Comedy Central

For the UK version of Comedy Central, see Comedy Central (UK).

Comedy Central is a cable television network created in 1991, with the merger of two cable channels devoted to comedy-based programming, Time Warner's The Comedy Channel, which was launched in 1989 by HBO and MTV spinoff Ha!, which Viacom launched in 1990. Time Warner and Viacom would each own 50 percent of Comedy Central until May 22, 2003, when Viacom completed the buyout of its partner's stake in Comedy Central.

1991


Comedy Central started life on April 1, 1991 as CTV: The Comedy Network, but due to confusion with a Canadian network called "CTV", the channel was renamed "Comedy Central" two months later.


 * Youtube: A CTV: The Comedy Network commercial break from 1991

1991–1995


CTV: The Comedy Network was renamed Comedy Central on June 1, 1991.


 * MST3K Temple - Memorabilia The Comedy Central Years 1991-1994
 * Google Video: 1991 - Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day promo 2
 * Youtube: COMEDY CENTRAL line-up (1992)
 * Google Video: 1993 - Comedy Central commercial

1995–2000


In 1992, Comedy Central began putting print logos on their products. The print logo in 1992 was the Comedy Central logo rendered in 2D and was also shown in different colors. This logo became the network's new on-air look in 1995. This was designed by PMcD Design. In August 1997, the logo was slightly redesigned to give it a more smoother look; most notably, the small hyphen (-) from the "COMEDY CENTRAL" marquee was removed.


 * Vintage Cable Ads &gt; Politically Incorrect (Bill Maher) Comedy Central (from September 1995

2000–2011


Comedy Central started using a new logo on October 30, 2000. This was the first major redesign for the network and removed the transmitter from the channel logo. The transmitter was said to "communicate the 1950s broadcast era" by network management. A new graphics package was developed by Imaginary Forces. Like the previous logo, this Comedy Central logo can be in many different color variations (as seen below).


 * AIGA
 * Time Warner
 * Multichannel News

This altered logo was occasionally seen as part of a new graphics package, produced by Royale. The previous logo was however still used as the channel's official logo and was used in most situations.

2011–present


On December 9, 2010, a completely new logo for Comedy Central was revealed in New York. The new logo officially made its debut on January 1, 2011. The new logo centers on two Cs, one which is inside the other which is reversed; that portion of the logo, nicknamed the "Comedymark", closely resembles a copyright symbol. The network name is displayed in mixed positions, with the word "Comedy" right side-up and the word "Central" flipped upside-down. New York design company The Lab was the design agency which worked with Comedy Central for the new look. A new style for graphics and promos had slowly been introduced starting a few months earlier and features straight typography on clean backgrounds.

This logo came in fourth in the 2010 Brand New Awards.


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 * Broadcasting & Cable
 * Stash
 * Motionographer
 * Comedy Cental Video
 * Fonts In Use