Rihanna's New TV Show Gets Pushed To Friday Nightmare Slot On Bravo

According to Confidenti@l: Rihanna has become the latest casualty in NBC cable boss Bonnie Hammer’s decision to scrap the Style network. The end of the network has already resulted in eliminations of some staffers who can’t find other positions within the company.

Style was taken over by Esquire during a reorganization plan by Hammer, because the channel was “redundant” with its programming that was similar to Bravo, E! and Oxygen, all of which fall under the NBC umbrella. Style’s bigwigs had been planning for RiRi’s show to boost Sunday night’s ratings, a prime night for the former network.

Instead, Style — known for reality shows like “Jerseylicious” and “Giuliana and Bill” — was yanked at the 11th hour as RiRi’s “Styled to Rock” was scheduled to air.

When execs screened the singer’s reality competition series, it did not live up to expectations, according to one insider. It now has been dumped to Friday at 8 p.m. on Bravo, a historically low-rated slot. The show will debut Oct. 25 and features 12 up-and-coming designers picked by the singer and a slew of celebrity guest — including Miley Cyrus, Carly Rae Jepsen, Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Minogue — whose appearances obviously did not help the struggling series get a better time slot.

“Rihanna’s camp is pissed,” a Style network source tells Confidenti@l. “From promises to be a huge star on Style to a terrible time slot on Bravo. Ouch. The last original program to get that slot was “Platinum Hit” in 2011, which ran for five weeks.”

“Platinum Hit” was also a reality competition, featuring songwriters composing and performing songs.

As for the other hits on the now-defunct network, “Giuliana and Bill,” which averages 700,000 viewers per episode, will be moved to E!, where Giuliana Rancic is a popular host. Style’s hit “Tia & Tamera” will also move to E! in mid-October. “Jerseylicious,” which was scheduled to air this Sunday, has yet to find a home, even though Bravo airs reruns of the series.

There also has been a shakeup in the senior management team for both Bravo and Oxygen. In an internal email, changes were announced to appoint Oxygen’s Rod Aissa, senior vice president of development and production; Bravo’s Andy Cohen, executive vice president of development and talent, and Bravo’s Ellen Stone, executive vice president of marketing for both Bravo and Oxygen.



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