"THE CHALLENGE: RIVALS" FINALE DELIVERS ITS HIGHEST RATINGS IN SIX SEASONS

MTV Has Picked-up A 22nd Cycle of the Show, Which Was Wednesday's #1 Original Cable Series This Season

SANTA MONICA, CALIF. (August 24, 2011) - The finale of MTV's "The Challenge: Rivals" delivered its best ratings in six seasons with a season-high 2.4 P12-34 rating and 2.4 million total viewers, up 71% from last season's finale. The series was Wednesday's #1 original cable series this season, and the highest-rated season in four cycles, since 2009. In addition, the finale was the #1 original cable telecast among P12-34, and #1 in its timeslot across all TV among P12-34.

On the heels of "The Challenge: Rivals" huge finale, MTV has picked up a 22nd season of the show, which will debut in 2012.

"The Challenge: Rivals," was created for MTV by Bunim/Murray Productions. Jonathan Murray, Scott Freeman and Justin Booth serve as executive producers. Jacquelyn French is the MTV executive overseeing the series.

Source: The Nielsen Company. Live+SD P12-34 coverage ratings. "The Challenge: Rivals" premiere telecasts (6/22/11-08/24/11). Highest-rated telecast since "The Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Gauntlet III" season finale (3/19/08; 2.7 rating). Highest-rated season since "The Duel II" (4/08/09-6/10/09; 1.7 rating). Time period 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 the leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms.