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Is designer Diane von Furstenberg's foray into reality television with E! a ratings disaster? According to an article published last week by TheWrap, execs are rumored to be disappointed with House of DVF's following, despite a big marketing push that even involved placing DVF-designed mini Statues of Liberty around New York City. TheWrap says that the show is doing worse in the ratings than the launch of E!'s #RichKids of Beverly Hills. Ouch.
A source told TheWrap: "This was supposed to be a big, big hit for E! and [NBCUniversal Cable chairman Bonnie Hammer] is embarrassed with the results."
For the first two episodes, House of DVF averaged 519,000 total viewers and lost 68% of the audience from Kourtney and Khloe Take The Hamptons. NBCUniversal Lifestyle Networks president Frances Berwick defended House of DVF, telling TheWrap: "It doesn't do the same numbers as the Kardashians, but nothing else on our network does." She said that the show is doing well in its demographic of upscale female viewers. "It's exactly where we would expect the show to be at this time. Reality shows grow. I have some experience with that on Bravo and those shows have done extremely well for us."
TheWrap even found a source inside von Furstenberg's company, who is quoted as saying: "There's definitely disappointment in New York about the performance. The thing about Diane is she bounces back. She does take risks. Let's just say she's good at letting the blame live somewhere else."
House of DVF was supposed to be part of E!'s new, glossy, Kardashian-free image and even though the premiere ratings weren't great, people at E! are still into the show. "Diane brought a little chic back to E!, instead of always having to talk about the Kardashians," a source said. And Berwick told TheWrap that she is committed to airing the entire first season of the show, so viewers will see the DVF brand ambassador competition through to its nail-biting conclusion.
· NBCU Cable Chief Bonnie Hammer Disappointed Over E!'s 'House of DVF' Ratings, Insiders Say (Exclusive) [The Wrap]
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