MTV's "JERSEY SHORE" SEASON FIVE KICKS OFF THE NEW YEAR WITH A BANG, WHEN IT PREMIERES ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 5, 2012

Series Returns To Its Original Home of Seaside Heights, NJ

New York, NY (November 2, 2011) - They're back! Fresh off their European excursion to Florence, Italy, America's favorite housemates will return to Seaside Heights, NJ, when season five of MTV's hit series "Jersey Shore" premieres on Thursday, January 5, 2012, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. On their home turf and excited to be in their natural habitat, the cast hits the ground running to get their "G.T.L" regimen back on schedule while also dealing with their evolving group dynamic amidst the tensions and hookup rumors left over from their time in Florence.

A true pop culture phenomenon, "Jersey Shore" is MTV's #1 series of all time. Including all DVR playback, the fourth season posted an 8.8 P12-34 rating and ranked as TV's #1 series among viewers 12-34. The season four debut on August 4 was MTV's most-watched season premiere ever, delivering 10.5 million total viewers. The full season averaged 9.4 million viewers each week. "Jersey Shore" has 18 of the top 20 cable telecasts of 2011 to date among P12-34.

Die-hard viewers can prepare for the new season by reliving every season four moment when the "Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Four" DVD is released in stores on Tuesday, December 27. Retailing in the US for $26.99, this four-disc set has all 12 uncensored episodes and is packed with must-see bonus features that include deleted scenes, confessionals, "After Hours" specials and the "Jersey Shore Season 4 Reunion" and more! Superfans can log onto shop.mtv.com to purchase DVD's, apparel, accessories and other series related merchandise.

Viewers can visit JerseyShore.MTV.com to read exclusive episode recaps and interviews, check-out cast bios and to flip through photos. MTV Mobile provides "Jersey Shore" aficionados on the go with full episodes, sneak peeks, photos, bios and through the iTunes, the "Spread Snooki" and "Jersey Shore City Guide" apps directly to their phones and mobile devices.

"Jersey Shore" is executive produced by SallyAnn Salsano from 495 Productions. Jacquelyn French is executive producer for MTV. Janay Dutton is Executive In Charge of Production for MTV. Concept created by Anthony Beltempo.

Source: Nielsen. Live+7 P12-34 coverage ratings and impressions for 8/04/11-10/13/11. Rank based on Live+7 impressions. Top cable telecasts of 2011 to date (12/27/10-10/16/11).

About MTV:

MTV is the world's premier youth entertainment brand. With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects and creates pop culture with its Emmy(R), Grammy(R) and Peabody(R) award-winning content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV's sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males, music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.