The sixth season of “American Ninja Warrior (ANW6),” the US spin-off of the TBS sports entertainment program “SASUKE,” once again earned the highest rating for its time slot in the 18-49 age demographic, which advertisers value the most. Broadcast regularly on the NBC terrestrial network in prime time on Monday nights from 9:00 to 11:00 p.m., the program achieved this feat with its July 21 broadcast, increasing week-on-week viewership and logging the season’s highest rating thus far. In fact, the rating approached that of the fourth season’s finale, which was broadcast on July 23, 2012, setting the program’s as yet unbeaten record.

In ANW6’s time slot on Monday night prime time TV, ABC broadcasts the popular “Bachelorette” series. On FOX, “Hotel Hell” has begun its new season, taking over from “24: Live Another Day.” On CBS at 10:00 p.m., the popular “Under the Dome” has begun its new season as well. Despite this tough competition, ANW6 was the ratings victor on July 21. The June 30 broadcast was an encore presentation of “American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. Japan,” which did not earn the top rating in its time slot but nevertheless competed fiercely (its second hour came in at No. 2). Since July 7, ANW6 has won its time slot every week, and it has won seven out of the eight weeks starting June 2.

In addition, on the July 14 episode featuring the Dallas qualifiers, Kacy Catanzaro became the first female to pass an ANW qualifying course. Cheered on by the announcers, the 152 cm, 45 kg Catanzaro blew through the grueling series of obstacles that took out most of her male competitors. Instantly, the hashtag #MightyKacy took off on Twitter, where it trended globally for over an hour. After the broadcast, NBC and cable network Esquire TV put up the clip of her run on their websites, where it quickly reached 8 million total views. Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Sports, and the Associated Press reported on the achievement, followed by the Washington Post and USA Today. The US magazines Time, People, and Marie Claire ran features about Catanzaro, and major Japanese media also took interest in the woman ninja. Moreover, rival networks and channels ABC, CBS, FOX, ESPN, and CNN contributed to the surge of media attention. Through her guts, strength, and skill, the previously unknown Catanzaro became an overnight sensation and heroine to millions.

ANW6 features qualifying rounds in Las Angeles, Dallas, St. Louis, Miami, and Denver, and the finals will take place in Las Vegas. As the July 21 broadcast featured regional qualifiers in St. Louis, the season has a lot more action to offer before culminating in the finals in September!