CNBC STARTS THE NEW YEAR OFF WITH A BANG IN PRIMETIME WITH OFF-NETWORK DEBUT OF "SHARK TANK"

Shark Tank New Year's Day Marathon Draws CNBC's Largest Average Audience of Adults 25-54 in Six Years

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J. - January 6, 2014 - The off-network debut of SHARK TANK on CNBC delivered the network's largest prime-time audience of adults 25-54 in six years. CNBC's SHARK TANK New Year's Day marathon drew more than 4.2 million unique viewers, averaging more than 540,000 total viewers and 240,000 adults 25-54 from 8PM to 2AM ET. During its peak hours, CNBC averaged nearly 700,000 total viewers and 300,000 adults 25-54, ranking #1 during the 10PM hour among all cable news networks in A18-49, A25-54 and A35-64 viewership. The 10PM telecast was CNBC's most-watched program in three years, while the 9PM telecast was CNBC's highest-rated telecast among adults 25-54 in three years.

The premiere night of SHARK TANK on CNBC produced triple-digit ratings growth among total viewers (+287%) and adults 25-54 (+345%) compared to CNBC's time period averages during the fourth quarter of 2013.

CNBC kicks off SHARK TANK TUESDAYS beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, January 7th from 8PM-12AM ET.

The critically-acclaimed business-themed reality series features the sharks -- tough, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons - who give budding entrepreneurs the chance to make their dreams come true and potentially secure business deals that could make them millionaires. The sharks include billionaire Mark Cuban, owner and chairman of AXS TV and outspoken owner of the 2011 NBA championship Dallas Mavericks; real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran; "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner; technology innovator Robert Herjavec; fashion and branding expert Daymond John; and venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary.

Mark Burnett, Clay Newbill and Phil Gurin are the executive producers of SHARK TANK, which is based on the Japanese "Dragons' Den" format created by Nippon Television Network Corporation. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television.

For more information, visit: http://www.cnbc.com/shark-tank. Like us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/cnbcprime and follow us on Twitter: @CNBCprimeTV and Instagram: @CNBCprime.

Source: Nielsen. Live + Same Day. 1/1/14. Largest prime-time A25-54 audience (8PM - 2AM ET) since 12/30/07 (excluding sports, election programming, and other specials). One-minute reach qualifier. Ranking among cable news networks based on average audience in thousands.

*Programming Note: SHARK TANK will air Tuesdays from 8PM-12AM ET on CNBC beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, January 7.

Tuesday, 1/7/2014:
8:00 PM SHARK TANK #101
9:00 PM SHARK TANK #307
10:00 PM SHARK TANK #101
11:00 PM SHARK TANK #307

Tuesday, 1/14/2014:
8:00 PM SHARK TANK #102
9:00 PM SHARK TANK #308
10:00 PM SHARK TANK #102
11:00 PM SHARK TANK #308

For complete listings: http://compass.cnbc.com/compass/html

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