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Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American digital multicast
television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid- ...
headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
and is owned by the
Katz Broadcasting Katz Broadcasting, LLC, doing business as Scripps Networks, is an American specialized digital multicasting network media company and a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. The company owns (as of 2022) nine television networks that each carry ...
subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in
comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...
programming, featuring mainly
sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...
s from the 1990s through the 2000s.


History

Laff's launch was announced by
Katz Broadcasting Katz Broadcasting, LLC, doing business as Scripps Networks, is an American specialized digital multicasting network media company and a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. The company owns (as of 2022) nine television networks that each carry ...
in January 2015 as having a scheduled launch date of , coinciding with Tax Day in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
; 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''. Katz announced that television stations owned by
ABC Owned Television Stations ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney ...
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 Localish (formerly Live Well Network, stylized as LOCALISH) is a lifestyle TV network owned by ABC Owned Television Stations, part of Walt Disney Television, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Localish's 24/7 channel streams on Hulu Li ...
, 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 CMG Media Corporation ( doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company pri ...
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 announced that it would carry the network on two of its stations. On February 13, 2015, Laff acquired the
syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...
rights to five sitcoms. Laff followed that deal for film licensing with
Disney–ABC Domestic Television Disney–ABC Domestic Television (doing business as Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, and formerly named Buena Vista Television) is the in-home sales and content distribution firm of Disney Platform Distribution, a su ...
, Miramax, and
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
by March 17. Laff made a multi-year deal for five sitcoms with Carsey-Werner Productions in April 2016. '' Roseanne'' reruns were removed on May 29, 2018, after
Roseanne Barr Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952) is an American actress, comedian, writer, producer, and former presidential candidate. Barr began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (1988–1 ...
was fired from the show by ABC (which then continued on as ''
The Conners ''The Conners'' is an American television sitcom created for ABC as a renamed direct continuation of the sequel to the series ''Roseanne''. The series is produced by Werner Entertainment, with Bruce Helford serving as showrunner and features ...
''); both decisions were based on a Roseanne Barr tweet considered racist. A list of 2019 Nielsen ratings published by ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' indicated that Laff averaged 223,000 viewers in prime time, down 5% from the 2018 average. The network moved off
ABC Owned Television Stations ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney ...
at the beginning of 2021, in favor of new carriage on Scripps's recently-acquired
Ion Media Ion Media (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) was an American broadcasting company that owned and operated over List of stations owned and operated by Ion Media, 71 television stations in most major Americ ...
stations in place of the now-defunct
Qubo Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...
, Ion Plus and Ion Shop networks.


Programming

Laff's schedule mainly consists of 1980s, 1990s and 2000s off-network sitcoms. On September 1, 2021, Nexstar launched a direct competitor to Laff,
Rewind TV Rewind TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group, and is a spinoff/sister network of Antenna TV. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1980s to the early 2000 ...
, 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 titles),
Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...
,
Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
, Paramount Pictures (including Miramax titles) /
Trifecta Entertainment & Media Trifecta Entertainment & Media is an American entertainment company founded in 2006. The company's founders previously held jobs as executives at MGM Television. Trifecta is primarily a distribution company and also handles advertising sales in exc ...
, and Sony Pictures Entertainment (distributed by
Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
).


Television series

*''
According to Jim ''According to Jim'' is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children (and then five children, starting with the seventh season finale). It originally ran on ABC from October ...
'' *''
Everybody Hates Chris ''Everybody Hates Chris'' is an American television semi-autobiographical sitcom that is inspired by the memories of the teenage years of comedian Chris Rock. The show is set from 1982 to 1987, although Rock himself was actually a teenager from ...
'' *'' Funniest Pets & People'' *''
Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...
'' *'' How I Met Your Mother'' *''
That '70s Show ''That '70s Show'' is an American television period teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, ...
'' *''
The Bernie Mac Show ''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001 to April 14, 2006. The series featured Bernie ...
'' *''World's Funniest Videos: Top 10 Countdown''


Former programming

*''
A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) a ...
'' *''
Cybill ''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a twice-divorced single mother of tw ...
'' *''
Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza ''Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza'' is an American improvisational comedy television program that aired in the United States on the Game Show Network (GSN). Produced at the Hollywood Theatre at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada, the series was ho ...
'' *'' Ellen'' *''
Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ri ...
'' *''
Grace Under Fire ''Grace Under Fire'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 29, 1993, to February 17, 1998. The show starred Brett Butler as a single mother learning how to cope with raising her three children alone after finally divorcing her ...
'' *''
Grounded for Life ''Grounded for Life'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on January 10, 2001, as a mid-season replacement on Fox. Created by Mike Schiff and Bill Martin, it ran for two seasons on the network until being canceled only two episodes into ...
'' *''
Night Court ''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from January 4, 1984 to May 31, 1992. The setting was the night shift of a Manhattan municipal court presided over by a young, unorthodox judge, Harold "Harry" T. Stone (portray ...
'' *'' Roseanne'' *''
Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor' ...
'' *''
The Drew Carey Show ''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995 to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionalize ...
'' *'' 3rd Rock from the Sun''


Affiliates

, Laff has 425 current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 48 states, plus the
District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, 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