RECORD NUMBER OF WOMEN TUNE IN TO SPIKE'S HIT SERIES, "INK MASTER"

Recently-Completed Season 8 Delivers A 57% Female Audience

Spin-off "Ink Master: Redemption" Picked Up For Season 4

New York, NY, December 13, 2016 - Tuesday night has become "Ladies Night" on Spike as a record number of women tuned-in to the most recent season of the network's hit series, "Ink Master." Season 8, which concluded on December 6, delivered a 57% female audience, the highest in franchise history. The season, which featured its first female winner, was also the second-most watched in franchise history, demonstrating the ever-increasing popularity of one of the network's signature shows.

"Ink Master" Season 8 ranked #1 in its timeslot in all of cable (10:00 -11:00 PM, ET/PT) with Adults 18-49, Women 18-49 and Women 18-34.

The "Ink Master" LIVE Finale delivered big numbers for the network as well. The nail-biting culmination to the dramatic Season 8 netted 2.1 million viewers last Tuesday night, December 6.

This season of "Ink Master" was all about the females, as four of the top 18 contestants teamed up to form an alliance which helped propel two female artists to the finale. Ryan Ashley, owner and artist at The Strange & Unusual Oddities Parlor in Kingston, PA was victorious and has become the first ever female winner of "Ink Master."

"I'm so proud that after eight seasons' we finally have our first female winner of Ink Master," said Sharon Levy, Executive Vice President, Original Series, Spike. "The show continues to keep fans on the edge of their seats and remains a major ratings driver for the network, especially with women. I can't wait to see what twists the series brings next season."

The "Ink Master" finale was the #1 social show in all of cable TV on Tuesday and #2 in all of TV (excluding sports), generating almost a quarter million total social interactions. On Twitter, both #InkMaster and #InkRyan led the trending topics and over 100k votes via tweet were submitted to help choose the finalists.

As the "Ink Master" franchise continues to thrive, the network has greenlit a new season of its spin-off series "Ink Master: Redemption," with 10 additional episodes.

Season 4 of the spin-off series, which offers unsatisfied former "human canvases" of "Ink Master" a chance to receive a new tattoo that leaves them happier than their last, will debut in 2017 in conjunction with "Ink Master" Season 9.

"Ink Master" and "Ink Master: Redemption" are produced for Spike by Original Media ("Swamp People," "Comic Book Men," "The Horn") 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 Chaz Gray, Executive Producer of Current, Original Series, Spike, oversees production of "Ink Master" for the network

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 Ink Master and Ink Master: Redemption for Spike; Swamp People for History; Dual Survival for Discovery; Comic Book Men for AMC; I Love You... But I Lied for Lifetime; and The Horn for Red Bull TV.

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.