Comedy Central (Australia & New Zealand)
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Comedy Central is an American adult-oriented
basic cable Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948. By 1989, 53 million U.S. households received cable television subscriptions, with 60 percent of all U.S. households doing so in 1992. with Data by SNL Kagan shows that about 58 ...
channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel carries comedy programming in the form of both original, licensed, and syndicated series,
stand-up comedy Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up. Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
specials, and feature films. It is available to approximately 86.73 million households in the United States . Since the early 2000s, Comedy Central has expanded globally with localized channels in Europe (including the United Kingdom), India, Southeast Asia, Latin America,
Australia and New Zealand Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...
, Middle East, Africa and in the Commonwealth of Independent States. The international channels are operated by Paramount International Networks.


History


1989–1991: Pre-launch as The Comedy Channel

On November 15, 1989, Time-Life, the owners of
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, launched The Comedy Channel as the first
cable channel Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...
devoted exclusively to comedy-based programming. On April 1, 1990,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
(who owned
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
,
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
, and Nickelodeon) launched a rival channel called Ha! that featured reruns of
situation comedies 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 new ...
and some original
sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...
. The Comedy Channel's programs were broadcast from the HBO Downtown Studios at 120 East 23rd Street in Manhattan. The format prior to the merger with Ha! included several original and unconventional programs such as ''Onion World'' with
Rich Hall Richard Travis Hall (born June 10, 1954) is an American comedian, writer, documentary maker and musician, first coming to prominence as a sketch comedian in the 1980s. He wrote and performed for a range of American networks, in series such as ...
and ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'', as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by comedians, including ''The Sweet Life'' with Rachel Sweet, ''
Night After Night with Allan Havey Allan Havey (born September 19, 1954) is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981. Overview Havey made his national debut in 1986 on '' Late Night with David Letterman'' and made many ap ...
'', ''Sports Monster'', and ''The Higgins Boys and Gruber'', the latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television series like '' Supercar'', '' Clutch Cargo'', and ''
Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp ''Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp'' is an American action/adventure comedy series that originally aired Saturday mornings on ABC from September 12, 1970 to January 2, 1971 and rebroadcast the following season. The live-action film series featured a ...
''. The standard format for The Comedy Channel's shows usually involved the various hosts introducing clips culled from the acts of stand-up comedians as well as classic comedies of the 1970s and 1980s, such as '' Young Frankenstein'' and '' Kentucky Fried Movie'', presented in a style similar to music videos. In the early days, certain hours of the day when clips were shown without "host segments" were dubbed ''
Short Attention Span Theater ''Short Attention Span Theater'' (often abbreviated to ''SAST'') is an American clip show in which the hosts presented short segments of stand-up comedy acts and scenes from films airing on HBO and Cinemax. It aired from 1989 until 1994. ''SAST'' ...
''. In 1990, hosts under this title,
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
and Patty Rosborough, were introduced. Comedian Marc Maron also hosted the series. While The Comedy Channel broadcast mostly low-budget original programming, Ha!'s schedule featured sitcom and sketch comedy reruns (many of which had been previously licensed for sister network
Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite) is an American nighttime basic cable television channel that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon. It typically broadcasts Mondays to Thursday nights from 9 p.m. - 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time Zone, ET/Pac ...
) as well as complete 90-minute reruns of '' Saturday Night Live'' from the sixth through 16th seasons. After two years of limited distribution, the two channels merged into one, relaunching on April 1, 1991, as CTV: The Comedy Network. On June 1, 1991, the network changed its name to Comedy Central to prevent issues with the Canadian broadcast television network
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
, which would eventually be its Canadian content partner through The Comedy Network when that channel started operations six years later. Around this time, the network introduced their now-iconic logo, which is a globe showing the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
with tall buildings on the North American part and a black marquee ring (see below). Comedy Partners was originally a partnership of
Home Box Office, Inc. Home Box Office, Inc. (HBO) is an American multinational media and entertainment company operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. Founded by Charles Dolan and based out of WarnerMedia's former corporate headquarters at the 30 Hudson Yar ...
, the subsidiary of Time Warner that owned The Comedy Channel and HBO's half and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha!
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 ...
, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's half of the network during its first years on air. Viacom bought out AOL Time Warner's half in April 2003 for $1.23 billion. Despite HBO's exit from the venture, the Viacom Media Networks division in charge of Comedy Central is still called Comedy Partners, currently being a partnership of Paramount Global Content Distribution, the operating subsidiary of Paramount of which Paramount Media Networks is a division and Viacom Hearty Ha! Ha!
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 ...
, the subsidiary that owned Ha! and Viacom's original half of the network.


