Tuning In

’Variety’ KO for ABC

Are Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey the new Sonny and Cher?

Viewers could be excused for thinking just that after watching the pair’s first prime-time special Sunday night, a wink-wink homage to the vintage shows Sonny and Cher regularly churned out.

ABC’s “The Nick & Jessica Variety Hour” led the 9 p.m. hour with an average of 11.4 million viewers and a 4.7 rating among adults ages 18 to 49, an audience prized by advertisers, the Associated Press reports.

The early figures, from Nielsen Media Research, could pave the way for future installments of the singing couple who gained fame via “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” their MTV reality show.

The Secret’s out

Men everywhere can blame Janet Jackson for the loss of the televised parade of pulchritude known as “The Victoria Secret Fashion Show.”

The lingerie giant is dropping its nationally televised show this year, in part, because of criticism following Janet Jackson’s breast-baring stunt at the Super Bowl, the Associated Press reports.

Ed Razek, chief creative officer for the Columbus, Ohio-based lingerie chain, said the main reason for the decision was so the company could explore new ways to promote the brand.

“We had to make the decision probably six to eight weeks ago when the heat was on the television networks,” he said.

The announcement came less than three months after the Jackson uproar and a week after federal regulators proposed $495,000 in fines against Clear Channel Communications for sexually explicit material that was broadcast on Howard Stern’s nationally syndicated radio show.

“The Victoria Secret Fashion Show” is good for drawing protests each year from groups complaining about its procession of scantily clad supermodels.

A message left by AP at the New York office of CBS, which has televised the show for the past two years, was not immediately returned.

Olga Vives, vice president of the National Organization for Women, praised the cancellation, saying the show only objectifies women.

“We’re concerned young women think they have to look this way,” Miss Vives told AP, adding she hoped the cancellation is permanent.

“There are many other ways to promote their product,” she said.

The fashion show, which has aired in November over the past two years, was televised on ABC in 2001. The first show was broadcast online in 1999; 1.5 million visitors tried to log on at once, bringing the site down within 20 minutes.

Victoria’s Secret earns $4 billion in annual sales.

’Eye’ on women

Women everywhere, be warned: The Fab Five are gunning for you, too.

Bravo’s pop culture smash “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” is readying a new edition aimed at women who don’t know everything there is to know about style, fashion and culture, Reuters News Agency reports.

A Bravo spokesman said many of the details for “Queer Eye for the Straight Girl” have yet to be worked out, including how many men would star on the show and whether the format would be exactly the same as “Straight Guy’s.”

The new series, which will be set in Los Angeles, is expected to debut next year.

“Queer Eye” has consistently set new viewership records for Bravo, propelling it into the stratosphere of cable network ratings. Bravo’s parent company is NBC.

The “Queer Eye” team, with their expertise in food, fashion, grooming, interior design and culture, have become stars in their own right through book deals and advertising campaigns.

NBC has also used the show and the “Fab Five” on its own broadcast programs on a number of occasions.

Compiled by Christian Toto from staff and wire reports.