The Comedy Channel (American TV channel)

Last updated
The Comedy Channel
The Comedy Channel logo from 1989 to 1991 before merging with HA! to become its current form, Comedy Central.
Ownership
Owner Home Box Office, Inc.
(Time Inc./TimeWarner)
History
LaunchedNovember 15, 1989;35 years ago (1989-11-15)
ClosedApril 1, 1991;33 years ago (1991-04-01)
(1 year, 137 days)
Replaced by Comedy Central

The Comedy Channel was an American comedy-oriented cable television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a division of Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery). It launched on November 15, 1989 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time. In 1991, HBO agreed to merge the channel with Viacom's competing channel, Ha!. [1] The new network, CTV: The Comedy Network, premiered on April 1, 1991, but rebranded to Comedy Central on June 1, 1991.

Contents

Most of the Comedy Channel's original programs were produced in the HBO Downtown Studios at 120 East 23rd Street in Manhattan.[ citation needed ]

Programming

The format prior to the merger included several original and unconventional programs such as Onion World with Rich Hall and Mystery Science Theater 3000 , as well as laid-back variety/talk shows hosted by stand-up comedians, including The Sweet Life with Rachel Sweet; Tommy Sledge, Private Eye; Alan King: Inside the Comedy Mind ; Night After Night with Allan Havey ; Sports Monster; and The Higgins Boys and Gruber, the latter of whom performed sketches in between showings of vintage television serials Supercar , Clutch Cargo , and Bob and Ray . Commercial breaks often included "Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey," which would later be featured on Saturday Night Live .

Standard format

The standard format for these 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 . In 1990, hosts Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough were introduced under this title, and the show became one of the few that survived the network merger into CTV. Comedian Marc Maron later hosted the series.

In the final months before the merger, the channel developed an eight-hour programming block that was shown three times during a 24-hour period, which included reruns of Monty Python's Flying Circus .

Ha! and Comedy Channel merge to create Comedy Central

The Comedy Channel struggled both commercially and critically. Critics derided the hodgepodge of clips from comedy films and stand-up comedy acts that filled the long gaps between original programs. [2]

In 1990, The Comedy Channel and Ha! agreed to merge their operations and form a channel called CTV: The Comedy Network, which debuted on April 1, 1991. [1] Prior to the merger, each channel had fewer than ten million subscribers. In order to avoid trademark issues with Canadian broadcast network CTV, the name of the channel was subsequently changed to Comedy Central on June 1, 1991, with the name "Comedy Partners, Inc." appearing on the end credits of all shows produced by the new channel. The original Viacom which operated Ha! bought out the Time Warner half of the network (which operated The Comedy Channel and belonged to HBO) in 2003. [3] Following the purchase, the name "Comedy Partners, Inc." remained on the closing credits of most Comedy Central shows.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TNT (American TV network)</span> American pay television channel

TNT is an American basic cable television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery that launched on October 3, 1988. TNT's original purpose was to air classic films and television series to which Turner Broadcasting maintained spillover rights through its sister station TBS. Since June 2001, the network has shifted its focus to dramatic television series and feature films, along with some sporting events, as TBS shifted its focus to comedic programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Network</span> American pay television channel

USA Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinemax</span> American movie-focused pay television network

Cinemax, also known as Max, is an American pay television network owned by Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched on August 1, 1980, as a "maxi-pay" service to complement the offerings of its parent network, Home Box Office (HBO), Cinemax initially focused on recent and classic films. Today, its programming primarily includes recent and classic theatrically released films, original action series, documentaries, and special behind-the-scenes features.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viacom (2005–2019)</span> American mass media company (2005–2019)

The second phase of Viacom Inc., was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate with interests primarily in film and television. It was established on December 31, 2005, as one of two companies which succeeded the original Viacom, alongside the second CBS Corporation. The controlling shareholder of both companies was National Amusements, a theater company headed by businessman Sumner Redstone. The split was structured so that the original Viacom changed its name to CBS Corporation and spun out its cable and film interests as a new Viacom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comedy Central</span> American cable and satellite television channel

Comedy Central is an American 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 television series, stand-up comedy specials, and feature films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Attell</span> American stand-up comedian

David Attell is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer best known as the host of Comedy Central's Insomniac with Dave Attell.

Paramount Media Networks is an American mass media division of Paramount Global that oversees the operations of its television channels and online brands. The division was originally founded as MTV Networks in 1984, named after the MTV cable network. It would be known under this name until 2011; when it would be thereafter known as Viacom Media Networks until 2019; and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks until 2022.