1991–2000

From the late 1980s through the mid-1990s, much of the programming on Comedy Central and its predecessors consisted of comedy films, sitcom reruns, half-hour specials, and clip shows featuring comedians. Except for the cult favorite ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
'', the channel had a relatively small viewership. A notable early success was '' Politically Incorrect'' with
Bill Maher William Maher (; born January 20, 1956) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is known for the HBO political talk show ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (2003–present) and the similar la ...
, which after showing promise on Comedy Central was quickly snapped up by
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
. Additionally, '' The Daily Show'' had got its start with original host Craig Kilborn, although it would take a few more years for the show to reach high popularity (and a shift toward a focus on political humor) with the introduction of
Jon Stewart Jon Stewart (born Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz; November 28, 1962) is an American comedian, political commentator, and television host. He hosted ''The Daily Show'', a satirical news program on Comedy Central, from 1999 to 2015 and now hosts ''Th ...
in 1999 (who was former co-host of ''
Short Attention Span Theater ''Short Attention Span Theater'' (often abbreviated to ''SAST'') is an American clip show in which the hosts presented short segments of stand-up comedy acts and scenes from films airing on HBO and Cinemax. It aired from 1989 until 1994. ''SAST'' ...
'' from 1991). The channel was first launched as a joint venture between Time Warner and
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, while Warner Home Video distributed the home media rights to the network's shows until 2003. '' Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist'' was also a notable original program from this era, as well as the game show ''
Win Ben Stein's Money ''Win Ben Stein's Money'' is an American television game show created by Al Burton and Donnie Brainard that aired first-run episodes from July 28, 1997, to January 31, 2003, on Comedy Central. The show featured three contestants who competed to an ...
''. Successful non-original programming included Canadian comedy group '' The Kids in the Hall'' and British shows such as the UK edition of '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' (the predecessor of the U.S. version, featuring much of the same American cast as would later be seen in the U.S.) and the sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous''. Some later seasons of ''AbFab'', as it was informally known, were partially financed by Comedy Central. Comedy Central also had the national rights to broadcast reruns of Seattle's '' Almost Live!'' between 1992 and 1993. The channel made a breakthrough when ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' premiered in 1997. Being one of the first major basic cable shows to carry the TV-MA rating for mature audiences, the show was considered too controversial to be picked up by any mainstream network; the Fox Broadcasting Company (known for '' The Simpsons'') for example refused to pick up the series due to the over-the-top offensive content at the time. As word of mouth spread, the number of people who requested that Comedy Central should be added to their cable providers increased, and the channel became available in over 50% of American homes by 1998.


