 Logo used since 2019 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom Ireland |
| Network | Comedy Central |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Picture format | 1080pHDTV |
| Timeshift service | Comedy Central +1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Paramount UK Partnership (Paramount Pictures UK/Sky Group/Paramount Networks UK & Australia) |
| Sister channels | Comedy Central Extra |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 November 1995 |
| Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | |
Comedy Central is apay televisionchannel in the United Kingdom and Ireland that features original andsyndicated comedy programming. The local variant of theComedy Central channel in the United States, it launched asThe Paramount Channel in 1995, later rebranding as theParamount Comedy Channel in 1997,Paramount Comedy in 2002 andParamount Comedy 1 in 2005 before adopting its current name on 6 April 2009.
The channel was launched as The Paramount Channel on 1 November 1995. The original schedule was a mixture of comedy and drama, including such eclectic offerings asBeauty and the Beast, several Japanese anime productions acquired fromManga Entertainment, and authenticParamount archive programming such asThe Magician, as well asNickelodeon'sRen & Stimpy, which was shown on Paramount rather than Nickelodeon due to its rather adult nature at times. It originally aired every evening afterNickelodeon's closing at 7:00pm until around 4:00am, with a testcard featuring a chicken crossing the road and holding up traffic airing during downtime (a segment deemed as "Chicken Tonite") until Nickelodeon started up at 6:00am.
In February 1997, the Paramount Channel became the Paramount Comedy Channel, a channel dedicated solely to comedy.[1]
With expansion ofSky Digital on 4 February 2001, the channel no longer shared air time with Nickelodeon and started broadcasting with a daytime schedule beginning broadcasts at 9:00am.[2] On 1 July 2002, the channel renamed itself Paramount Comedy. By 2005, with the timeshift channel Paramount Comedy 2 having gone on the air in 2003, the primary channel was renamed as Paramount Comedy 1.
On 17 February 2009, it was confirmed that Paramount Comedy 1 would become Comedy Central from 6 April 2009 in the UK and Ireland.[3] Sinceseason 13, Comedy Central has aired new episodes ofSouth Park two days after they aired in the US (i.e., the episodes air onComedy Central US on Wednesdays, and air on the UK counterpart on Fridays.) At 9:00pm on 6 April, Paramount Comedy 1 was finally relaunched as Comedy Central, with the last programme on PC1 being an episode ofScrubs and the first programme on Comedy Central being a new episode ofTwo and a Half Men. Comedy Central idents from this era were filmed in locations such asThe Gherkin,Forth Bridge andNelson's Column.
After no longer having to timeshare with Nickelodeon, the station increased its broadcasting hours, and was joined by Paramount Comedy 2 (later rebranded asComedy Central Extra) on 1 September 2003.
A one-hour timeshift, Paramount Comedy 1 +1 (now Comedy Central +1) was launched onSky channel 127 on 30 August 2005 andVirgin Media channel 133 shortly after.
Ahigh-definition version,Comedy Central HD, launched on 9 August 2010 on Sky channel 222.[4] On 1 September 2010 the channel also became available on Virgin Media channel 133.[5] Comedy Central HD broadcasts high-definition programming includingTwo and a Half Men,30 Rock, andSouth Park, in addition to new UK commissions. Virgin Media will also make some popular Comedy Central HD programmes available on demand.
A second timeshift, Paramount Comedy 2 +1 (now Comedy Central Extra +1) was launched on Sky channel 159, on 5 November 2007.Nicktoons Replay did timeshare with the channel between 6:00am and 7:00pm. However, that channel closed on 2 October 2012 and was replaced with a one-hour timeshift version ofNick Jr., allowing Comedy Central Extra +1 to broadcast 24 hours a day. Comedy Central Extra +1 closed on 20 July 2020 along with the timeshifts forMTV andMTV Music, as well asMTV OMG,Club MTV andMTV Rocks.
