns or Work Out marathons?