"Shark Tank" Kicks Off Season 3 With Over $200,000 in Deal Offers

Third Season Premiere Ranks #1 Among A18-49

CULVER CITY, Calif., Jan. 24, 2012 -- In the season premiere of SHARK TANK, Sony Pictures Television's hit ABC reality series, Shark investor Mark Cuban, owner of the 2011 NBA National Champions Dallas Mavericks, landed an offer of $60,000 in exchange for an 8% stake of entrepreneur Dave Mayer's unique water bottle design. Mayer's product, Clean Bottle, is the only water bottle that can be unscrewed at the top and the bottom, making cleaning a breeze. Joining Mayer in his pitch and surprising the Sharks was NBA champion and Hall of Fame basketball player Bill Walton. Additionally, after a feeding frenzy of tough negotiations among four of the Sharks, Alashe Nelson from Miami Beach, FL, grabbed an offer for a deal with Cuban and fashion expert Daymond John for $150,000 for 45% along with an A list artist endorsement for his site offering users real VIP access at some of the hottest nightlife events in the country.

Other entrepreneurs didn't fare as well, with the Sharks passing on making deals with ghostwriter Michael Levin from Irvine, CA, and online funeral service arrangements from Sue Kruskopf and Nancy Bush from Minneapolis, MN.

In its season 3 premiere on Friday (1/20/12), SHARK TANK took out the competition at 8-9PM (1.7/5 in A18-49, 6.3M viewers), delivering the series' most-watched telecast ever. SHARK TANKs highs among HH (3.8) and W18-34 (1.9), matching series highs among W18-49 (2.0), A25-54 (2.4), W25-54 (2.7), and delivering its highest Friday ratings ever among A18-49, A18-34 (1.4), M18-49 (1.5) and M25-54 (2.0).

Tune in to ABC at 8PM ET/PT on Friday, January 27 when Shark investors Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec and Daymond John face a new round of entrepreneurs including a Chicago dad who sells his unusual original cat drawings online; a North Haven, CT man promoting an education system to improve one's sales skills; a professional magician from Broadview Hills, OH, presents his plan to bring his unique family-friendly brand of entertainment to Las Vegas; and a husband and father from Sparta, NC hopes to convince the Sharks to invest in his innovative cargo truck management system made in the U.S. Additionally, Rebecca Rescate from Pennsylvania appears in a follow-up story about her product, CitiKitty. Find out how Rescate's business has done since appearing on the show last season.

About SHARK TANK

Billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of HDNet and outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks, returns as a Shark and appears in all 13 episodes. Also Lori Greiner, a prolific inventor of retail products and often referred to as the "Queen of QVC," will join the show as a guest Shark investor for three episodes.

Returning "Sharks" joining Cuban and Greiner are real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion and branding expert Daymond John and venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary.

The panel of five Sharks will hear pitches of the best business and product ideas from some of America's brightest entrepreneurs. When the Sharks hear a great idea, they're ready to fight each other for a piece of it. If and when the Sharks are confronted with a really top-notch idea, and more than one of them wants to sink their teeth into it, a war between them can erupt.

Mark Burnett, Clay Newbill and Phil Gurin are the executive producers of "Shark Tank," based on the Japanese "Dragons' Den" format created by Nippon Television Network Corporation. The episode is directed by Ken Fuchs and Alan Carter. The series is from Sony Pictures Television.