Hearing On NBCU’s ‘Project Runway’ Suit Delayed
NBCU’s Bid For Preliminary Injunction Against The Weinstein Co. Put Off A Month
By Linda Moss -- Multichannel News, 6/17/2008 10:04:00 AM MT
A court hearing on NBC Universal’s suit against The Weinstein Co., over Project Runway moving to Lifetime Television from Bravo, originally slated for today has been postponed until July 17.
Tuesday, was the initial return date on NBCU’s legal bid to get a preliminary injunction against The Weinstein Co., which earlier this year did a $150 million deal to take its hit reality show Project Runway to Lifetime this fall for its sixth season.
In April, NBCU filed suit claiming Weinstein’s deal with the women’s network violates its contract with the producer. The media giant is seeking to have The Weinstein Co. enjoined from taking the show away from Bravo, where it’s been a signature series for the network, and barred from creating any Runway spin-offs for Lifetime.
NBCU is Bravo’s parent company, and both entities are also asking New York Supreme Court Judge Richard Lowe to be able to file “under seal” proprietary information attached to an affidavit by Marc Graboff, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment.
At the Peabody Awards ceremony Monday in Manhattan, The Weinstein Co. co-chairman Harvey Weinstein (pictured) picked up an award for Project Runway, and thanked NBCU president Jeff Zucker for greenlighting the show, which they are now in litigation over.
“No matter what happens in that case, we could make a reality series out of it,” Weinstein said. “Thank you very much, and a special thanks to Jeff Zucker.”
Project Runway’s fifth season will debut on Bravo in July, with the show then moving to Lifetime in the fall.