2000–2010

On October 30, 2000, Comedy Central introduced a modernized version of its globe logo, by straightening and modernizing the buildings as well as removing the transmitter and marquee. The management of the network said that the transmitter of the 1991 logo was said to "communicate the 1950s broadcast era". In 2002,
Comedy Central Records Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by Paramount Global. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The label has r ...
was formed as a means of releasing albums by comedians that have appeared on the network. By 2003,
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
gained full ownership of Comedy Central, and since 2003, Comedy Central has created a tradition of roasting comedians in the style of the New York Friars' Club roasts. During these roasts, friends of the roastee, along with other comedians, take turns making fun of the roastee, the other roasters, and occasionally audience members. So far, the roastees have included Denis Leary,
Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...
, Pamela Anderson, William Shatner, Flavor Flav, Bob Saget, Larry the Cable Guy, Joan Rivers, Rob Reiner, David Hasselhoff, Donald Trump, Charlie Sheen, Roseanne Barr, James Franco, Justin Bieber, Rob Lowe, Bruce Willis, and
Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...
. The success of ''South Park'', despite its mature content, encouraged the network to continue to push the limits on adult language. Every late Friday (early Saturday morning) and Saturday night (early Sunday morning) at 1 am. ET, a movie, comedy special, or animated program is shown unedited for language as part of a block called the ''Secret Stash''. It premiered on July 4, 2003, with the unedited cable television debut of '' South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut''. Though no language is censored on the Secret Stash, most nudity in the programs is still edited out, except for limited nudity allowed in animated programs such as '' Drawn Together'', and rear nudity. In late 2004, it was reported that the four highest-rated shows on Comedy Central were, in descending order, ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'', '' Chappelle's Show'', '' The Daily Show'' and '' Reno 911!''. Shortly thereafter,
Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of p ...
backed out of the much-anticipated third season of ''Chappelle's Show''. Meanwhile, ''The Daily Show'' continued to climb in the ratings. In October 2005, on the occasion of a new three-year contract for ''South Park'' and the launch of ''Daily Show'' spin-off '' The Colbert Report'', it was reported that ''South Park'' and ''The Daily Show'' were the two highest- rated shows on Comedy Central. Comedy Central chief Doug Herzog was reported as saying that he hoped to continue to air new seasons of ''South Park'' forever, and that ''The Colbert Report'' fulfilled a long-held plan to extend the ''Daily Show'' brand. On April 5, 2006, in a controversial two-part episode arc titled "
Cartoon Wars Part I "Cartoon Wars Part I" is the third episode in the tenth season of the American animated television series '' South Park''. The 142nd episode of the series overall, it first aired on Comedy Central in the United States on April 5, 2006. It is the ...
" and " Cartoon Wars Part II", ''South Park'' touched the issue of the recent protest over the Danish cartoon drawings depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad. The image of Muhammad did not appear in the episode. The episode also mocked fellow cartoon ''
Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffin family, Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter Griff ...
''. On April 13, 2006, Comedy Central issued a statement which appears to confirm that the network prohibited the show's creators from airing an image of Muhammad. The statement reads, ''"In light of recent world events, we feel we made the right decision."'' An anonymous source close to the show indicated that ''South Park'' creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were informed of the policy several weeks earlier and wrote this story arc in protest. This was a change of policy for Comedy Central, having allowed ''South Park'' to portray an image of Muhammad in an earlier episode, "
Super Best Friends "Super Best Friends" is the third episode of the fifth season of the American animated television series '' South Park'' and the 68th episode of the series overall. Going by production order, it is the 4th episode of Season 5 instead of the 3rd. ...
". Oddly enough, an image of Muhammad was still briefly visible in the opening credits of the "Cartoon Wars" episodes (the image had been there as a call-back to "Super Best Friends"). On January 15, 2007, MTV Networks International launched Comedy Central in Germany which is available for free throughout Europe. The channel airs 33 shows either dubbed in German or subtitled while also airing locally produced shows. On April 30, Dutch channel The Box was relaunched as the Dutch version of Comedy Central during the
primetime Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
and overnight hours timesharing with Nickelodeon. On May 1, 2007, Comedy Central expanded to Italy, replacing Paramount Comedy. On June 27, 2007, CTVglobemedia-owned networks
CTV CTV may refer to: Television * Connected TV, or Smart TV, a TV set with integrated internet North America and South America * CTV Television Network, a Canadian television network owned by Bell Media ** CTV 2, a secondary Canadian televisio ...
and The Comedy Network obtained the exclusive Canadian rights to the entire Comedy Central library of past and current programs on all electronic platforms, under a multi-year agreement with
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, expanding on past programming agreements between the two channels. Canadian users attempting to visit Comedy Central websites were redirected to The Comedy Network's website. The Canadian channel retains its brand name, but the agreement is otherwise very similar to the earlier CTV–Viacom deal for MTV in Canada. As of 2011, this geocaching no longer applies and both the Comedy Central and The Comedy Network websites can be accessed worldwide, except for videos which remain only accessible within each respective country. In December 2007, Comedy Central picked up a show hosted by Lewis Black called ''
