Can Bravo Survive Award-Show Malaise?

Though 2008 has seen awards shows take an historic battering in the ratings, Bravo will try to reverse the trend tonight with the launch of its own contender. The A-List Awards—centered on fashion, food, and design and hosted by in-house celeb Kathy Griffin—might take a similar ratings hit in the brave new world of DVRs and reality programming, writes Sophia Banay in Portfolio.

But the pre-taped show, which counted Tila Tequila and Alain Ducasse among its audience, could also be a "smart move," says Banay. "These shows are cheap to produce, and the publicity can be priceless." At worst, the A-List Awards will still make a glitzy plug for the new season of Griffin's My Life on the D-List, which kicks off an hour before the red-carpet event. (More Bravo stories.)