The Comedy Channel is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n subscription television channel available on Foxtel

Foxtel

Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....

, Austar

Austar

Austar is an Australian telecommunications company. Its main business activity is Subscription Television but it is also involved with internet access and mobile phones...

 and Optus Television

Optus Television

Optus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and Continental Cablevision with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven...

.

History

A joint venture between Artist Services (20%), Australis Media (40%) and Foxtel

Foxtel

Foxtel is an Australian pay television company, operating cable, direct broadcast satellite television and IPTV services. It was formed in 1995 through a joint venture established between Telstra and News Corporation....

 (40%), the channel began broadcasting on the Galaxy platform on June 30, 1996, and became available on Foxtel on August 1, 1996. After the collapse of Australis in 1998, Foxtels share of the channel increased to 80%. The channel became fully owned by Foxtel after it purchased Artist Services (now Granada Australia) 20% stake in August 2002.
In 2006-2007 the channel moved headquarters from Sydney to Melbourne, into the studios vacated by Fox Footy Channel

Fox Footy Channel

The Fox Footy Channel was a channel exclusively dedicated to Australian rules football. It was owned by Foxtel, and operated out of their Melbourne based studios. It was available on Foxtel, Austar, Optus Television, TransTV and Neighbourhood Cable up until transmission was ceased on 1 October 2006...

. The Comedy Channel is the only channel in Australia specifically dedicated to comedy around the clock; primarily featuring stand-up

Stand-up comedy

Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...

, sitcoms

Situation comedy

A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...

, animated comedy, sketch comedy

Sketch comedy

A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...

, comedy genre films

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 and talk shows.

Comedy Channel personalities include Frank Woodley

Frank Woodley

Frank Woodley is an Australian comedian who is best known for his work alongside Colin Lane as part of the comedic duo, Lano and Woodley. The two performed together for almost 20 years in live shows, a television series and an album of comedic songs, before deciding to pursue individual careers...

, who hosts Aussie Gold

Aussie Gold

Aussie Gold is a television programming block on Foxtel’s the Comedy Channel, which was formerly hosted by Australian comedian Frank Woodley. The block plays on Saturday nights from 7:30pm and celebrates the very best in Australian comedy....

, Tim Ross

Tim Ross

Timothy Jonathon Ross is an Australian comedian, radio host and television presenter. He is best known for performing stand-up comedy and radio works as part of the comedy duo Merrick and Rosso with Merrick Watts.-Stand up:...

 and Merrick Watts

Merrick Watts

Merrick Watts is a Australian comedian, radio host and television presenter. He is best known for performing stand-up comedy and radio works as part of the comedy duo Merrick and Rosso with Tim Ross....

 who hosts The Merrick & Rosso Show

The Merrick & Rosso Show

The Merrick & Rosso Show is an Australian comedy television series which airs on The Comedy Channel, which premiered on 2 October 2008. It is hosted by Tim Ross and Merrick Watts, who are better known as comedy duo Merrick and Rosso...

, Cameron Knight

Cameron Knight

Cameron "Cam" Knight is an Australian comedian and television personality, born 1976 in Cummins, South Australia.-Career:He studied at the South Australian Centre for the Performing Arts before making his break into television as a member of the Big Bite sketch comedy show...

 who amongst other things for the Comedy Channel hosts Stand Up Australia

Stand Up Australia

Stand Up Australia was an Australian comedy TV program locally produced by The Comedy Channel from 2006 to 2008.It was hosted by Cameron Knight, and featured four Australian or international comedians on each one hour show...

, and H.G. Nelson

Greig Pickhaver

alt=Greig Pickhaver|thumb|In May 2010Greig Pickhaver AM is an actor, comedian and writer, who forms one half of the Australian sports comedy duo Roy and HG...

 who hosts Comedy Slapdown

Comedy Slapdown

Comedy Slapdown is an Australian television improvised comedy program produced by FremantleMedia, that first aired on The Comedy Channel from November 8, 2008 at 7:30pm. The show is hosted by H.G...

.

The Comedy Channel transferred from 4:3 to Widescreen 16:9 broadcasting on Thursday April 1, 2010 at 5:30am as part of Foxtel's plan to convert all its channels to widescreen before the end of 2010.

In July 2010 the channel dropped its late night talk shows, leading to disappointed viewers.

Current

• Statesmen of Comedy
  Statesmen of Comedy
  Statesmen of Comedy is a half hour Comedy chatshow hosted by Trevor Marmalade. Trevor talks with Australia’s finest comedians, not only about the skills of their trade, but also provides a range of off-the-wall topics inviting them to flex their comedy muscles...
  
  (2010 – present)
• Balls of Steel (Australia)
  Balls of Steel (Australia)
  Balls of Steel Australia is an Australian comedy show hosted by The Chaser's Craig Reucassel. The show revolves around comedians who appear and present individual skits where they would perform stunts and hold their nerve during hidden camera set-ups in the presence of the Australian public.The...
  
  (2011 – present)

Former

• 30 Seconds
  30 Seconds (TV series)
  :30 Seconds is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel which satirises Australian advertising companies and advertising industry. The name of the show comes from the advertising slots on television that are normally 30 seconds long...
  
  (2009)
• Aussie Gold
  Aussie Gold
  Aussie Gold is a television programming block on Foxtel’s the Comedy Channel, which was formerly hosted by Australian comedian Frank Woodley. The block plays on Saturday nights from 7:30pm and celebrates the very best in Australian comedy....
  
  (2008 – 2009)
• Bedders for Bedtime
• Chop-Socky's the Prison of Art (1999)
• Comedy Gold (2008)
• Comedy Slapdown
  Comedy Slapdown
  Comedy Slapdown is an Australian television improvised comedy program produced by FremantleMedia, that first aired on The Comedy Channel from November 8, 2008 at 7:30pm. The show is hosted by H.G...
  
  (2008)
• Dilemma
• Eck's Rated Shorts
• Hahn Ice Headliners
• Hit and Run
  Hit and run
  Hit and run typically refers to:* Hit and run , the crime of failing to stop and identify oneself after a vehicular collision* Hit and run , a baseball play in which runners are in motion before the ball is hit...
  
  
• Home & Hosed
• Introducing Gary Petty
• Limo Diaries (2007)
• The Merrick & Rosso Show
  The Merrick & Rosso Show
  The Merrick & Rosso Show is an Australian comedy television series which airs on The Comedy Channel, which premiered on 2 October 2008. It is hosted by Tim Ross and Merrick Watts, who are better known as comedy duo Merrick and Rosso...
  
  (2008 – 2009)
• The Mansion
  The Mansion (TV series)
  The Mansion is an Australian television comedy based upon news and current affairs. Hosted by Michael Chamberlin and Charlie Pickering and featuring Kate McLennan and Justin Kennedy, It premiered on The Comedy Channel on Thursday 3 April 2008 at 8:30 pm.The Mansion first aired on 26 January 2007...
  
  (2008)
• The Pam Ann Show (2009)
• The Power of One
  The Power of One (TV series)
  The Power of One is a television series involving hypnotist Peter Powers travelling around Australia finding volunteers to be hypnotised by him and forced to perform amusing and often embarrassing acts.-The acts:...
  
  (2006)
• The Short and Curly Show
• Small Tales & True
• Stand Up Australia
  Stand Up Australia
  Stand Up Australia was an Australian comedy TV program locally produced by The Comedy Channel from 2006 to 2008.It was hosted by Cameron Knight, and featured four Australian or international comedians on each one hour show...
  
  (2006 – 2008)
• Whatever Happened to That Guy?
  Whatever Happened to That Guy?
  Whatever Happened To That Guy? is an Australian comedy series produced for The Comedy Channel. The series is a self-referential comedy series about the diminishing spotlight of a once-glorious comic, played by Peter Moon.-Synopsis:...
  
  (2009)

Sketch comedy

• Big Bite
  Big Bite
  Big Bite was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Seven Network from 8 May, 2003 to 4 March, 2004 in a prime time timeslot on Thursdays...
  
  
• Comedy Inc.
  Comedy Inc.
  Comedy Inc. was an Australian sketch comedy television series, which ran on the Nine Network from 1 February 2003 to 26 December 2007. The series was produced by Crackerjack Productions. It first premiered in February 2003 in the new wave of Australian sketch comedy shows being launched across the...
  
  
• skitHOUSE
  SkitHOUSE
  skitHOUSE was an Australian sketch comedy television series that ran on Network Ten from 9 February, 2003 to 28 July, 2004. The series was produced by Roving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedians, including comedy-band Tripod. Reruns can now be seen on The Comedy Channel on...
  
  
• The Wedge

Talk shows

• Alan Carr: Chatty Man
  Alan Carr: Chatty Man
  Alan Carr: Chatty Man is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Alan Carr. The award-winning show is on Channel 4. The show features interviews with celebrity guests, sketches, topical chat and music....
  
