Liftetime - I don't watch it but I like to know it's there!

I remember being exciting when I first heard the news that women were going to have our own network... not channel... but network.  Wall Street finally realized we have buying power, we matter and we need to be catered to.  Enter the launch of Lifetime Networks in 1984.  It took over a decade for Women's Entertainment, rebranded as WE tv to come along.  So, imagine my surprise when I read that Lifetime is struggling to hold on to their core base of fans.  How can a company with a mission statement like the one below go under?  How did the company get off course with a commitment statement like this:

Lifetime Networks is a diverse, multi-media company, committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming content that celebrates, entertains and supports women. 

It seems the network has lost it way over the past few years which, in a way, makes me sad.  Granted, I don't watch Lifetime.  Heck, I don't even watch Project Runway anymore.  Seriously, I can't take more than three seasons of any reality show.  Oh, and those Lifetime movies... if you've seen one you've seen them all.  When I was snowed in a couple of weeks ago I watch Lifetime after Lifetime movie but if I had to see one more "I'm secretly obsessed with you and I want to (a) be with you, (b) kill your spouse so I can move in or (c) kill you so nobody else can have you" I was gonna poke my eye out!  So, no, the Lifetime network isn't my first go-to television destination but still... I like knowing it's there.  I like knowing there's a network dedicated to women.  I like know there is more than one network dedicated to women.  Maybe it's just me...

Here are the headlines from today's LA Times and it's not good news for Lifetime. 

The women's cable network has struggled for years to change from plain Jane to glamour girl. But Lifetime's numerous makeovers have taken a toll: Its prime-time audience has plunged so much that the channel no longer even ranks among the top five favorite cable networks among women under 50, according to Nielsen.

Meanwhile, rival networks have been wooing women away with shows such as the "Real Housewives" series on Bravo, MTV's "Teen Mom," Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" and even reruns of "Sex and the City" on TBS.

The quandary for Lifetime has been a conflict between the viewers it seeks and those who tune in.

"There were a lot of people at Lifetime who wanted our viewer to be hipper and more fashionable," said Brent Poer, a former marketing executive at Lifetime who is now senior vice president at MediaVest USA, which buys commercials for Wal-Mart and Procter & Gamble. "That just wasn't who they were."

 Read the full story here:

Lifetime's new looks haven't fit quite right - latimes.com

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