Lewis Black's Root of All Evil Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohea ...
'', which debuted in March 2008. On January 9, 2008, it was announced the Comedy Central and MTV would allow the streaming its programs online for free starting in February that year. On January 24, Scott Landsman became the Vice President of Original Programming and Development at the network. On March 27, 2008, the Swedish Radio and TV Authority approved an application from Comedy Central regarding being allowed to air television programs in Sweden. The grant allowed Comedy Central to broadcast on the terrestrial television network between January 1, 2009, and March 31, 2014, after which a new request had to be submitted to continue broadcasting. Comedy Central's U.S. flagship network picked up a remake of '' The Gong Show'' hosted by Dave Attell, star of his former self-titled Comedy Central series ''
Insomniac Insomniac or The Insomniac may refer to: * A person who has insomnia Music * ''Insomniac'' (Green Day album), 1995 * ''Insomniac'' (Enrique Iglesias album), 2007 * "Insomniac" (song), a 1994 song by Echobelly * "Insomniac", a song by Billy P ...
'', which debuted in July 2008. Another new show called ''
Reality Bites Back ''Reality Bites Back'' is a reality show hosted by Michael Ian Black that parodies various reality show formats. It premiered July 17, 2008 on Comedy Central. The name is derived from the 1994 film ''Reality Bites''. Premise Ten comedians compe ...
'' premiered after ''
The Gong Show with Dave Attell ''The Gong Show with Dave Attell'' was a revival of the 1970s Chuck Barris comedy game show called ''The Gong Show'', hosted by comedian Dave Attell. The show premiered on July 17, 2008. It was produced by Adam Sandler's production company Happy ...
''. In June 2008, Comedy Central picked up the sketch comedy show '' Important Things with Demetri Martin'', which began airing in February 2009. On April 1, 2009, Comedy Central began airing in New Zealand as channel 010 on SKY Digital. On April 6, Paramount Comedy in the UK and Ireland rebranded as Comedy Central. On April 7, 2009, it was announced Comedy Central would air new stand-up comedy specials starring Christopher Titus, Gabriel Iglesias,
Pablo Francisco Pablo Ridson Francisco (born January 4, 1974) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He started his career doing improv in Tempe, Arizona. Career In the 1990s, he appeared on ''MADtv'' as a featured player. His stand-up act was introduced ...
, Jim Breuer,
Mitch Fatel Mitch Fatel (born December 20, 1968 Mitch Faytel in in Manhattan) is a stand-up comedian. He was raised in Yonkers, New York and began doing stand-up at the age of 15. In 1988 Fatel attended NYU/Tisch School of the Arts and majored in film and ...
and Pete Correale, and ventriloquist
Jeff Dunham Jeffrey Douglas Dunham (born April 18, 1962) is an American ventriloquist, stand-up comedian and actor who has also appeared on numerous television shows, including ''Late Show with David Letterman'', ''Comedy Central Presents'', ''The Tonigh ...
. An animated show entitled ''
Ugly Americans Ugly American or similar may refer to: *''The Ugly American'', a 1958 novel by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick * ''The Ugly American'' (film), a 1963 film starring Marlon Brando, based on the 1958 novel *Ugly American (pejorative), a term used ...
'' was also picked up by the network. In 2009, '' The Goode Family'' premiered. Also in 2009, Thomas Lennon announced via Twitter that '' Reno 911!'' had been canceled after six seasons, much to fan disapproval. The network also played a role in the revival of the animated series ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'', which
Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...
had canceled in 2003. New episodes began airing on Comedy Central in 2010. But in May 2013, Comedy Central released a statement saying that the contract between Futurama and Comedy Central would not be renewed and that the summer of 2013 would be Futurama's final season on the air. However, episodes continue to run weekly on Comedy Central. In 2009, Comedy Central introduced an Internet viral video reaction show hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh called ''
Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...
''. During its second year in the summer of 2010, it was the most viewed show, overtaking ''The Daily Show'' and ''The Colbert Report'' for male audiences aged 18–49. Many of the segments in ''Tosh.0''s past seasons have received more views on Comedy Central's YouTube channel than any other show. ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episodes "
200 __NOTOC__ Year 200 ( CC) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Victorinus (or, less frequently, year 953 '' Ab ur ...
" and "
201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 '' Ab urbe condi ...
" aired in April 2010, revisiting the issue of the Islamic religious figure Muhammad's perceived immunity to parody, for fear of violent retaliation. The Super Best Friends returned, but Muhammad was entirely covered by a black bar reading "CENSORED" through all of his screen time. By the second episode of the two-parter, Comedy Central decided to censor every instance of his name, as well as three entire monologues, from the end of the show. The monologues dealt with the subjects of censorship and intimidation but did not use Muhammad's name. Trey Parker and Matt Stone have since issued a statement to the press, confirming that the "bleeps" were added weeks after the show was finished and that Comedy Central has refused to let them post the original version of
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
, in addition to retroactively removing the original "Super Best Friends" episode. Trey Parker threatened to quit the show after this incident.