E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Movie Channel</span> American movie-oriented pay television network

The Movie Channel (TMC) is an American premium television network owned by Showtime Networks, a subsidiary of Paramount Global operated through its Paramount Media Networks division. The network's programming mainly features first-run theatrically released and independently produced motion pictures, and during promotional breaks between films, special behind-the-scenes features and movie trivia.

<i>Conan</i> (talk show) American late-night talk show (2010–2021)

Conan is an American variety and late-night talk show that aired each Monday through Thursday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern time on TBS in the United States for 11 seasons, from 2010 to 2021. The show premiered on November 8, 2010, and was hosted by writer, comedian, and performer Conan O'Brien, accompanied by his long-time sidekick Andy Richter. Running for eight years and identifying as a traditional late-night talk show, Conan drew its comedy from recent news stories, political figures, and prominent celebrities, as well as aspects of the show itself. The hour-long show was akin to O'Brien's previous NBC late-night shows and was directed by Billy Bollotino.

<i>Short Attention Span Theater</i> 1989 American TV series or program

Short Attention Span Theater 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.

<i>Friday Night Videos</i> American music video/variety program (1983–2002)

Friday Night Videos is an American music video/variety program that aired from July 29, 1983, to May 24, 2002, on NBC. Originally developed as an attempt by the network to capitalize on the emerging popularity of music videos, which had been brought into the mainstream by MTV during the early 1980s, the program shifted over to a general music focus in 1990, mixing in live music performances alongside the video showcases. Upon being retitled Friday Night in 1994, its format was expanded to incorporate a variety of entertainment content to supplement, and eventually surpass, the music videos. The program evolved into its final format in 2001 under the title Late Friday, removing the music and feature segments and becoming dedicated solely to showcasing new stand-up comedy talent.

Allan Havey is an American stand-up comic and actor. He started his career as a comedian in New York City in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HBO</span> American pay television network

Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay 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 based at Warner Bros. Discovery's corporate headquarters inside 30 Hudson Yards in Manhattan. Programming featured on the network consists primarily of theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional comedy, and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ha! (TV channel)</span> American television channel

Ha!: TV Comedy Network was an American pay television channel owned by Viacom; it was one of the first American all-comedy channels available in basic-tier television offers. Launched on April 1, 1990, at 7 p.m. ET, it competed with another startup comedy-oriented cable channel, HBO-owned The Comedy Channel. In 1991, the two channels merged to form Comedy Central.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home Box Office, Inc.</span> American mass media company owned by Warner Bros. Discovery

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 Yards complex in the West Side of Manhattan, its main properties include its namesake pay television network Home Box Office (HBO), sister service Cinemax, HBO Films, and the international HBO Go streaming service. It has also licensed or maintained ownership interests in international versions of HBO and Cinemax, most of which are managed by Home Box Office, Inc. through sister division Warner Bros. Discovery International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viacom (1952–2005)</span> American media conglomerate (1952–2005)

The original phase of Viacom Inc. was an American mass media and entertainment conglomerate based in New York City. It began as CBS Television Film Sales, the broadcast syndication division of the CBS television network in 1952; it was renamed CBS Films in 1958, renamed CBS Enterprises in 1968, renamed Viacom in 1970, and spun off into its own company in 1971. Viacom was a distributor of CBS television series throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and also distributed syndicated television programs. The company went under Sumner Redstone's control in 1987 through his cinema chain company National Amusements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of HBO</span> History of the American pay television network

HBO is an American premium television network that is the flagship property of Home Box Office, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts theatrically released motion pictures and original television programs as well as made-for-cable movies, documentaries, occasional stand-up comedy and concert specials, and periodic interstitial programs. HBO does not accept traditional advertising, although programming promotions are typically aired between shows; it also presents content without editing for profanity, violence, sexual depictions, nudity, drug use or other subjectively objectionable material, which—besides being able to depict mature subject matter usually not allowed to air on advertiser-supported television networks—has allowed the network to give program creators full creative autonomy over their projects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Showtime (TV network)</span> American pay television network

Showtime, also known as Paramount+ with Showtime, is an American premium television network and the flagship property of Showtime Networks, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Paramount+ with Showtime's programming includes original television series produced exclusively for the linear network and developed for the co-owned Paramount+ streaming service, theatrically released and independent motion pictures, documentaries, and occasional stand-up comedy specials, made-for-TV movies, and softcore adult programming.

References

  1. 1 2 Carter, Bill (1990-12-19). "2 Comedy Channels Will Merge". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2022-08-23. Retrieved 2015-03-16.
  2. Ernest Tucker. "The comedy cable clash // Who will laugh last?", Chicago Sun-Times , April 1, 1990.
  3. "Viacom buys Comedy Central stake from AOL Time Warner – Apr. 22, 2003". money.cnn.com. Archived from the original on 12 October 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2018.