SPIKE TV'S "INK MASTER" FINALE MARKS UP THE COMPETITION ON CABLE IN ITS TIMESLOT

New York, NY - March 7, 2012 - The season finale of Spike TV's "Ink Master" delivered 1.9 million viewers on Tuesday, March 6 (10:00-11:00pm ET/PT), making it the most-watched episode of an original series on the channel since an episode of "Auction Hunters" in December 2010. The one-hour finale, featuring a victory by Philadelphia-area tattoo artist and business owner Shane O'Neill, out-delivered all of the competition on cable in the time slot with Men 18-34 and Men 18-49, aside from sister network Comedy Central. Overall, the finale drew a 1.7 rating in Men 18-34, a 1.6 in Men 18-49, and a household rating of 1.3. The episode peaked in the last quarter hour with 2.1 million viewers for the dramatic conclusion.

"Ink Master" has furthered the network's mission to create broader-appealing shows with real stakes involved. Currently the highest-rated original series on the network, the first season of "Ink Master" averaged 1.6 million viewers and has dramatically broadened the audience in its timeslot, posting a +157% increase with Men 18-49 and +176% with Persons 18-49 compared to last year. Spike TV has picked up a second season of "Ink Master," which will launch Fall 2012.

"Ink Master" is produced for Spike by Original Media, with Charlie Corwin, Jay Peterson, and Andrea Richter as Executive Producers of the series. Original Media currently has fifteen television series on air including the hit shows "NY Ink," "LA Ink," "The Rachel Zoe Project," "Swamp People," "Storm Chasers," "Dual Survival" and "Mudcats." Headquartered in New York, Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol USA.

Sharon Levy is Spike TV's Executive Vice President, Original Series and Chris Rantamaki oversees production of "Ink Master" and is Vice President of Original Programming for Spike TV.

About Spike TV:

Spike TV is available in 98.7 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.