The Biggest Loser: Couples 3 is the ninth season of the NBC reality television series The Biggest Loser. The contestants competed to win a $250,000 prize, which was awarded to Michael Ventrella, the finalist with the highest percentage of weight lost. It first aired January 5, 2010. After six episodes, The Biggest Loser went on hiatus and returned after the 2010 Winter Olympics on March 2, 2010. The live finale aired on May 25, 2010. The season premiered on NBC on January 5, 2010 and tallied its best premiere rating ever, powering NBC to the adults 18-49 ratings win for that night. Biggest Loser: Couples was up 2% from its January, 2009 premiere to a 4.6 adults 18-49 rating. It was the top adults 18-49 rated Biggest Loser premiere and tied the second best rating for a non-finale. It scored a total 11.68 million viewers. This was also the last season to be filmed in 480i, due to the fall 2010 season moving to high definition.