MTV greenlights "The Challenge" for record-breaking 36th season as the hit competition series is pacing to be highest rated in 8 years

New York, NY, July 9, 2020 - On the heels of the highest rated season premiere in 14 years, MTV today announced that the ground-breaking competition series, "The Challenge," has been renewed for season 36. The franchise continues to be a ratings phenomenon for MTV, with "Total Madness" averaging a 1.61 among P18-49 (L3) and pacing to be the highest rated season in the last eight years, with total viewers up 10% (1.51 mil vs. 1.39 mil) with P18-49.

MTV continues to dominate as the #1 cable network among P18-34 with 2 of the top 3 cable series including The Challenge (#2) and Jersey Shore Family Vacation (#3).

Tune in for "The Challenge: Total Madness" season finale on Wednesday, July 15th at 8PM ET/PT. After a season of grueling challenges and brutal eliminations, nine finalists compete for their share of the $1,000,000 prize. Stamina will be tested in freezing cold temperatures and massive mountains as Challengers fight for the championship title.

Follow The Challenge on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, subscribe to The Challenge on YouTube, and use #TheChallenge35 to join the conversation!

"The Challenge" was created for MTV by Bunim/Murray Productions. Gil Goldschein, Julie Pizzi, Scott Freeman, Justin Booth and Emer Harkin serve as Executive Producers, and Danny Wascou and Jeff Schmidt serve as Co-Executive Producers. Dan Caster serves as Executive Producer with Leanne Mucci as Co-Executive Producer for MTV.

About MTV:

MTV is the leading global youth media brand in 180 countries, reaching 450 million households in nearly 30 different languages across every platform. A unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB, VIA), MTV operations span cable and mobile networks, live events, theatrical films and MTV Studios.

About Bunim/Murray Productions

Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP) is the leading producer of innovative entertainment content. The Emmy Award-winning company is widely credited with creating the reality television genre with its hit series The Real World, which recently moved to Facebook after 32 seasons on MTV. BMP continued to innovate with the first reality game show, Road Rules (MTV), in 1995; the first reality sitcom, The Simple Life (E!), in 2003; and the first reality soap opera, Starting Over, in 2003. BMP's current programming includes Keeping up with the Kardashians, Total Divas and Total Bellas (E!),The Challenge (MTV), Born This Way (A&E), Kim Kardashian West: The Justice Project (Oxygen), The Real World and Ball in the Family (Facebook Watch), Endless Summer, Stranded with Sam and Colby (Snapchat), Miz and Mrs. (USA Network), Family or Fiance (OWN), Crystal Maze(Nickelodeon) and Emily's Wonder Lab (Netflix). BMP has also produced They Call Us Monsters (PBS), Valentine Road (HBO), Pedro (MTV) and the Emmy Award-winning Autism: The Musical (HBO) for BMP Films. Based in Glendale, CA, the company was founded in 1987 by Jonathan Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim, who were inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in 2012. The company joined Banijay Group in 2010.

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Source: Nielsen; L3/P18-49 coverage ratings unless noted; The Challenge ssn prem Wed 4/1/20, 8p-9:30p; MTV #1 cable net, full day total day on cvg rtg.