THE BIG BANG THEORY Joins Thursday Nights, Sept. 23 on CTV

Geek Chic Ratings Juggernaut THE BIG BANG THEORY Joins Thursday Nights for a New Season of Hilarity, Sept. 23 on CTV

- In world first, syndicated episodes to air on CTV starting Sept. 13 -

- CTV celebrates new time-slot with special five-episode marathon, Sept. 16 -

- THE BIG BANG THEORY debuts on The Comedy Network Sept. 20 -

- New episodes air on CTV.ca following their television broadcast -

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To tweet this release: http://bit.ly/aPEtPq

".Shh. TV's nerdy little secret is out. The Big Bang Theory has quietly become Canada's most-watched comedy....."

- The Toronto Star

TORONTO, Aug. 18 /CNW/ - Nerd alert! Canada's No. 1 comedy THE BIG BANG THEORY gravitates to Thursday nights for its side-splitting fourth season beginning September 23 at 8 p.m. ET on CTV (visit CTV.ca to confirm local broadcast times). The comedy anchors CTV's new powerhouse Thursday night line-up, which begins with CSI at 7 p.m. ET and continues with the SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE CANADA results show at 8:30 p.m. ET, GREY'S ANATOMY at 9 p.m. ET and sophomore hit THE MENTALIST at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes of THE BIG BANG THEORY will also be made available on demand the day following their television broadcast on the CTV Video Player at CTV.ca.

In a world first, Canadians can tune in to more of TV's hottest comedy this fall when CTV debuts THE BIG BANG THEORY strip, one full year ahead of American syndication. The strip airs following ETALK, Monday-Wednesday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET beginning Monday, September 13. THE BIG BANG THEORY debuts on The Comedy Network Monday, September 20 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

CTV marks the new THE BIG BANG THEORY Thursday night time-slot with a special five-episode marathon from 7:30 - 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, September 16. The marathon includes the last five episodes of Season 3.

Last season, THE BIG BANG THEORY's ratings increased by a whopping 150%, attracting an average of 2.17 million viewers and capturing a series high of nearly three million viewers (2.92 million) for one episode.

To view the complete release, please click here: http://www.ctvmedia.ca/ctv/releases/release.asp?id=12829&yyyy=2010

Source: BBM Canada

Audiences quoted prior to Aug. 31/09 based on BBM Nielsen Media Research Mark II meters. Sept 21/09-May 30/10 and Sept 22/08-May 24/09.

For further information: Rebecca Harrold, CTV Inc., 416.384.6893 or [email protected]; Amanda Rinaldo, CTV Inc., 416.384.5325 or [email protected]