2011–2018

On December 9, 2010, Comedy Central introduced a new logo for the network that launched on January 1, 2011, which left behind the previous theme of a world-sized "tower" broadcasting the network/skyscrapers, in favor of an image of two "C"'s, with one of them and the word "Central" turned upside-down within the new logomark. The new logo was designed to represent the network's unique brand of comedy (with some drawing comparisons to the
copyright symbol The copyright symbol, or copyright sign, (a circled capital letter C for copyright), is the symbol used in copyright notices for works other than sound recordings.17 U.S.C. The use of the symbol is described by the Universal Copyright Conven ...
as inspiration for its design and use), and to provide the network with a logo that could be easily used across different platforms, such as social media. However, the "bars" version of the logo used from 2000 to 2011 was intended to be Comedy Central's new logo as part of a planned rebranding in 2010, and the network used it short-lived until the network started a logo nicknamed the "Comedymark". The logo's resemblance to the one used by the Federal Communications Commission was also pointed out. It went on to win several industry awards. The Polish version of the channel was the first international Comedy Central channel to switch to the new logo on February 20, 2011; followed by the Hungarian version on April 1, 2011. Versions of the channel in Germany and the Netherlands soon followed on October 1, 2011. Comedy Central New Zealand rebranded in April 2012. Viacom 18 launched the channel in India on January 23, 2012. StarHub launched Comedy Central Asia in Singapore on November 1, 2012; the channel was added to its Basic Entertainment Upsize group. In 2012, Atom.com (formerly AtomFilms) was absorbed into Comedy Central. On April 1, 2012, Comedy Central launched a Russian-language version of Comedy Central branded as Paramount Comedy in Russia. On March 1, 2023, «Paramount Comedy» was renamed to «Comedy Central» and broadcasts in
CIS Cis or cis- may refer to: Places * Cis, Trentino, in Italy * In Poland: ** Cis, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central ** Cis, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, north Math, science and biology * cis (mathematics) (cis(''θ'')), a trigonome ...
countries (except Russia and Belarus). On October 21, 2013, the network premiered a nightly comedy- game show series ''
@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') was an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...
'' hosted by Chris Hardwick. ''@midnight'' served as an expansion to the network's nightly late-night programming. Due to low ratings, it was canceled on August 4, 2017, with the show airing its 600th and final episode as an hour-long special. On May 14, 2014, Comedy Central expanded to Spain, replacing Paramount Comedy. In 2014, it was announced that Stephen Colbert would leave Comedy Central to host ''
The Late Show The Late Show may refer to: Books * ''The Late Show'' (book), a 2017 book by Michael Connelly Film * ''The Late Show'' (film), a 1977 film * ''Late Show'', a 1999 German film by director Helmut Dietl Music * ''The Late Show'' (Eddie "Loc ...
'' on CBS, following the retirement of
David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman' ...
, the first host of ''Late Show''. The final episode of ''The Colbert Report'' aired on Comedy Central on December 18, 2014, after nine years and a total of 1,447 episodes. The final episode of ''The Colbert Report'' was watched by 2.481 million viewers, making it the most-watched episode ever in the show's history. The finale was the most-watched cable program of the night in its time slot, beating ''The Daily Show'' which was seen by 2.032 million viewers. ''The Colbert Report'' was replaced on Comedy Central by
Larry Wilmore Elister Larry WilmoreThe name Elister L. Wilmore is given at This matches the birth date and birthplace for "Larry Wilmore" at (born October 30, 1961) is an American comedian, writer, producer, and actor. He served as the "Senior Black Correspo ...
from ''The Daily Show'', who began hosting his series '' The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore'' on January 19, 2015. The show aired until August 18, 2016, when it was canceled due to low ratings. On February 10, 2015, Jon Stewart also announced his retirement and that he would also leave the network and ''The Daily Show'' after 16 years. Stewart's final episode aired on August 6, 2015, and
Trevor Noah Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African-born comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and former television host. He was the host of ''The Daily Show'', an American late-night talk show and satirical news progra ...
succeeded Stewart as new host on September 28, 2015. On January 5, 2017, the Finnish Government granted television programming licenses in the UHF band. The grant applied by Nickelodeon International Ltd allows Comedy Central to broadcast from May 17, 2017, to January 10, 2027. On November 16, 2017, Comedy Central launched a Ukrainian-language version of Comedy Central branded as Paramount Comedy in Ukraine. Ukrainian-language version of the channel is operated under the license purchased.


