MTV Scores Ratings Success with Elimination Dating Series

SANTA MONICA, December 20: The finale of MTV’s A Shot at
Love with Tila Tequila became the
highest-rated series telecast on the network for 2007, with casting now
underway for a spin-off, That’s Amore!, starring a fan-favorite contestant, Domenico Nesci.

A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila ranked number one in its time slot—Tuesday
10-11 p.m.—among viewers 12 to 34 across all of cable, also becoming
MTV’s highest-rated new show with the same demographic for the year.

The series finale delivered
a 5.9 rating for the 12-to-34 set, becoming the highest-rated series telecast
on the network since August 2005, and was the second highest-rated telecast
overall for 2007, falling just short of the VMAs. With more than 6 million
viewers on average, this is MTV’s most watched series telecast among total
viewers over the age of two since The Osbournes back in November 2002. Furthermore, The
Hangover aftershow at 11 p.m. averaged a
3.6 rating with the 12-to-34 group, just behind the finale as the number-two
rated cable telecast for the night.

The day the final aired, A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila
was MTV.com’s number-one show for video
content, seeing a more than 100-percent increase from the previous week. The
same day, the show also registered a 44-percent week-over-week increase for the
franchise in terms of unique users since its October premiere. Imonmtv.com, the
online community currently dedicated to stars and fans of A Shot at
Love with Tila Tequila, has seen nearly
half a million unique visitors and 10 million page views since its October
launch.

A spin-off series, titled That’s Amore!, is set to air in the first quarter of 2008 and will
center on Italian-born contestant Domenico Nesci as he searches for his own
American sweetheart. Casting is now under way, with MTV selecting 15 ladies who
will get their “shot at love” with Nesci.

Both series are executive produced by SallyAnn Salsano for
495 Productions. David Gross and Drew Tappon are executives in charge for MTV.

“From food to fashion and fast cars, Italy gives America
some of our finest imports, and Domenico is the very latest,” said Tony
Disanto, the executive VP of series development and programming for MTV. “Tila
Tequila may have given her heart to someone else, but this Italian bachelor
isn’t ready to give up on love, American style. He’s still looking for the
perfect match and we are going to help him find her! We knew we found our next
star when Domenico strutted out in his tiny green and red spandex swimsuit. As
we all know…nothing says ‘hot bachelor’ like an Italian Flag Speedo.”

—By Kristin Brzoznowski