via press release:

GHOST HUNTERS ACADEMY BECOMES SYFY’S HIGHEST RATED REALITY SERIES PREMIERE IN NEARLY TWO YEARS

Latest in Successful ‘Ghost Hunters’ Franchise Delivers More Than

Two Million Total Viewers on Wednesday, November 11, at 10PM (ET/PT)

Head-to-Head, ‘Ghost Hunters Academy’ Beats

Comedy Central’s ‘South Park’ and FX’s ‘Nip/Tuck’ in Adults 25-54

New York, NY – November 12, 2009 – Continuing the popularity of Ghost Hunters — the #1 paranormal investigative franchise on television — spin-off Ghost Hunters Academy became Syfy’s most successful reality series premiere in nearly two years during its debut Wednesday, November 11, at 10PM (ET/PT). The series delivered 2.07 million total viewers, 1.2 million Adults 18-49 and 1.3 million Adults 25-54 along with a 1.5 HH rating.

These were the highest viewership marks for a reality series premiere since the January 2008 debut of sibling Ghost Hunters International.

Head-to-head in the 10PM (ET/PT) time period, Ghost Hunters Academy trimmed FX’s Nip/Tuck in Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54, while besting Comedy Central’s South Park in Adults 25-54.

Compared to the series premiere of Estate of Panic on the same night in 2008, Ghost Hunters Academy was up 50% in HH ratings, 52% in Adults18-49, 59% in Adults 25-54 and 58% in total viewers.

Coupled with Ghost Hunters at 9PM (ET/PT) – Ghost Hunters Academy catapulted Syfy into the #2 slot among all basic cable networks for both Adults 18-49 and Adults 25-54 during 8-11PM prime (ET/PT).

Ghost Hunters Academy features a group of aspiring ghost hunters exploring some of the most haunted locations in the country and around the world. Led by veteran ghost hunters Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, the students train, hands on, in the paranormal arts. The new recruits venture outside conventional classroom walls tackling new paranormal hotspots as well as favorite old haunts from Ghost Hunters including Fort Mifflin (Pennsylvania), Eastern State Penitentiary (Pennsylvania), and St. Augustine Lighthouse (Florida). By passing the course, students can graduate into investigating on Ghost Hunters or Ghost Hunters International.

Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International and Ghost Hunters Academy 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 Rob Katz 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 95 million homes, Syfy is a network of NBC Universal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. (Syfy. Imagine greater.)