2018–present

In July 2018, Comedy Central refreshed its branding, maintaining the existing double-C logomark, but introducing a new in-house typeface, and changing the network's corporate color to amber (while also using other colors to denote flagship programs). On February 11, 2019, Jimmy Kimmel announced on his talk show ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' that former show ''
Crank Yankers ''Crank Yankers'' is an American adult puppet television show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison. It features actual crank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, while re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a vis ...
'' will be revived on Comedy Central for a fifth 20-episode season. The new season will include pranks on social media and other platforms. Kimmel's brother
Jonathan Kimmel Jonathan Kimmel (born November 4, 1976) is an American television and film director, writer, producer, actor and composer. He is the younger brother of Jimmy Kimmel. He is married to writer and lecturer Carly Hirsch, and is the father of Wesley ...
will serve as showrunner and executive producer. On May 1, 2019, the Viacom-owned Pluto TV launched two Comedy Central networks titled ''Comedy Central Pluto'' and ''Comedy Central Stand Up''. The former airs classic Comedy Central original series such as '' Reno 911!'', ''
Crank Yankers ''Crank Yankers'' is an American adult puppet television show produced by Adam Carolla, Jimmy Kimmel and Daniel Kellison. It features actual crank calls made by show regulars and celebrity guests, while re-enacted onscreen by puppets for a vis ...
'' and more, while the latter airs the network's stand up specials. Later on December 15, 2020, the ''Comedy Central Stand Up'' channel was removed and a new ''Comedy Central Animation'' channel was added. On December 4, 2019, Viacom re-merged with CBS Corporation to form ViacomCBS. In 2020, Comedy Central began shifting its programming towards adult animation, with series pickups of ''
Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...
'', a reboot of '' The Ren & Stimpy Show'', and '' Daria'' spin-off ''Jodie'' (later changed to a television movie). The first title of these was shifted to Paramount+. The network also launched a new weekday animation block initially branded as ''Animation Contamination,'' featuring reruns of ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'', ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years a ...
'' and '' The Cleveland Show''. In turn, Comedy Central has decreased its live-action slate, announcing the cancellations of ''
Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. They and Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's exec ...
'' and ''
Tosh.0 ''Tosh.0'' ( ) is an American television series that aired on Comedy Central from June 4, 2009, to November 24, 2020. The series is hosted and produced by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides satirical commentary on online viral video clips, inter ...
'', as well as the migrations of '' South Side'' and ''
The Other Two ''The Other Two'' is an American comedy television series created by Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider. The story follows two floundering millennial siblings who must grapple with their 13-year-old brother's overnight fame. The series premiered ...
'' to HBO Max and ''
Alternatino with Arturo Castro ''Alternatino with Arturo Castro'' is an American sketch comedy television series, created by and starring Arturo Castro, which premiered on June 18, 2019 on Comedy Central. The series is executive produced by Castro, Jay Martel, Nick Jasenovec, S ...
'' to Quibi, which did not materialize after the platform folded.


High definition channels and service

The
1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...
high definition High definition or HD may refer to: Visual technologies *HD DVD, discontinued optical disc format *HD Photo, former name for the JPEG XR image file format *HDV, format for recording high-definition video onto magnetic tape * HiDef, 24 frames-pe ...
simulcast feed of Comedy Central launched in 2009 and is available on all major cable and satellite providers. The standard definition Comedy Central downscales the HD feed and broadcasts in 16:9 letterboxed to fit the 4:3 ratio.


