 | |
| Type | Digital multicasttelevision network (Comedy) |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Affiliates | see list |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
| Programming | |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV)16:9widescreen |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | E. W. Scripps Company |
| Parent | Scripps Networks, LLC |
| Key people |
|
| History | |
| Founded | January 18, 2015; 10 years ago (2015-01-18) |
| Launched | April 15, 2015; 9 years ago (2015-04-15) |
| Founder | Jonathan Katz |
| Links | |
| Website | Laff.com |
Laff (legal name:Laff Media, LLC) is an Americandigital multicasttelevision network headquartered inAtlanta, Georgia and is owned by theScripps Networks subsidiary of theE. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes incomedy programming, featuring mainlysitcoms from the 1990s through the 2020s.[1]
Laff's launch was announced byKatz Broadcasting in January 2015 as having a scheduled launch date ofApril 15, 2015, coinciding withTax 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 filmMy Mom's New Boyfriend.[2]
Katz announced that television stations owned byABC Owned Television Stations and 13E. W. Scripps Company would serve as the network's charter affiliates; the former serving as a replacement for the standard definition feed of theLive Well Network, which with Laff's announcement also began to roll-back to only being carried by ABCOTS stations.[3][4] On March 13, 2015, Katz Broadcasting announced an affiliation deal with theCox Media Group to carry Laff on the subchannels of seven of its stations expanding its initial reach to 47% of the country.[5] The following week on March 20, as part of a multi-network affiliation agreement with Katz, theMeredith Corporation announced that it would carry the network on two of its stations.[6][7]
On February 13, 2015, Laff acquired thesyndication rights to five sitcoms.[8] Laff followed that deal for film licensing withDisney–ABC Domestic Television,Miramax, andSony Pictures Television by March 17.[9] Laff made a multi-year deal for five sitcoms withCarsey-Werner Productions in April 2016.[10]Roseanne reruns were removed on May 29, 2018, afterRoseanne Barr was fired from the show by ABC (which then continued on asThe Conners); both decisions were based ona Roseanne Barr tweet considered racist.[11]
A list of 2019Nielsen ratings published byVariety indicated that Laff averaged 223,000 viewers in prime time, down 5% from the 2018 average.[12]
The network moved offABC Owned Television Stations at the beginning of 2021, in favor of new carriage on Scripps's recently acquiredIon Media stations in place of the now-defunctQubo,Ion Plus and Ion Shop networks.[13]
In July 2023, the managing company of Laff announced anover-the-top streaming channel counterpart of Laff, called Laff More.[14]
Laff provides comedy programming to owned-and-operated and affiliated stations every day from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with paid programming filling the remaining vacated hours. Laff's schedule mainly consists of 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020soff-network sitcoms.[1][3] 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).
Laff carries three to four comedic films throughout its weekend schedule. Laff also carries one movie throughout during early Monday through Friday Mornings.
As of 20 July 2022[update], Laff has 425 current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 48 states, plus theDistrict of Columbia, covering 91.3% of the United States.[17]
