SpikeTV Premieres New Season of INK MASTER Tonight

SPIKE TV's hit original reality-competition series INK MASTER produced by Original Media, returns for a "lucky" seventh season, premiering tonight, March 1 at 10 pm ET/PT. In addition to new contestants, this season brings back eight of the series' favorite artists from previous seasons to battle it out in permanent ink for a $100,000 grand prize, an editorial feature in Inked and, of course, the bragging rights title of 'Ink Master.'

This season comes with a new twist, as each week, a veteran artist - and former 'Ink Master' contestant - will be introduced to the group prior to the elimination challenge. The artists will be put through a series of tattoo challenges that are not only designed to test the their technical skills, but also their on-the-spot creativity, as they must create and execute an original tattoo on a 'Human Canvas.' Each episode will focus on a different and distinct style of tattooing, and while the masterpieces these artists create will last a lifetime... so will their mistakes.

After every challenge, the contestants face a tough panel made up of musician, filmmaker and artist Dave Navarro, as well as world renowned tattoo artists Chris Nunez ("Miami Ink") and Oliver Peck (Elm Street Tattoo).

Once again, the Human Canvases, who volunteer their bodies to be tattooed by the "Ink Master" contestants, will have a say in who gets sent home. The Canvases will form their own jury, deliberate as a group and pick one artist per episode who will be up for elimination. In the jury room, viewers get an inside look at the heated arguments and wicked emotions as the Canvases defend or abandon their new ink and artist.

The "Ink Master" Season Seven tattoo artists are (listed in alphabetical order):

New Artists:

· Christian Buckingham (@christiantat2) - Artist at REVOLT Tattoo in Henderson, NV

· Corey Davis (@whoiscoreydavis) - Artist at City of Ink in Atlanta, GA

· Picasso Dular (@25footphantom) - Artist at The Vatican Studios in Los Angeles, CA

· Cris Gherman (@crisgherman13) - Owner/artist at Fat Cats in New York, NY

· Anthony Michaels (@antmikes) - Artist at Metro Tattoo in Tucson, AZ

· Megan Jean Morris (@meganjeanmorris) - Owner/artist at Painted Soul in Wallingford, CT

· Alex Rockoff (@alexaceshigh) - Artist at Aces High Tattoo in West Palm Beach, FL

· Ashley Velazquez (@showoff_tattoos) - Artist at Forever Custom Tattoos in New Haven, CT

Veteran Artists:

· Matti Hixson (@mittihixson) - Artist at Otzi Tattoo Agency in Virginia Beach, VA

· Jime Litwalk (@jimelitwalk) - Artist at ASCENSION Tattoo in Orlando, FL

· Sausage (@sausagekingtat) - Co-owner/artist at REVOLT Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV

· St. Marq (@saintmarqtattoo) - Owner/artist at New Breed in West Lafayette, IN

· Sarah Miller (@valkyriesbard) - Owner/artist at Wyld Chyld in Pittsburgh, PA

· Cleen Rock One (@cleen_rock_one) - Owner/artist at Chrome Gypsy Tattoo in Las Vegas, NV

· Jesse Smith (@jesse_smith) - Owner/artist at Loose Screw Tattoo in Richmond, VA

· James Vaughn (@mrjamesvaughn) - Owner/artist at Tidewater Designs in Mt. Pleasant, SC

Viewers can find more on each artist including biographies, photo galleries, artwork portfolios and artist introduction videos by visiting inkmaster.spike.com. Throughout the season, fans can watch full episodes and video clips, and are encouraged to join the conversation on social media using #InkMaster. The latest in tattoo culture and series news can be found on the official "Ink Master" Facebook page, on Twitter @spikeinkmaster, Tumblr and on Instagram @spikeinkmaster.

"Ink Master" completed its 6th season on Tuesday, October 13, 2015 with a LIVE 90-minute finale that delivered 2.4 million viewers. The record-breaking 16-episode season averaged 2.4 million viewers and was the #1 ranked show on cable in Adults 18-49 in its Tuesday timeslot (10:00pm-11:00pm ET/PT). The SPIKE original series also tallied triple-digit gains this season in the timeslot for Adults 18-49 (+178%) and Adults 18-34 (+133%). "Ink Master" is 44% male, demonstrating the network's ongoing plan to deliver gender-balanced original hit series.

"Ink Master" is produced for SPIKE by Original Media (Ink Master: Redemption, Swamp People, Dual Survival) with Steven Weinstock, Glenda Hersh and Andrea Richter serving as executive producers. Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine North America.

Sharon Levy is Spike's executive vice president, original series, Chachi Senior is senior vice president of original programming for SPIKE and oversees production of "Ink Master" and Tori Socha serves as the network's executive in charge of production.

About Original Media: Original Media is a subsidiary of Endemol Shine NORTH AMERICA and is run by Emmy award-winning producers Glenda Hersh and Steven Weinstock. Producing hundreds of hours of programming across unscripted and scripted television, digital media and feature film, Original Media has built a strong reputation for cutting-edge content and quality production. Hit series include INK MASTER and INK MASTER: REDEMPTION for Spike; SWAMP PEOPLE for History; DUAL SURVIVAL and PACIFIC WARRIORS for Discovery; COMIC BOOK MEN for AMC; ROAD SPILL for TruTV; and I LOVE YOU... BUT I LIED for LMN. Original Media also produced the Academy Award-nominated films "The Squid and the Whale" and "Half Nelson."

About SPIKE TV: Spike TV is available in 98.7 million homes and is a division of Viacom Media Networks. A unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), Viacom Media Networks is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. SPIKE TV's Internet address is www.spike.com.

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