"AMERICA NINJA WARRIOR" SELECTS HOST CITIES FOR UPCOMING SUMMER SEASON

Hit NBC and Esquire Network Series Will Travel to Los Angeles, San Antonio, Daytona, Kansas City, Cleveland and Denver Prior to the Las Vegas Finals

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - Dec. 20, 2016 - NBC and Esquire Network's cultural sensation and ratings standout "American Ninja Warrior" has announced the cities across the United States that will be home to the action for the summer 2017 season.

"American Ninja Warrior" is hosted by Matt Iseman, along with former NFL player Akbar Gbajabiamila and co-host Kristine Leahy and will begin its sixth season on NBC. Original episodes air exclusively on NBC with encore presentations on Esquire Network, on which the series enters its ninth season.

The series will make stops in Los Angeles, Calif. (March 7-8); San Antonio, Texas (March 26-27); Daytona, Fla. (April 7-8); Kansas City, Mo. (April 24-25); Cleveland, Ohio, (May 8-9); and Denver, Colo. (May 23-24) with the finals taking place in Las Vegas, Nev. (June 19-24).

Last summer "American Ninja Warrior" averaged a 2.1 rating in adults 18-49 and 7.2 million viewer overall, according to "live plus seven day" averages from Nielsen Media Research, making it the show's most-watched season ever.

The action-packed series follows competitors as they tackle a series of challenging obstacle courses in both city qualifying and city finals rounds across the country. The top 15 competitors from each city move onto the national finals round in Las Vegas, where they face a stunning four-stage course modeled after the famed Mt. Midoriyama course in Japan. The winner will take home a grand prize of $1 million.

Based on the global hit "Sasuke," from the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, the original series is now in its 31st season in Japan.

"American Ninja Warrior" is produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions for NBC/Esquire Network. The series is executive-produced by A. Smith & Co. Productions' founders Arthur Smith and Kent Weed ("Hell's Kitchen," "Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge") along with Brian Richardson and Anthony Storm.