Comedy Central (Australian and New Zealand TV channel)
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]
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 |
History
editOn 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]
Programming
editThe 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]
Original programming
edit- The Mike Nolan Show
- These New South Whales
- Trendy[9]
Acquired programming
editSome programmes available include:
- @midnight[10]
- Another Period[11]
- Adam Devine's House Party[11]
- Alien News Desk
- American Dad!
- Archer
- Aqua Teen Hunger Force
- Are You Being Served?
- Beavis and Butt-Head
- Balls of Steel
- The Benny Hill Show
- The Big Bang Theory
- The Billy T James Show
- The Black Adder
- The Big Lez Show
- The Brak Show
- Broad City
- Bob's Burgers
- Bottom
- BoJack Horseman
- The Boondocks
- bro'Town
- Chappelle's Show
- Community
- Comedy Central Roast
- The Cleveland Show
- The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
- Digman!
- Drawn Together
- Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza
- Drunk History
- Everybody Hates Chris
- The Eric Andre Show
- Family Guy
- Facejacker
- Fonejacker
- Frasier
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Friday Night Dinner
- Friends
- Full House
- Futurama
- The Half Hour[10]
- Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law
- Hogan's Heroes
- How I Met Your Mother
- Idiotsitter
- The Inbetweeners
- Inside Amy Schumer
- Impractical Jokers
- The King of Queens
- Key & Peele
- Live at the Apollo
- Malcolm in the Middle
- M*A*S*H
- The Middle
- The Movie Show
- Mr. Black
- My Name Is Earl
- Nathan for You
- The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore[10]
- Not Safe with Nikki Glaser
- The Office
- On the Buses
- Only Fools and Horses
- Regular Old Bogan
- Rick and Morty (Season 1–2)
- Robot Chicken
- Rude Tube
- Russell Howard's Good News
- Saul of the Mole Men
- Sassy the Sasquatch
- Saturday Night Live
- Sealab 2021
- The Simpsons
- Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em
- South Park (shared with FOX8)
- Studio C
- SuperMansion
- Superstore
- Swift and Shift Couriers
- Seinfeld
- Space Ghost Coast to Coast
- Two and a Half Men
- Tosh.0
- Workaholics
- The Venture Bros.
- Young Sheldon
References
edit- ^ "Comedy Central to Debut in New Zealand Barring April Fool's Bait n' Switch". Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Mason, Max (29 February 2016). "Viacom signs deal with Fetch TV to launch Comedy Central". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 June 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Knox, David (14 January 2016). "Comedy Central launches Aussie website". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ a b "Comedy Central comes to Fetch TV". mUmBRELLA. 29 February 2016. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ Fetch TV (28 February 2016). "Get ready to laugh your face off". Facebook. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ "Fetch". Facebook. 15 February 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
- ^ Marsh, Peter (11 August 2021). "Shortcuts guide: All you need to know about Paramount+". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ Knox, David (29 February 2016). "Comedy Central coming to Fetch TV". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 1 March 2016. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ Knox, David (7 May 2016). "Comedy Central launches first Aussie comedy shorts". TV Tonight. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ a b c Barrett, Dan (30 March 2016). "Comedy Central Australia – 8 things you need to know for its launch". Media Week. Archived from the original on 4 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
- ^ a b "Today Is The Day! Comedy Central's Australian Fetch TV Channel Is Launching At 7pm!". Comedy Central Australia. 1 April 2016. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2016.