  
• The Colbert Report
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
  The Daily Show
  The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
  
  
• The Gruen Transfer
  The Gruen Transfer
  The Gruen Transfer is an Australian television program focusing on advertising, which debuted on ABC1 on 28 May 2008 and has run for four seasons...
  
  
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
  Lewis Black's Root of All Evil
  Lewis Black's Root of All Evil is an American television series that premiered on March 12, 2008 on Comedy Central, and was hosted by comedian Lewis Black. The series producer was Scott Carter from Real Time With Bill Maher; and the writer was David Sacks from The Simpsons...
  
  
• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
  Late Night with Jimmy Fallon is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The show premiered on March 2, 2009, as the third incarnation of the Late Night franchise originated by David Letterman....
  
  
• Shooting Stars
  Shooting Stars
  Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
  
  
• You Have Been Watching
  You Have Been Watching
  You Have Been Watching is a British comedy panel game presented by Charlie Brooker, produced by Zeppotron for Channel 4 and filmed at BBC Television Centre and Riverside Studios in London. It first aired on Tuesday 7 July 2009, for a weekly eight-episode run...
  
  

Sitcoms

• Absolutely Fabulous
  Absolutely Fabulous
  Absolutely Fabulous, also known as Ab Fab, is a British sitcom created by Jennifer Saunders, based on an original idea by her and Dawn French, and written by Saunders, who plays the leading character. It also stars Joanna Lumley and Julia Sawalha, along with June Whitfield and Jane Horrocks...
  
  
• 'Allo 'Allo!
  'Allo 'Allo!
  'Allo 'Allo! is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC One from 1982 to 1992 comprising eighty-five episodes. It is a parody of another BBC programme, the wartime drama Secret Army, and was created by David Croft, who also wrote the theme music, and Jeremy Lloyd. Lloyd and Croft wrote the first 6...
  
  
• Are You Being Served?
  Are You Being Served?
  Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a large, fictional London department store. It was written mainly by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John...
  
  
• Black Books
  Black Books
  Black Books is a British sitcom television series created by Dylan Moran and Graham Linehan and produced by Nira Park, first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2000 to 2004...
  
  
• BlackAdder
  Blackadder
  Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
  
  
• The Big Bang Theory
  The Big Bang Theory
  The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom serve as executive producers on the show, along with Steven Molaro. All three also serve as head writers...
  
  
• Childrens Hospital
• Everybody Hates Chris
  Everybody Hates Chris
  Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
  
  
• Malcolm in the Middle
  Malcolm in the Middle
  Malcolm in the Middle is an American television sitcom created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
  
  
• Men Behaving Badly
  Men Behaving Badly
  Men Behaving Badly is a British comedy that was created and written by Simon Nye. It follows the lives of Gary Strang and his flatmates, Dermot Povey and Tony Smart It was first broadcast on ITV in 1992...
  
  
• Modern Family
  Modern Family
  Modern Family is an American television comedy series created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, which debuted on ABC on September 23, 2009. Lloyd and Levitan serve as showrunner and executive producers, under their Levitan-Lloyd Productions label...
  
  
• My Name Is Earl
  My Name Is Earl
  My Name Is Earl is an American television comedy series created by Greg Garcia that was originally broadcast on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States...
  
  
• Porridge
  Porridge
  Porridge is a dish made by boiling oats or other cereal meals in water, milk, or both. It is usually served hot in a bowl or dish...
  
  
• The Sarah Silverman Program
  The Sarah Silverman Program
  The Sarah Silverman Program is an American television series that starred comedian and actress Sarah Silverman, who created the series with Dan Harmon and Rob Schrab...
  
  
• Scrubs
  Scrubs (TV series)
  Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
  
  
• Summer Heights High
  Summer Heights High
  Summer Heights High is a Logie Award-winning Australian television mockumentary series written by and starring Chris Lilley. It is a parody of high-school life epitomised by its three protagonists: effeminate and megalomaniacal "Director of Performing Arts" Mr G; self-absorbed, privileged teenager...
  
  
• That '70s Show
  That '70s Show
  That '70s Show is an American television period sitcom that centers on the lives of a group of teenage friends living in the fictional suburban town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from May 17, 1976, to December 31, 1979...
  
  
• Yes Minister
  Yes Minister
  Yes Minister is a satirical British sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn that was first transmitted by BBC Television between 1980–1982 and 1984, split over three seven-episode series. The sequel, Yes, Prime Minister, ran from 1986 to 1988. In total there were 38 episodes—of which all but...
  
  

Adult Swim

• Robot Chicken
  Robot Chicken
  Robot Chicken is an American stop motion animated television series created and executive produced by Seth Green and Matthew Senreich along with co-head writers Douglas Goldstein and Tom Root. Green provides many voices for the show...
  
