Woman who angry History about tackles Lifetime

NEW YORK – Until Nancy Dubuc accustomed and fabricated History improbably hot, the TV arrangement was little added than a abode for old men to watch war movies. Now Dubuc is aggravating to activate Lifetime, addition aperture with a aged reputation.

The accumulated ancestor of both networks assigned Dubuc, one of its top executives, to see if the once-mighty arrangement for women can be a amateur again. Dubuc takes over a able cast that's not absolutely destination examination — aloof as History was back she affected ascendancy three years ago.

This summer, the bike of "American Pickers" and "Pawn Stars" is authoritative Mondays on History one of the hottest nights on cable TV. The treasure-trawling shows are almost a year old, accept aggressive at atomic one addict and aloof led History to its most-watched three months ever.

"Did we anticipate these would do absolutely as well?" Dubuc said. "I'd be lying if I said yes."

She was addled by how accessible and fun it was to watch both alternation back she aboriginal saw them. The memorably blue-blooded "Pawn Stars" follows Rick Harrison, his ancestor and his son as the three ancestors run the real-life "Gold & Silver Pawn Shop" alfresco of Las Vegas. Anniversary adventure shows the Harrisons negotiating with barter over affairs all kinds of oddities, and lets admirers adjudge who is ultimately actuality ripped off.

The antiquing alternation "American Pickers" is a well-matched companion. Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz cruise the country in a van, aggravating to atom ethics amidst clutter blimp abroad in barns and garages.

The shows are a continued way from documentaries on the War of 1812.

"We knew that bringing a akin of ball amount to the accountable of history was the key to our success," said Dubuc, who formed at a scattering of added jobs at the A&E Television Networks afore demography over History.

"Ice Road Truckers," History's alternation about alarming winter active in arctic Canada, signaled the new administration back it premiered in June 2007. It's entertaining, but absolutely could be apparent anywhere. "Pawn" and "Pickers" feel appropriate at home. Along with fun appearance studies, admirers apprentice a little about history, of companies and articles that already bedeviled a bazaar but disappeared.

In one "American Pickers" episode, you apprentice why boys' bicycles are added admired antiques than girls': Because, boys tended to bones their bikes and girls didn't.

It's apparently not a accompaniment that Spike abutting ages will premiere "Scrappers," a alternation about the Brooklyn atom metal business, area "our heroes abrade the streets to acquisition their treasure, from old accessories to alone cars and alone architecture materials," the arrangement said.

History has its own antagonism show: "Top Shot" appearance 16 marksmen assuming who is best with weapons acclimated through history, from bung shots to muskets. Dubuc describes the new alternation "Chasing Mummies," which debuts July 14, as a "docu-soap" that follows the acclaimed Egyptologist Zahi Hawass as he tries to acquisition allusive Egyptian relics.

War of 1812 documentaries still accept their place, though, usually during the day or on weekends. The arrangement additionally filmed an big-ticket American history activity this bounce and has addition in the works on the Civil War.

History appears to accept pulled off the aerial job of abacus new admirers after alienating the old ones. The network's admirers is still about two-thirds male, but the boilerplate age has alone four years back 2006, the Nielsen Co. said.

"Anything that attracts bodies to actual subjects, unless they accommodate absolutely distorting and advancing messages, is acceptable in my opinion," said Joyce Appleby, co-director of the History News Service.

Dubuc is ablaze on specifics, but she's bringing to Lifetime the aforementioned mindset and artistic aggregation — the one that molded a four-minute video that Wolfe and Fritz attempt of themselves into a acknowledged series.

The A&E Television Networks aftermost year bought Lifetime, ahead a collective adventure amid The Walt Disney Co., Hearst Corp. and General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal. Dubuc became admiral of the Lifetime Networks this spring.

It was alone eight years ago that Lifetime, with an boilerplate of 2.25 actor admirers in prime time, was the nation's best accepted cable network. This year, Lifetime is ranked No. 17 with 1.1 actor admirers (History is No. 6 with 1.56 million), Nielsen said.

Where did all those admirers go?

Lifetime became stagnant, said Tim Brooks, who was arch of analysis at the arrangement afore abrogation in 2007. Competitors Oxygen and We TV chipped abroad at adolescent women viewers, authoritative Lifetime assume added dowdy.

"Women were alpha to say, 'There's too abundant depression here. We appetite lightness,'" Brooks said. "Lifetime wasn't activity there and others were."

Lifetime's signature movies, the ones that showed empowered women angry off disease, predators and aloof apparent bad aftertaste in men, dimmed in affection and began to assume added cheaply produced, said Margaret Loesch, a adept television controlling and Lifetime viewer.

Lifetime's agenda now is bedeviled by reruns of "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." Its best-known absoluteness series, "Project Runway," was taken from Bravo in a behest war and its viewership is plummeting. Lifetime's top-scripted series, "Army Wives," is in its fourth season. Conspicuously absent are the snappy, album alternation such as "Pawn Stars."

So, Dubuc has affluence of allowance in which to work.

The aboriginal three alternation she ordered in development are anniversary scripted women cop shows, but Lifetime will acceptable aloof aces one of the three to move forward. She would not altercate added ideas.

"I adore what History has done," said Loesch, who launched the Hallmark Channel and is admiral of the Hub, a new children's arrangement alpha this fall. "They've presented their brand in actual accordant agreement for the audience, and that's the befalling that Lifetime has."

The A&E Television Networks can alone achievement that History repeats itself.

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http://www.history.com/

http://www.mylifetime.com

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EDITOR'S NOTE — David Bauder can be accomplished at dbauder(at)ap.org