GHOST HUNTERS SPOOKS TWO MILLION TOTAL VIEWERS AND MORE THAN ONE MILLION ADULTS 18-49 AND ADULTS 25-54 IN SEASON EIGHT RETURN
NEW YORK – January 12, 2012 – Maintaining the momentum of its most watched year ever, Syfy kicked off 2012 with robust ratings for the new season returns of the hit series Face Off – shattering series records – and Ghost Hunters.
At 10PM (ET/PT), Face Off’s second season premiere broke its own records by transforming 2.0 million total viewers, 1.2 million Adults 18-49, 1.0 million Adults 25-54 and a 1.3 household rating. Compared to the first season premiere in January 2011, Face Off rose 37 percent in total viewers, 35 percent in Adults 18-49, 30 percent in household ratings and 16 percent in Adults 25-54.
Face Off also drew 639,000 Adults 18-34, another series high and the best performance for any Syfy original series since November ‘09.
Leading off at 9PM (ET/PT), the season eight premiere of Ghost Hunters terrified 2.0 million total viewers, 1.1 million Adults 25-54 and 1.0 million Adults 18-49, while averaging a 1.4 household rating. The iconic paranormal series was up 16 percent in total viewers and 10 percent in Adults 25-54 versus the Season 7 premiere (February 2011).
The one-two programming punch propelled Syfy to the #4 cable entertainment network in Adults 18-34 and Adults 18-49, #6 in total viewers and #7 in Adults 25-54 in Wednesday prime (8-11PM), while Syfy.com posted its best day in video streams since July 2011.
Last night’s premiere episode of Face Off introduced 14 up-and-coming special effects make-up artists, including the Viewer’s Choice winner, RJ Haddy from Charleston, West Virginia, who impressed fans with his work during a live make-up challenge at the 2011 Comic-Con in San Diego.
Face Off continues with an all-new, one-hour episode next Wednesday, January 18 at 10PM. The contestants are brought to the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific and learn their Spotlight Challenge is to select a fish that serves as inspiration for an original sea creature makeup. But there’s a twist: the creatures will be unveiled in a massive water tank on stage in front of the judges. The teams immediately get to work trying to create make-ups that are not only beautiful but also waterproof. Face Off is a production of Mission Control Media with Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith serving as executive producers.
In October 2004, Syfy introduced Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson — plumbers by day, Ghost Hunters by night. Jason and Grant head up TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society), a close-knit organization of volunteer paranormal researchers — ordinary people who investigate and attempt to debunk claims of otherworldly activity. Throughout its run, Ghost Hunters has set the standard for paranormal investigating and has cemented its place as a destination for spine-tingling entertainment! Ghost Hunters and Ghost Hunters International are produced in association with Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films and Television (Dirty Jobs, The Ultimate Fighter, My Fair Wedding). Piligian and Thomas Thayer, along with Mike Nichols and Alan David, serve as executive producers.
Syfy is a media destination for imagination-based entertainment. With year round acclaimed original series, events, blockbuster movies, classic science fiction and fantasy programming, a dynamic Web site (www.Syfy.com), and a portfolio of adjacent business (Syfy Ventures), Syfy is a passport to limitless possibilities. Originally launched in 1992 as SCI FI Channel, and currently in more than 98 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)