NBC Goes to Court to Keep ‘Runway’
By BILL CARTER
Published: April 7, 2008
NBC Universal, the parent company of Bravo network, has gone to court to try to keep “Project Runway,” one of the biggest hits in cable television, from moving to Lifetime this fall.
NBC Universal, the Bravo channel's parent company, is suing the owners of the hit cable program, "Project Runway," to stop the show from moving to Lifetime. Christian Siriano, left, was the winning designer of the show's fourth season.
In a lawsuit filed Monday in state court in Manhattan, NBC accused the owner of “Project Runway,” the Weinstein Company, of violating its rights by making the deal with Lifetime.
The suit asserts Harvey Weinstein, the chief executive of the Weinstein Company, promised NBC that it would have an opportunity to match any offer to the rights of “Project Runway” and that instead, Mr. Weinstein concluded a deal with Lifetime on Feb. 7, even though he continued to negotiate with NBC Universal for two more months.
In a statement, NBC said “NBC Universal has continuing rights related to ‘Project Runway,’ including a right of first refusal to future cycles of the series, which the Weinstein Company unfortunately has refused to honor.”
David Boies, the lawyer for the Weinstein Company, said in a statement: “We believe that this lawsuit is without merit. While good for the market for lawyers, it is always unfortunate when parties try to win in court what they have lost in the marketplace.”
The president of Lifetime, Andrea Wong, said, “I could not be more excited that ‘Project Runway’ is coming to Lifetime.”
The show is scheduled to start on Lifetime in November, Ms. Wong said — though it will have to squeeze in one more cycle on Bravo before that.
Full article
here
