JERZDAYS ARE BACK ON MTV, AS THE SEASON FIVE PREMIERE OF "JERSEY SHORE" RANKS AS THE #1 CABLE TELECAST OF THE YEAR'S BROADCAST SEASON AND DOMINATES SOCIAL CHATTER

Check Out A Sneak Peek From Next Week's Explosive Episode, Airing Thursday, January 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV

Santa Monica, CA (January 6, 2012) - Jerzdays are back in full force on MTV, as the gang's season five return to Seaside Heights ranks as the #1 cable telecast of the 2011/12 broadcast season among P12-34. Surging from last season's finale, "Jersey Shore's" fans welcomed them back to the States with open arms, as the premiere delivered a 7.2 P12-34 rating and 7.6 million total viewers, making it one of MTV's top-rated series telecasts of all time. In addition, the premiere is the #2 series telecast of the season across all television among P12-34, behind only the much-hyped premiere of "Two and Half Men," and is the #1 non-sports cable telecast of the television season among P18-49.

"Jersey Shore" also dominated social chatter last night, landing an impressive 20 Twitter trending topics, including #JerseyShore, and trends tied directly to the episode, such as #PickleJuice, #OhYeahTanning and #Naughty_Nino.

Tune in next week as America's most recognizable housemates continue their trademark antics, with the exception of Vinny, who struggles with a decision that will affect the entire house. Click here for a special sneak peek from episode two, which airs Thursday, January 12 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.

A true pop culture phenomenon, "Jersey Shore" is MTV's #1 series of all time. The show will air internationally on MTV channels around the world starting in March 2012.

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. P12-34 unless noted. Live+SD cvg ratings. "Jersey Shore" premiere: 01/05/12. Broadcast season to date: 09/19/11-01/05/12. Rank based on P12-34 impressions.

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.