Laff (legal name: Laff Media,

LLC A limited liability company (LLC for short) is the US-specific form of a private limited company. It is a business structure that can combine the pass-through taxation of a partnership or sole proprietorship with the limited liability of a ...

) is an American digital multicast television network headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in comedy programming, featuring mainly sitcoms from the 1990s through the 2000s.

History

Laff's launch was announced by Katz Broadcasting in January 2015 as having a scheduled launch date of , coinciding with Tax Day in the United States; the explanation by Katz is that people needed "something to laugh to" on what they deemed one of the most stressful days of the year. The network launched at Noon that day; the first program was the film ''

My Mom's New Boyfriend ''My Mom's New Boyfriend'' is a 2008 romantic comedy crime film starring Colin Hanks, Antonio Banderas, Selma Blair, and Meg Ryan. The film received a limited theatrical release worldwide. However, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group re ...

''. Katz announced that television stations owned by ABC Owned Television Stations and 13 E. W. Scripps Company would serve as the network's charter affiliates; the former serving as a replacement for the standard definition feed of the Live Well Network, which with Laff's announcement also began to roll-back to only being carried by ABCOTS stations. On March 13, 2015, Katz Broadcasting announced an affiliation deal with the Cox Media Group to carry Laff on the subchannels of seven of its stations expanding its initial reach to 47% of the country. The following week on March 20, as part of a multi-network affiliation agreement with Katz, the

Meredith Corporation Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned magazines, television stations, websites, and radio stations. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more ...

announced that it would carry the network on two of its stations. On February 13, 2015, Laff acquired the syndication rights to five sitcoms. Laff followed that deal for film licensing with Disney–ABC Domestic Television,

Miramax Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California. It was initially a leadi ...

, and Sony Pictures Television by March 17. Laff made a multi-year deal for five sitcoms with Carsey-Werner Productions in April 2016. ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' reruns were removed on May 29, 2018, after Roseanne Barr was fired from the show by ABC (which then continued on as '' The Conners''); both decisions were based on a Roseanne Barr tweet considered racist. A list of 2019 Nielsen ratings published by '' Variety'' indicated that Laff averaged 223,000 viewers in prime time, down 5% from the 2018 average. The network moved off ABC Owned Television Stations at the beginning of 2021, in favor of new carriage on Scripps's recently-acquired Ion Media stations in place of the now-defunct Qubo,

Ion Plus Ion Plus is an American free linear television network owned by the Katz Broadcasting subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company that formerly operated as a broadcast television network until February 28, 2021. The network originally launched in 200 ...

and Ion Shop networks.

Programming

Laff's schedule mainly consists of 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

off-network Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

sitcoms. On September 1, 2021, Nexstar launched a direct competitor to Laff, Rewind TV, and the latter network replaced Laff on Nexstar stations (or will in the upcoming months if not immediately possible due to contractual obligations).

Movies

Laff carries a broad roster of comedy films on Saturdays and Sundays. The network's film lineup relies primarily on an extensive library of titles through several multi-year program licensing agreements with Walt Disney Studios (including

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

titles), Warner Bros. Entertainment, Universal Pictures,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

(including

titles) / Trifecta Entertainment & Media, and

Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...

(distributed by Sony Pictures Television).

Television series

*'' According to Jim'' *'' Everybody Hates Chris'' *'' Funniest Pets & People'' *'' Home Improvement'' *''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005 to March 31, 2014, follows the main character, Ted Mosby, and his ...

'' *'' That '70s Show'' *'' The Bernie Mac Show'' *''World's Funniest Videos: Top 10 Countdown''

Former programming

*'' A Different World'' *'' Cybill'' *'' Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza'' *'' Ellen'' *'' Empty Nest'' *'' Grace Under Fire'' *'' Grounded for Life'' *'' Night Court'' *''

'' *'' Spin City'' *'' The Drew Carey Show'' *''

3rd Rock from the Sun ''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...

Affiliates

, Laff has 425 current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 48 states, plus the District of Columbia, covering 91.3% of the United States.

References

External links

* {{Commonscat, Laff (TV network) 2015 establishments in the United States Television networks in the United States Television channels and stations established in 2015 Comedy television networks Classic television networks Nostalgia television in the United States E. W. Scripps Company