  
• Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force
  Aqua Teen Hunger Force
  Aqua Teen Hunger Force , retitled Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1 in 2011, is an American animated television series on Cartoon Network late night programing block, Adult Swim, as well as Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block and later G4 Canada's ADd block in Canada...
  
  
• Moral Orel
  Moral Orel
  Moral Orel is an American stop-motion animated television show, which originally aired on Adult Swim from December 13, 2005 to December 18, 2008...
  
  
• Titan Maximum
  Titan Maximum
  Titan Maximum is an American stop motion animated television series created by Tom Root and Matthew Senreich. The series premiered on Cartoon Network's late night programing block, Adult Swim, on September 27, 2009. A teaser premiered during the "Robot Chicken on Wheels" tour and at the 2009 San...
  
  
• Frisky Dingo
  Frisky Dingo
  Frisky Dingo is an American animated cartoon series created by Adam Reed and Matt Thompson for Adult Swim. The series revolved around the conflict between a supervillain named Killface and a superhero named Awesome X, and much of the show's humor focuses on parodying superhero and action movie...
  
  

Sketch comedy

• Balls of Steel
  Balls of Steel (TV series)
  Balls of Steel is a Channel 4 comedy series developed by Objective Productions and hosted by Mark Dolan, his special guests would perform stunts and hold their nerve during hidden camera set-ups in the presence of celebrities or the British public....
  
  
• The Chaser's War on Everything
  The Chaser's War on Everything
  The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
  
  
• The Goodies
  The Goodies (TV series)
  The Goodies is a British television comedy series of the 1970s and early 1980s. The series, which combines surreal sketches and situation comedy, was broadcast by BBC 2 from 1970 until 1980 — and was then broadcast by the ITV company LWT for a year, between 1981 to 1982.The show was...
  
  
• Monty Python's Flying Circus
  Monty Python's Flying Circus
  Monty Python’s Flying Circus is a BBC TV sketch comedy series. The shows were composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines...
  
  
• The Red Green Show
  The Red Green Show
  The Red Green Show is a Canadian television comedy that aired on various channels in Canada, with its ultimate home at CBC Television, and on Public Broadcasting Service stations in the United States, from 1991 until the series finale April 7, 2006 on CBC...
  
  
• Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live
  Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
  
  
• Tim and Eric Awesome Show
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?
  Whose Line Is It Anyway?
  Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
  
  (both the U.S.
  United States
  The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
  
   and UK
  United Kingdom
  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
  
   versions)

Other

• Comedy Central Presents
  Comedy Central Presents
  Comedy Central Presents is a half-hour long stand-up show that features various stand-up comedians in each episode.-DVDs:Starting in 2008, Comedy Central started releasing "Best of" compilation DVDs, with uncensored audio...
  
  
• The Gong Show with Dave Attell
  The Gong Show with Dave Attell
  The Gong Show with Dave Attell is a revival of the 1970s Chuck Barris comedy game show called The Gong Show, hosted by comedian Dave Attell. The show premiered on July 17, 2008...
  
  
• Just For Laughs
  Just for Laughs
  Just for Laughs is a comedy festival held each July in Montreal, Quebec, founded in 1983. It is the largest international comedy festival in the world.- Information :...
  
  
• The Man Show
  The Man Show
  The Man Show is an American comedy television show on Comedy Central. It was created in 1999 by its two original co-hosts, Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla, and their executive producer Daniel Kellison.-Format:...
  
  
• MANswers
  MANswers
  MANswers is a late night comedy series that premiered on Spike on September 19, 2007.The series is produced by reality television production company, SuperDelicious, and airs on Spike. The executive producers are Kyle Danielson the Third, Adam Cohen, Cara Tapper, Joanna Vernetti, Akifumi Takuma and...
  
  
• Puppets Who Kill
  Puppets Who Kill
  Puppets Who Kill is a Canadian television comedy programme co-produced by The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada on the Comedy Network in 2002, and in Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004....
  
  
• Tosh.0
  Tosh.0
  Tosh.0 is an American television series hosted by comedian Daniel Tosh, who provides sarcastic commentary on online video clips, society, celebrities, and other parts of popular culture.-History:...
  
  
• Whacked Out Sports
  Whacked Out Sports
  Whacked Out Sports is an American syndicated reality television series which features professional and amateur videos of sports-related mishaps and accidents, usually involving people being injured. The show has a comedic theme and uses a narrative voiceover to highlight aspects of the clips...