SPIKE TV INKS SEASON EIGHT OF "INK MASTER"

New Season of 16 Episodes Slated for Summer 2016

Season 6 Scores Highest Ratings In Franchise History, Ranking #1 In Its Timeslot On Cable With Adults 18-49

Season 7 Debuts Spring 2016, Featuring Returning Show Favorites

New York, NY, October 19, 2015 - On the heels of its highest rated season of "Ink Master" to date, Spike has greenlit a new season of the hit original tattoo-competition series. Season 8 will consist of 15 one-hour episodes plus a LIVE finale and will go into production in March 2016, with a premiere slated for next summer. The announcement was made today by Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series, Spike.

"Ink Master" completed its 6th season on Tuesday, October 13 with a LIVE 90-minute finale that delivered 2.4 million viewers. The record-breaking 16-episode season averaged 2.4 million viewers and was the #1 ranked show on cable in Adults 18-49 in its Tuesday timeslot (10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT). The Spike original series also tallied triple-digit gains this season in the timeslot for Adults 18-49 (+178%) and Adults 18-34 (+133%). "Ink Master" is 44% male, demonstrating the network's ongoing plan to deliver gender-balanced original hit series.

Season 7 of "Ink Master" debuts next spring and will feature returning show favorite contestants.

"Ink Master delivered yet again a compelling and entertaining season packed with incredible artistic expression and creativity mixed in with big drama," said Levy. "The record ratings are a testament to our partners at Original Media and our phenomenal hosting/judging trio of Dave Navarro, Oliver Peck, and Chris Nunez. We are thrilled to this great team back for Season 8."

Each week "Ink Master" puts artist through a series of tattoo challenges that not only test the artists' technical skills, but also their on-the-spot creativity, as they must create and execute an original tattoo on a "human canvas." Each episode focuses on a different and distinct style of tattooing such as realism, black and gray, and American traditional. The masterpieces the artists create will last a lifetime - and so will their mistakes. After every challenge, the contestants face a tough panel made up of series host Dave Navarro and world renowned tattoo artists Chris Nunez ("Miami Ink") and Oliver Peck (Elm Street Tattoo).

"Ink Master" has also been a hit in social media. Last week's LIVE finale was ranked #1 among reality shows across all networks based on unique authors on Twitter.

"Ink Master" is produced for Spike by Original Media ("Swamp People," "Comic Book Men," "I Love You But I Lied") with Glenda Hersh, Steven Weinstock and Andrea Richter serving as Executive Producers. Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America.

Sharon Levy is Spike's Executive Vice President, Original Series, Chachi Senior is Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Spike and oversees production of "Ink Master" and Tori Socha serves as the network's Executive in Charge of Production.

Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America and is run by Emmy award-winning producers Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock. Producing hundreds of hours of programming across unscripted and scripted television, digital media and feature film, Original Media has built a strong reputation for cutting-edge content and quality production. Hit series include "Swamp People," "Dual Survival," "Ink Master," "Comic Book Men" and "I Love You But I Lied." Original Media also produced the Academy Award-nominated films "The Squid and the Whale" and "Half Nelson."

Spike TV is available in 91.4 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Spike TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.