 | |
| Country | Canada |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | National |
| Headquarters | 9 Channel Nine Court,Scarborough, Ontario |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 1080iHDTV (downscaled toletterboxed480i for theSDTV feed) |
| Timeshift service | CTV Comedy Channel East CTV Comedy Channel West |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BCE Inc. |
| Parent | Bell Media |
| Sister channels | CTV CTV 2 CTV News Channel CTV Drama Channel CTV Life Channel CTV Nature Channel CTV Sci-Fi Channel CTV Speed Channel CTV Wild Channel Much Oxygen USA Network |
| History | |
| Launched | October 17, 1997; 28 years ago (1997-10-17) |
| Former names | The Comedy Network (1997–2019) |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened toComedy) is a CanadianEnglish-languagediscretionaryspecialty channel owned byBCE Inc. subsidiaryBell Media which focuses primarily oncomedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, running onEastern andPacific Time Zone schedules.
The channel first launched on October 17, 1997 asThe Comedy Network by a consortium of Baton Broadcasting,Shaw Communications,Astral Media[a] and Les Films Rozon. Through various acquisitions over the years, the network is solely owned by Bell since 2001.
CTV Comedy Channel originally sourced most of its programming from the U.S.-based cable networkComedy Central. In the years since the channel's inception, and with the eventual shuttering of itssister channel in 2019, the network would move some of its programming from the latter to sister channelMuch before rebranding to its current name on September 12, 2019.
In September 1996, 1155636 Ontario Inc. (a company majority controlled byBaton Broadcasting, with the remaining interests held byShaw Cable andAstral Broadcasting.) was granted a television broadcasting license by theCanadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).[1] The channel launched on October 17, 1997[2] asThe Comedy Network, and used the slogan "Time well wasted", a parody of the slogan of U.S. channelA&E's at the time, "Time well spent".
Through various acquisitions over the years, Shaw, Astral and Les Films Rozon sold their interest in the service to Baton, which became Bell Globemedia in 2001, and renamedCTVglobemedia in 2007.BCE gained control of The Comedy Network on April 1, 2011, through its takeover of CTVglobemedia, in effective changing the company's name to Bell Media.
Over the years, the channel has gone through multiple rebrands; from 2000 to 2005, the logo was given a "crudely drawn" look; the logo's colors were removed, leaving the logo black (although the logo's colors were still seen on the channel's website). In 2005, the channel's logo was changed from 2D to 3D; the logo's colors were brought back. On November 1, 2011, The Comedy Network was relaunched with a new look, consisting a new simplified logo and revamped on-air presentation. Their longtime slogan was also retired on this date.[3]
On July 12, 2012, The Comedy Network launched ahigh-definition simulcast feed available through all major TV providers.
In August 2013, the CRTC denied an amendment to The Comedy Network's license, which would have reduced the amount of Canadian-produced content the network would have been required to air monthly, increase the amount of animated programming it could air from 10% of its lineup per day to 20% per month, and allow it to air films that were not Canadian-made. Bell argued that the network was at a disadvantage againstBiteTV andTeletoon, because Comedy was unable to give its animated acquisitions a larger amount of exposure (such as marathons) due to the restriction. The CRTC rejected its arguments in response to complaints by the two networks cited and other unions, due to their differing natures of service and because Bell's proposed changes were intended primarily to decrease the amount of Canadian content it airs in favour of more U.S.-originated programming.[4][5] By September 2013, The Comedy Network had moved a number of acquired Comedy Central programs to its sister channelMuch.[6]
In the 2017–18 season, The Comedy Network changed its primetime programming strategy to emphasize reruns of hitsitcoms such asFriends andSeinfeld, aiming to provide lead-ins with wider demographic appeal (including female viewers) for its first-run programs later in the night.[7]
On June 7, 2018, during theCTV upfronts, it was announced that The Comedy Network would eventually rebrand as "CTV Comedy", as part of a realignment of several Bell Media channels under the CTV name.[8] On June 8, 2019, it was revealed The Comedy Network would relaunch asCTV Comedy Channel on September 12, 2019.[9]
CTV Comedy Channel primarily airssitcoms andstand-up comedy programming (including anthologies and specials), with much of the latter coming from the channel's association with the Montreal-basedJust for Laughs comedy festival. The network also produces its own original programming, with several series (such asPuppets Who Kill,Odd Job Jack andKevin Spencer) developing cult followings and loyal fan-bases.Puppets Who Kill,Comedy Now!,The Gavin Crawford Show, and several other Comedy original series have gone on to winCanadian Comedy Awards, includingCTV'sCorner Gas, which has also won sixGemini Award wins, sevenLeo Award wins, and anInternational Emmy nomination. The channel subsequently produced a continuation ofCorner Gas as anadult animation series,Corner Gas Animated.[7]
The network has historically had a relationship withParamount Global-ownedComedy Central in the U.S. In June 2007, Comedy's parent company (then known asCTVglobemedia) announced a deal for exclusive Canadian rights to the entire Comedy Central library of past and present programs on all electronic platforms, under a multi-year agreement with Viacom.[10] For several years, Canadians attempting to visit Comedy Central websites were redirected to the Comedy Network's website. Conversely, American IP addresses trying to link to the Comedy Network page were redirected to Comedy Central's page.[11]
In 2025 the relationship with Paramount ended and the channel now exclusively runs reruns of network television sitcoms, with no new or original programming.
On August 2, 2010,TV Land Canada was rebranded as Comedy Gold, turning the channel into an offshoot of The Comedy Network. Comedy Gold originally focused primarily onsitcoms from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.[12] On July 24, 2019, a representative of Bell Support revealed that Comedy Gold would be shutting down anywhere between August 30 and September 1; it did so on the latter date.[13] Prior to Comedy Gold's shuttering, on August 28, 2019,Wow Unlimited Media revealed that they would have completed their acquisition of Comedy Gold's broadcast license on August 30, 2019.[14]
As part of Bell Media's suite ofGo apps for all its main channels,[15] the Comedy Network launched its own app on April 15, 2014.[16] As part of the launch, the video section on the Comedy Network website was renamed after the app.
Although the channel renamed to CTV Comedy Channel on September 12, 2019, the Comedy Go name was still used until Comedy Go was subsumed into the main CTV app in July 2020.[17]