The Comedy Channel (United States)

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For other uses, see The Comedy Channel.

The Comedy Channel was an all-comedy cable television network owned by Home Box Office, a division of Time Warner. It premiered on November 15, 1989 and merged in early 1991 with Viacom's HA! to become Comedy Central. Programs were originated from the HBO Downtown Studios on East 23rd Street in Manhattan.

[edit] 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, 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 like Supercar, Clutch Cargo, and Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp.

[edit] 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 1990, the channel premiered Short Attention Span Theater, with hosts Jon Stewart and Patty Rosborough.

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