Programming


Criticism

Comedy Central has been a target of criticism from some advocacy groups, including the
Parents Television and Media Council The Parents Television and Media Council (PTMC), formerly the Parents Television Council (PTC), is an American media advocacy group founded by conservative Christian activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995, which advocates for what it considers ...
. The PTC criticizes their programming not merely for mature content, but also for what they perceive as bigotry and
blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...
, The PTC has used their criticisms against Comedy Central for their support of the
Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 The Family and Consumer Choice Act of 2007 ( IH) is a proposed bill introduced by United States Representatives Daniel Lipinski ( D- IL- 3) and Jeff Fortenberry ( R- NE- 1) intending to allow families to choose and pay for only the cable TV telev ...
, which would allow American cable television subscribers to choose which channels they subscribe to and impose the same decency standards that are already in place on broadcast TV. The PTC has also persuaded some advertisers to lower their interest for the channel. PTC founder and former president L. Brent Bozell III said the channel has managed "to reach the top of its field in spite of – or, better put, because of – the network's sheer lack of comedic talent" by its "extensive reliance on shocking or disgusting humor." On November 5, 2007, an open letter was written by
VideoSift VideoSift is a video aggregator designed to showcase unique and interesting videos, the name of the site being a direct allusion to the metaphor of sifting wheat from chaff. It was founded by Brian Houston in February 2006, who was joined by Jame ...
to protest the blocking of Comedy Central's embedded video content for non-American viewers. On April 21, 2010, Comedy Central censored the ''
South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...
'' episode "
201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 '' Ab urbe condi ...
" in response to a
death threat A death threat is a threat, often made anonymously, by one person or a group of people to kill another person or group of people. These threats are often designed to intimidate victims in order to manipulate their behaviour, in which case a deat ...
issued by users of a radical Muslim website over the episode's planned depiction of the
Islamic prophet Prophets in Islam ( ar, الأنبياء في الإسلام, translit=al-ʾAnbiyāʾ fī al-ʾIslām) are individuals in Islam who are believed to spread God in Islam, God's message on Earth and to serve as models of ideal human behaviour. So ...
Muhammad, which led several newspaper columnists to condemn the network's actions as tantamount to abetting terrorism. As a rare result in the series' history, "201" and the episode that preceded it were heavily edited and are never aired as reruns.


International channels

Polsat Comedy Central Extra is a Polish secondary channel of Comedy Central Poland is owned between Paramount Networks EMEAA and Polsat is was launched in 2010. As programing block on VH1 Poland and in 2011. As channel in 2012 become a full hour TV channel 12 June 2012, along with Comedy Central Poland switched to 16:9 picture format. In 22 February 2018, from 8pm CET started airing Comedy Central Extra block. On January 2020 is was announcement to change the name to Polsat Comedy Central Extra on 3 March 2020. Comedy Central Family is a Hungarian family-based television channel with air comedy and animation for family. the brand presented on 2008 on Netherlands in 2010 brand presented on Poland as block on
VH1 Poland VH1 Poland was a Polish pay television music channel from VIMN Polska. It was launched on December 1, 2005, replacing MTV Classic, another Polish MTV channel which used to broadcast mainly classic videos. VH1 Poland shows almost only music-based ...
in 2011, as channel who replaced
VH1 Poland VH1 Poland was a Polish pay television music channel from VIMN Polska. It was launched on December 1, 2005, replacing MTV Classic, another Polish MTV channel which used to broadcast mainly classic videos. VH1 Poland shows almost only music-based ...
but VH1 Poland continue to broadcast as night programing block. On 24 April 2012, VH1 Poland was relaunched as again as channel on 2 May 2012. VH1 Block removed on Comedy Central Family Poland. On 3 November 2017, channel launched on Hungary as replacement of VIVA Hungary. On 31 May 2018, the channel stopped broadcast in Netherlands but the following programs moved to
Comedy Central Extra Comedy Central Extra is a European pay television channel that launched in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2003. Followed by the Netherlands in 2011 were it was visible till 31 december 2022. Between 2012 and 2020 it was also available in par ...
. On 22 February 2018, the block Comedy Central Extra was launched on Comedy Central Family Poland as night programing block on 8pm CET. In 2019, Comedy Central Family changed their logo to yellow. On 3 March 2020, Comedy Central Family Poland changed name to Polsat Comedy Central Extra. As of 2023, Hungary is the only country to still have the Comedy Central Family brand. Comedy Central Extra is a British and Irish comedy-based television channel, is was second brand of Comedy Central UK and Ireland. Is was launched on 2003 as Paramount Comedy 2 in 2009 as Comedy Central Extra. In 2011, channel launched on Netherlands. In 2018, Comedy Central Extra Netherlands started airing Comedy Central Family programs due to close this channel on Netherlands on 31 May 2018. In 2019, channel rebranded logo to yellow. On 31 December 2022, Comedy Central Extra has ceased broadcasting on Netherlands but the following programs moved to Comedy Central Netherlands. As of 2023, Comedy Central Extra is broadcasting on the UK & Ireland.


References


External links

* ** {{HBO Comedy television networks English-language television stations in the United States Entertainment companies based in New York City Peabody Award winners Television channels and stations established in 1991 1991 establishments in New York City 1991 establishments in the United States Paramount Media Networks Former WarnerMedia subsidiaries Television networks in the United States Stand-up comedy 1990s in comedy 2000s in comedy 2010s in comedy 2020s in comedy Sirius XM Radio channels Webby Award winners