• by April 5, 2001

(Reuters) - Lifetime network executives were literally uncorking the bubbly Tuesday, celebrating the fact that for the first time in its 17-year history, the channel ranked No. 1 in prime-time cable TV ratings for an entire quarter.

Fueled by its trio of original Sunday series -- "Strong Medicine," "The Division" and "Any Day Now" -- Lifetime posted a 2.0 household rating, its highest quarterly average ever in prime time and an 18% increase from first quarter 2000 (1.7 rating).

Lifetime president and CEO Carole Black hosted a champagne gathering for the entire company Tuesday afternoon and gave staffers a bonus day off.

"The buzz around the building is that if we win the entire year, we get a week off," said Tim Brooks, Lifetime's senior VP, research, who attributes the network's success to the fact that it has a defined brand. "It's the revenge of the niches. The targeted networks are becoming the face of cable, while the general entertainment networks no longer have the lead that they once had."

USA's 1.9 prime-time rating, although good for a second-place tie with TBS, plunged the network into a 21% decline from the same period in 2000, a drop-off attributed, at least in part, to the loss of World Wrestling Federation programming.

But Lifetime wasn't the only cable network with a reason to crow about its first-quarter numbers. Boosted by WWF's "Raw Is War," TNN had the highest-rated quarter in its 18-year history. TNN averaged a 1.1 in prime time, up a whopping 57% from last year during the same period.

In fourth place in primetime for the quarter, the Cartoon Network posted a 1.7, its best first-quarter primetime ratings in its history. Bravo and E! Entertainment Television also had their highest-rated quarters. In primetime, E! posted a 0.6, up 20% and Bravo averaged a 0.4, up 33%.

Other cable channels that chalked up double-digit prime-time gains in the first quarter include BET (20%), TV Guide Channel (20%), Travel Channel (67%), Game Show Network (25%) and Odyssey (33%).

Aside from USA, networks weighed down by a double-digit drop in primetime include Nickelodeon (11%), ESPN (25%), Sci Fi Channel (11%), Fox Family (13%), TV Land (13%) and the Weather Channel (25%).