'Project Runway' finale ratings are either huge, or not

Lifetime's happy. Bravo's unimpressed.

By HitFix Staff Saturday, Nov 21, 2009 11:38 AM

Irina of 'Project Runway'

Credit: Lifetime

Depending on how you look at it, Thursday (Nov. 19) night's ratings for the sixth season of "Project Runway" were either wildly impressive, or not.

Let's star first with Lifetime's spin:

The latest installment of "Project Runway" averaged nearly 4.3 million viewers, the most of the season. It also improved on the season average by 28 percent among women 18-49 (a 3.2 rating), 38 percent among women 25-54 (3.6 rating) and 26 percent in women over 18 (2.9 rating).

The episode, which featured 27-year-old New York native Irina Shabayeva's coronation as the show's latest winner, also helped the companion series "Models of the Runway" draw nearly 1.5 million viewers.

Within minutes, though, Bravo was tweeting a different percentage, 40. That represents a 40 percent drop for the Lifetime "Project Runway" finale compared to the fifth season finale, the last season the show was on Bravo.

Take your pick.

The next season of "Project Runway" returns to Lifetime on Jan. 14, 2010.