Comedy Central (Australian and New Zealand)


Comedy Central is an Australian and New Zealand 24-hour linear subscription television channel dedicated to comedy programming owned by ViacomCBS, 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.

History

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. The launch comes following increased local presence by Comedy Central. The channel, which will be advertisement free and be exclusively available via Fetch TV, will be broadcast from Australia and as a result see Viacom hire additional local personnel for operations. The launch of Comedy Central coincided with the initial closure of sister channel MTV Classic prior to its eventual rebrand.

Programming

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. 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.

Original programming

Some programmes available include: