Country | Australia |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Australia, New Zealand |
Network | Comedy Central |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Picture format | 1080i (16:9 HDTV) (downscaled to 720p for the Australian feed) |
Ownership | |
Owner | Paramount Networks UK & Australia |
Sister channels | 10 / 10 HD 10 Peach 10 Bold MTV Club MTV MTV Hits MTV 80s Nickelodeon AU & NZ Nickelodeon AU (free-to-air) Nick Jr. NickMusic |
History | |
Launched | 1 April 2009 (New Zealand) 1 April 2016 (Australia) |
Links | |
Website | www |
Availability | |
Streaming media | |
Fetch Mobi (Australia) | Channel 110 |
Sky Go (New Zealand) | skygo.co.nz |
Paramount+ (Australia) | paramountplus.com |
Comedy Central is an Australian and New Zealand 24-hour linear subscription television channel dedicated to comedy programming owned by Paramount Global, launched on April Fool's Day 2009 in New Zealand and on 1 April 2016 in Australia. The channel is exclusively available via Australian IPTV provider Fetch TV in Australia and is broadcast on the Sky TV platform in New Zealand. It was one of the first Comedy Central franchises to be launched outside the United States. The channel has a strong blend of animation, stand-up and scripted programs. The core audience demographic covers the 15–48 age bracket. It features well known international titles, as well as some local content. It has strong viewership and is one of the top entertainment channels on the Sky TV platform. [1]
On 29 February 2016, it was announced that following discussions since mid 2015, Fetch TV had finalised discussions with Viacom on Friday 26 February 2016 to launch Comedy Central. [2] The launch comes following increased local presence by Comedy Central. [2] [3] The channel, which will be advertisement free and be exclusively available via Fetch TV, [4] will be broadcast from Australia and as a result see Viacom hire additional local personnel for operations. [2] The launch of Comedy Central coincided with the initial closure of sister channel MTV Classic prior to its eventual rebrand. [5]
On 15 February 2018, Comedy Central was made available in HD for Fetch TV customers. [6]
Comedy Central programming is also available across Australia via the SVOD service Paramount+, which replaced 10 All Access on August 11, 2021. [7]
The network airs content from its U.S. counterpart, with 90% of the programming at launch coming from the ViacomCBS library, in addition to local productions - which initially is in short form. [2] [4] [8] Although Viacom have existing agreements with the Foxtel-owned The Comedy Channel, content is made available to both Comedy Central and The Comedy Channel at the same time. [2]
Some programmes available include:
Comedy Central is an American adult-oriented basic cable channel 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 specials, and feature films.
Network 10 is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division. One of five national free-to-air networks, 10's owned-and-operated stations can be found in the state capital cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth while affiliates extend the network to regional areas of the country.
BBC UKTV is an Australian pay television channel in Australia and New Zealand, screening British entertainment programming, sourced mainly from the archives of the BBC, RTL Group and ITV plc. The channel was originally a joint venture with Foxtel, the RTL Group and BBC Worldwide. It is now owned solely by BBC Studios. It is the home of the channel's flagship programme The Graham Norton Show.
NXE Australia Pty Limited, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was established as a 50/50 joint venture between News Corporation and Telstra, with News Corp and Telstra holding 65% and 35% ownership shares respectively.
MTV was a 24-hour general entertainment channel specialising in music and youth culture programming which serves Australia and New Zealand. Paramount Networks UK & Australia headquartered in London with a local office at Network 10's headquarters in Sydney is responsible for marketing and advertising in Australia and New Zealand. The channel was replaced by MTV Global in August 2023.
Nick Jr. is a 24-hour children's pay television channel in Australia and New Zealand designed for pre-schoolers. Nick Jr. was a morning programming block on Nickelodeon until 2004, when Foxtel launched it as a full 24-hour kids channel. The channel is owned by based on the original American network. on Paramount Networks UK & Australia, and was also available on Optus Television.
Universal TV is an Australian cable and satellite television channel, owned and operated by NBCUniversal International Networks. It has been available on most subscription television platforms in Australia since 1998.
National Geographic Oceania was a subscription television documentary network in Oceania that featured programmes on subjects such as nature, science, culture and history, plus some reality television and pseudo-scientific entertainment programming. It was the Oceanian version of the National Geographic Channel Asia Pacific. From 2020 to 2023, it was the only Disney-owned network in Oceania and to broadcast as a linear television channel, with the Disney Channel and Disney Junior having been shut down in favour of the streaming service Disney+.
Paramount International Networks (PIN) is the international sibling division of Paramount Global’s Paramount Media Networks subsidiary. The division oversees the production, broadcasting and promotion of key Paramount brands outside of the United States. These brands include Paramount Network, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, BET and Colors TV, as well as CBS-branded channels, which are co-owned with AMC Networks International. PIN also owned a 30% stake in the Rainbow S.p.A. animation studio in Italy until 2023, as well as a 13.01% stake in an Indian joint venture with domestic partner TV18, Viacom18.
MTV Classic was an Australian and New Zealand subscription television music channel. The channel focused on music from the 1980s to 2000s. The channel first launched in Australia on 14 March 2004 and in New Zealand on 1 June 2011. On 1 July 2011 MTV International channels launched new logos.
Foxtel Movies is a suite of 11 pay television film channels in Australia which began broadcasting on 1 January 2013. Owned by Foxtel, the channels replaced the now-defunct Movie Network and Showtime suites.
Stan is an Australian subscription over-the-top streaming service. It was launched on 26 January 2015. Stan originally was founded as StreamCo Media, a 50/50 joint venture between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media. In August 2014, each company invested A$50 million in StreamCo. StreamCo was renamed Stan Entertainment in December 2014, prior to the January 2015 launch of the streaming service. Nine Entertainment acquired Fairfax Media in 2018, making Stan a wholly owned subsidiary of Nine Digital.
E! was an Australian and New Zealand pay television channel, owned by NBCUniversal International Networks. Much like its American counterpart it featured entertainment-related programming, reality television and Hollywood news. It was available, at the time of closure, through the Foxtel and FetchTV platforms in Australia. It was available on the Sky platform in New Zealand, from April 2002 until 15 January 2023. It was also available on the Austar service prior to 2012. In 2014, it became available on Australian streaming service Foxtel Play.
Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures, CBS Studios, Paramount Media Networks, and Paramount Pictures, while also including original series and films, live streaming sports coverage, and in the United States, live streaming of local CBS broadcast stations.
This is a list of Australian television related events, debuts, finales, and cancellations that are scheduled to occur in 2016, the 61st year of continuous operation of television in Australia.
BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel broadcasting in Australia. It is the localised version of the internationally available BBC First. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Studios.
Pluto TV is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global.
Spike was an Australian pay television channel owned by ViacomCBS Networks UK & Australia. It launched on 1 July 2016 on Fetch TV and was exclusive to that service. A localised version of the U.S. channel of the same name, it primarily aired entertainment programming geared towards a male audience, including import dramas, programming from its former U.S. counterpart, and mixed martial arts.
Nick/Nickelodeon is an Australian and New Zealand children's pay television channel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia. It is based on the namesake American television channel.
Nickelodeon is an Australian free-to-air digital television multichannel owned by Paramount Networks UK & Australia, via Ten Network Holdings.