ION Television's New Original Series, WWE® Main Event®, Debuts with Strong First Match

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Obama vs. Romney was not the only match viewers tuned into on Wednesday night. According to Nielsen overnight data released today, ION Television’s brand new series, WWE Main Event, garnered the highest male audience in the last year with the most Men 18-49 (422,000), Men 25-54 (444,000), and Men 2+ (876,000). At 8:00pm ET/PT, the premiere of the new weekly series, which featured WWE Champion CM Punk™ against World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus™, was the #4 program in the time period among Men 18-34, #4 among Men 18-49, and #5 among Men 25-54. In addition, WWE Main Event out-delivered the last game of the MLB regular season on ESPN and ESPN2 among all key men and adult demos. Finally, the premiere delivered 518,000 Women 2+, finishing ahead of most female cable networks.

“We expect our fans will make WWE Main Event the number one show on the network as they have done for WWE programs with all of our other TV partners.”

"The viewers have spoken," noted Brandon Burgess, CEO, ION Media Networks. "Fans of the WWE are passionate and seem to have a knack for finding their favorite Superstars wherever they live. Needless to say, we are particularly pleased that WWE has found a new home on ION Television, and we congratulate our new partner in the success of the premiere."

“Our partnership with ION Television is off to a strong start,” said Vince McMahon, WWE Chairman and CEO. “We expect our fans will make WWE Main Event the number one show on the network as they have done for WWE programs with all of our other TV partners.”

WWE Main Event, airing Wednesdays at 8:00pm ET/PT, features the WWE Superstars and Divas of Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, including John Cena®, WWE Champion CM Punk™, World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus™, Alberto Del Rio®, The Miz®, Kofi Kingston®, Eve® and Alicia Fox®. It's a must-see for longtime devotees and those looking for character-driven, high-octane entertainment. The original series will showcase live events filmed across the country, as well as a stop in Europe.

Source: Nielsen Media, Live+SD data 9/26/11-10/3/12, ION and all cable networks

About WWE:

WWE, a publicly traded company (NYSE: WWE), is an integrated media organization and recognized leader in global entertainment. The company consists of a portfolio of businesses that create and deliver original content 52 weeks a year to a global audience. WWE is committed to family-friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. WWE programming is broadcast in more than 145 countries and 30 languages and reaches more than 600 million homes worldwide. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Istanbul and Tokyo.

Additional information on WWE (NYSE: WWE) can be found at wwe.com and corporate.wwe.com. For information on our global activities, go to http://www.wwe.com/worldwide/.

About ION Television:

A leading U.S. general entertainment network, ION Television combines high-quality programming and dependable distribution with an attitude of innovation and growth. Its "Positively Entertaining" network brand positioning features a formula of proven series, an expansive catalog of blockbuster movies and a commitment to introduce new original programming. ION Television is one of the fastest growing networks in the nation. A top 15-rated entertainment network among Adults 25-54 and Women 25-54, ION is the only entertainment network with double-digit growth three years in a row. For more information, visit www.iontelevision.com.

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