Court puts temporary halt on "Project Runway" move

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A judge on Friday temporarily halted plans by film and television producer The Weinstein Co to take its hit TV program "Project Runway" to the Lifetime cable TV network from rival Bravo where it now airs.

The preliminary injunction, handed down in New York State Supreme Court, means that for now the fashion design contest starring model Heidi Klum will not jump to Lifetime Network in November 2008, as had been scheduled.

NBC Universal, the media wing of General Electric Co and the owner of Bravo, said it was pleased with the ruling, while separately privately-held Weinstein vowed to appeal.

In his roughly 40-page ruling, Judge Richard Lowe said NBC Universal had shown, among other things, a likelihood that it might eventually prove it had a right of first refusal to re-sign the show to a new cable TV distribution contract before Weinstein reached a separate agreement with Lifetime.

The program, in which contestants design new clothes each week and are judged by Klum and other fashion experts, is currently in its fifth season on Bravo. In its fourth season, it averaged 3.8 million women viewers ages 18 to 49-year-old and its finale lured 6.1 million women in the same group.

Lifetime, which targets women and is owned by Hearst Corp and The Walt Disney Co., said it was disappointed but would continue to pursue its deal with Weinstein so that a sixth season of "Project Runway" would air on its network.

Weinstein also said it remained committed to the Lifetime deal and that it was "glad" Judge Lowe required NBC Universal to post a $20 million bond as the matter proceeds in court.

That sum is 10 percent of a $200 million bond for which Weinstein Co. had asked claiming that was the amount of the deal it had with Lifetime.

(Editing by Carol Bishopric)