MTV GETS PUMPED UP FOR A NEW SEASON OF "JERSEY SHORE" WITH A SEASON FOUR MARATHON BEGINNING ON THURSDAY, JANUARY 5 AT 9:30AM ET/PT

Cast Checks In With Fans Live Beginning at 7:30p.m. ET/PT Leading Up To The "Jersey Shore" Season Five Premiere at 10p.m. ET/PT

Premiere Episode Followed By a Sneak Peek of the New MTV Docu-Series "CAGED" at 12:05AM

LOS ANGELES, CA (January 3, 2012) - MTV is revisiting all of the Italian adventures of Season Four in an all-day marathon beginning on Thursday, January 5 at 9:30a.m. ET/PT, leading up to the premiere of season five at 10p.m. ET/PT. Viewers will get sneak peeks at the several scenes from Season Five throughout the marathon. Then, as part of the celebration, the full cast will be on-hand making their big return to Seaside Heights, NJ by hosting a series of wraps starting at 7:30p.m. ET/PT and continuing throughout the Season Five premiere. Throwing down in their favorite beach town, America's most recognizable housemates will spend the night at their usual boardwalk restaurant Beachcombers with their friends, families and fans to share their personal stories and preview new footage from the upcoming season.

Following the "Jersey Shore" premiere night extravaganza, at 12:05a.m. ET/PT MTV will also treat viewers to a sneak peek of the first episode of its newest documentary series "CAGED," which premieres on Monday, January 9 at 10p.m. ET/PT. The show will provide an honest look into the lives of young amateur MMA fighters, both inside and outside of the cage.

In the Season Five premiere episode, the cast says "arrivederci" to their international jaunt to Florence, Italy and "yeah, buddy" to their old stomping ground and true home of Seaside Heights. As they hit the boardwalk running to resume their "G.T.L." regimens, a drama storm brews due to their unresolved issues leftover from their time overseas. Mike threatens to destroy Snooki's newly rekindled relationship with her boyfriend Jionni and the roommates worry about Vinny as he starts to withdraw. For a sneak peek at the Season Five premiere, click here.

A true pop culture phenomenon, "Jersey Shore" is MTV's #1 series of all time. The fourth season averaged a 6.96 P12-34 rating and ranked as TV's #1 series among viewers 12-34. Including all DVR playback, the fourth season averaged an 8.75 rating and 9.3 million total viewers each week.

Die-hard viewers can catch up on the cast's European adventures by purchasing the "Jersey Shore Uncensored: Season Four" DVD in stores now. 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 is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.