Comedy Central has an alternative Irish feed of the same channel available onSky Ireland,Virgin Media Ireland,Vodafone TV, andEir. The feed launched in May 2006, advertising on this channel is overseen by Sky Media Ireland. The domain namecomedycentral.ie also redirects tocomedycentral.co.uk. An additional Irish commercial feed of the time-shift service, Comedy Central +1, was also launched shortly after the parent channel's re-branding on 6 April 2009. On 31 July 2019, Comedy Central Ireland +1 ceased broadcasting.[6]
From 31 March 2019, Comedy Central and Comedy Central Extra's Irish broadcasting licence is registered within the Czech Republic.[7]
In October 2011,Threesome, a narrative comedy series and Comedy Central's first original scripted comedy began. The series starredEmun Elliott, Irish actorAmy Huberman andStephen Wight, was written byTom MacRae, and produced byBig Talk Productions.[8]
In May 2012, it was announced that Comedy Central was to make a major push into original comedy content, with more than 20 new projects at various stages of development, and 10 scripts already ordered. Programming executive Sarah Farrell told trade magazineBroadcast, "This time next year, we will be doing as many of those projects as we possibly can. We are looking for things that are big, broad and accessible, with the laugh-out-loud factor that comes from big jokes and set pieces." She also noted that they are now "fully committed to the plans."[9]
The process was being micro-managed byParamount bosses in New York, but with the announcement of such projects andThreesome's success, UK executives have been given greater control. Farrell also indicated that if the already commissioned second series ofThreesome is popular, then "a third run could be up to 22 episodes in length."[9]
As of May 2012[update], details about most of the new projects are not publicly available, though the magazineBroadcast reported minor details of a proposed single-camera sitcom about a graduate who moves back in with his parents. A pilot episode ofBig Bad World, which is written by Joe Tucker and Lloyd Woolf is reportedly being produced byObjective Productions and by the team behindPeep Show.Tristram Shapeero, who had been working in the US and whose credits includeHappy Endings,Green Wing,Community, andI'm Alan Partridge, will direct, with Andrew Newman and Ben Farrell executive producing. Five further scripts are already complete, should the pilot be seen in a positive light by Comedy Central bosses.[9]
Comedy Central's move into original productions did not come without problems, as it was announced in April 2012 that Pete Thornton, the channel's comedy commissioner, had resigned to return to theBBC comedy department as its Creative Head of Comedy, and would overseeComic Relief 2013. Comedy Central is one of several UK digital channels to work on increasing their original comedy output, withBSkyB investing in new British comedy programmes, andUKTV channelsDave andGold also producing more of their own content.[9]
Alongside the other VIMN (Viacom International Media Networks) networks in the UK, Comedy Central, fueled by the purchase ofChannel 5, there has been an announcement to open a production studio[10] to make programming for Comedy Central and other channels.
It was announced in 2016 that Comedy Central andChannel X had greenlit a new prank comedy reality show presented and startingYouTuber Ben Phillips and his friends. The new series, titledBen Phillips Blows Up, the channel announced there would be a 22-minute pilot episode due to be released in 2017 on Comedy Central. A full series would happen if the show is well received.[11]
In 2021, Comedy Central UK ordered three new shows for the network including quiz showFact Off and panel showThe Complaints Department.[12][13][14][15][16][17] The third new show was an all female comedy panel/satire show calledYesterday, Today and The Day Before[18] which was due to be hosted each week by comedians Suzi Ruffell, Maisie Adam andSophie Duker, until Duker quit after the first episode in protest over cuts to her monologue about conflict between Israel and Palestine.[19][20][21] These shows join other unscripted/panel show formats on the network[22] includingRhod Gilbert's Growing Pains,[23]Comedy Game Night (previously shown on Channel 5)[24][25][26] andGuessable?, hosted by Sara Pascoe.[27]
On 29 September 2021,Fact Off debuted on the channel at 9pm, under the new name ofRob Beckett's Undeniable,[28][29][30] with Joe Swash, Kae Kurd, Angela Barnes and Ivo Graham, the first guests of the new series.[31]
The channel frequently airs weekend marathons which consist of one or two shows being on-air for the majority of the day. They often contain loose themes and are on occasion sponsored, such as the "He Ain't Funny, He's My Brother" marathon which ran on the night of 24 November 2007. This night consisted of episodes from shows with a strong brother relationship theme and was sponsored by the filmThe Darjeeling Limited to promote its nationwide release.
Comedy Central also broadcasts comedy, animation or action films, includingSouth Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut,Dumb and Dumber,Jerry Maguire,The Mask,White Chicks,Scary Movie 3,Teen Wolf,13 Going on 30,Bad Boys,Bad Boys 2,Police Academy: Mission to Moscow,Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, andHappy Feet.
The channel has begun showing movies on a regular basis, typically from 10:00 pm onwards.
In 2016, Comedy Central introduced a new service calledThursday Night Movies, in which a movie is broadcast on Comedy Central every Thursday, usually at about 9:00pm.[32]
Until late 2011, Comedy Central and Comedy Central Extra continued to air in4:3 in standard-definition, although many shows had already converted to16:9 widescreen format, they werecropped to remain in a full-frame screen and later some wereletterboxed. The shows on Comedy Central HD air in 16:9, though those in 4:3 arepillarboxed to fit the frame of widescreen. This practice was extended to the standard-definition channels when they began broadcasting in widescreen.
