Starting with season 10, if one remaining competitor fails on any of Finals course parts but has completed it more than the others in the fastest time, they win a consolatory $100,000 prize.

In 2012, the show changed its format by creating the fixed Finals course in Las Vegas and moved to NBC for its fourth season.

In 2020, following COVID-19 restrictions, the show abolished the usual format and filmed a shorter season in St. Louis studio with no live audience.

[2][3] In late 2006, the American cable channel G4 began airing broadcasts of the Japanese sports entertainment television special Sasuke (subtitled or dubbed in English and re-titled Ninja Warrior).

[7] By the fifth season, G4 was set to be replaced by Esquire Network and had wound down all original programming except American Ninja Warrior by January 2013.

As a result, NBC became the sole broadcaster of the original episodes while Esquire Network aired reruns until the eighth season.

Producer Anthony Storm said that the screen time is divided between athletes based on their performance, story originality, and the amount of competitions they have already participated in before.

[20][21] They share similar visual appearance and colors: the red or blue plastic inserts are installed into suspensory metal constructions and mark the pathway through the obstacle.

All qualifiers are now held in a single predetermined city, and the show covers all the contestants' expenses, including travel costs and accommodation.

The first who presses the buzzer on top of the Power Tower wins a Safety Pass, which allows one to retry a single National Finals course if needed.

[7][38][39] Additionally, MMA fighter Jimmy Smith was brought in as co-host while Haislip was assigned to the new sideline reporter position.

[40] Gbajabiamila was contacted to audition for the role of co-host in Los Angeles after being seen on the NFL Network by one of the series' executive producers.

The qualifying and semifinals rounds took place in Venice Beach, where a tryout was opened, meaning competitors from across the United States had to fly themselves there to compete.

This was the result of an eBay auction in which proceeds were sent to the American Red Cross to help with recovery efforts following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

[47] During the National Finals, which were held for the first time in Las Vegas,[7][37] Brent Steffensen was the only competitor to reach Stage 3 and became the Last Man Standing.

[48] A special military edition was held in front of the USS Iowa in San Pedro for competitors who are either current or former members of the U.S. Armed Forces in addition to five base locations.

[48] The first city qualifying, held in Los Angeles, was dedicated to the release of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and featured cameo appearances of Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Qualifying cities originally included returns to Los Angeles and St. Louis with a new location, Washington, D.C., with the National Finals initially set to be held in Las Vegas.

The season finals course consisted of 10 obstacles, with top 8 contestants moving for a face-to-face knockout stage on the Power Tower.

[65] NBC responded to his arrest by cutting ties with him and removing any mentions of him out of the season, including his appearance in special episodes.

[67] On June 26, 2024, Dreschel was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison, 15 years of supervised release (along with registering as a sex offender), and was ordered to pay $100,000 in restitution to his victim.

For this season, several invitations to compete have been sent to teenagers from 15 to 19 years who made achievements in spin-off shows despite no official age lowering was announced.

[20] The season format had the filming of 5 qualifying episodes in the Tacoma Dome in Seattle/Tacoma, with the 4 semifinals taped at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles.

For the first time ever, the tournament will be a straight knockout elimination bracket on a head-to-head race course, featuring fan-favorite obstacles in ANW's history.

[69] Four of all-stars competitions, retitled Women's Championship, only included 12, 13, or 16 female competitors as they compete on two obstacle courses from qualifiers, semifinals, or National Finals.

A sports video game based on the series, American Ninja Warrior: Challenge, was released in North America on March 19, 2019, for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.

The teams compete head-to-head against each other, running the course simultaneously, thus creating a new live duel dynamic (including crossing points, where the two competitors can affect the other's progress.)

The first season premiered on Universal Kids on October 13, 2018, Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbaja-Biamila reprised their roles from ANW as hosts, with Olympic 2016 gold medalist Laurie Hernandez joining as co-host, guiding competitors in head-to-head challenges.

[118] The success of the spin-off made the producers consider the minimal age requirements to 15 years, as the young competitors would have to wait until they are nineteen in order to compete in the regular season.

In the 13th and 14th seasons of the show, producers selected only the outstanding young competitors from the spin-off as "special guests" before it was fully enforced as regulars starting in 2023.