According to this article in the New York Times, as well as a couple of other media sources I found, apparently the season finale on NBC for American Ninja Warrior 3 brought in fairly strong ratings. I think in absolute terms the ratings weren’t so terribly high, but for that time slot (Sunday night during the summer) they were relatively very good. This is fantastic news for American Ninja Warrior fans and competitors, meaning there is an increased likelihood of future competitions and media exposure.

This is total speculation on my part…but I have to believe that it also means that there is an increased likelihood of American Ninja Warrior 4 going down later this year in 2011 in order to send Team America to the very next Sasuke in Japan. Remember ANW has only been happening once a year, while Sasuke happens twice a year, and with Sasuke ratings flagging in Japan they may need an infusion of new interest and NBC licensing money to even run another one.