History Creator / TheComedyNetwork

The Comedy Network formerly had a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Launched in 2001 as a Canadian version of TV Land, Comedy Gold focused on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. From September 2018, Comedy Gold was in the process of being acquired by [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/MainframStudios Unlimited Media]], which planned to relaunch it as a kids' and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada would gain common voting shares in Wow, Wow would provide children's content for sibling services Creator/{{Crave}} and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media would jointly produce children's programming. Said rebrand ultimately didn't come into fruition; after a period of NetworkDecay (during which Wow! put its plans to fully acquire the channel on hold), Comedy Gold would shut down on September 1, 2019.

The Comedy Network formerly had a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Launched in 2001 as a Canadian version of TV Land, Comedy Gold focused on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. From September 2018, Comedy Gold was in the process of being acquired by [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], which planned to relaunch it as a kids' and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada would gain common voting shares in Wow, Wow would provide children's content for sibling services Creator/{{Crave}} and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media would jointly produce children's programming. Said rebrand ultimately didn't come into fruition; after a period of NetworkDecay (during which Wow! put its plans to fully acquire the channel on hold), Comedy Gold would shut down on September 1, 2019.

The Comedy Network ([[OfficiallyShortenedTitle generally referred to as just ''Comedy'' since 2010]]) went on the air in October of 1997. It is owned by Creator/BellMedia, owners of Creator/{{CTV}}. On September 12, 2019, The Comedy Network was relaunched as '''CTV Comedy Channel''', aligning the channel under the CTV brand.

Initially, the station was subject to a fairly limited schedule. Episodes of British television were common (''Series/MrBean'' and ''The Baldy Man''), and the airtime was ''full'' of ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival performances, ''Open Mike With Mike Bullard'' (a low-budgeted talk show that aired for eight seasons), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' repeats (aired from the beginning and, unlike most American reruns, includes episodes from the [[DorkAge much-maligned]] sixth and 11th seasons), repeats of CTV comedies, and other older TV shows.

Eventually, the British programs were dropped, and the network started showcasing both original programming (''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'', ''Puppets Who Kill'', ''Butch Patterson: Private Dick'', ''Series/CornerGas'', etc.), and shows from Creator/{{Comedy Central}} (including ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/AtMidnight''). Pretty much anything from Comedy Central ended up on The Comedy Network, but since September of 2013, most of the former network's shows have premiered on sister network Creator/{{MuchMusic}}. In late 2016, The Comedy Network launched a branded Sunday night block for Comedy Central programming.

Today, The Comedy Network has become home to repeats of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and other contemporary sitcoms. With most of Comedy Central's programming now airing on [=Much=] (Outside of Comedy Central's late-night news satire shows), the network has also become home to several original comedies from Creator/{{TBS}}. To meet with Canadian Content guidelines, the Comedy Network still produces and airs a small number of Canadian-made shows, including a revival of ''Series/MatchGame'' in 2012. Since The Comedy Network wholly owns some of these shows, they have helped create profit for them in the past.

Any rebranding the network has taken on has occurred slowly. For most of the network's lifetime, before the CRTC began phasing out genre protection[[note]] In short, any Canadian network with a specific format or genre must predominately air programming related to that genre or format, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork even in non-peak hours, when no one would normally be able to see them.]] [[/note]], various Canadian shows would air with great repetition and lots of ad time. ''Corner Gas'' got it, and two of it's successors (''Hiccups'' and ''Series/DanForMayor'') got it as well. Canadian Content laws plus AdoredByTheNetwork counts for ''a lot''.

The Comedy Network previously had a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, Comedy Gold focused on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. From September 2018, Comedy Gold was in the process of being acquired by [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], which planned to relaunch it as a kids' and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada would gain common voting shares in Wow, Wow would provide children's content for sibling services Creator/{{Crave}} and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media would jointly produce children's programming. The rebrand ultimately didn't come into fruition; after a period of NetworkDecay (during which, Wow pushed back the date to fully acquire the channel) Comedy Gold would shut down on September 1, 2019.

It is not to be confused with The Comedy ''Channel'' in Australia.

* ''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'' ([[LongRunner One of the longest-running, domestically-animated, Canadian series in history]]; 1995-2009)

Eventually, the British programs were dropped, and the network started showcasing both original programming (''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'', ''Puppets Who Kill'', ''Butch Patterson: Private Dick'', ''Series/CornerGas'', etc.), and shows from Creator/{{Comedy Central}} (including ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/AtMidnight''). Pretty much anything from Comedy Central ended up on The Comedy Network, but since September of 2013, most of the former network's shows have premiered on sister network Creator/{{MuchMusic}} (which has since shortened it name to ''Much''). In late 2016, The Comedy Network launched a branded Sunday night block for Comedy Central programming.

The Comedy Network ([[OfficiallyShortenedTitle generally referred to as just ''Comedy'' since 2010]]) went on the air in October of 1997. It is owned by Creator/BellMedia, owners of Creator/{{CTV}}.

On September 12, 2019, The Comedy Network was relaunched as '''CTV Comedy Channel''', aligning the channel under the CTV brand.

The Comedy Network previously had a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, Comedy Gold focused on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. From September 2018, Comedy Gold was in the process of being acquired by [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], which planned to relaunch it as a kids' and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada would gain common voting shares in Wow, Wow would provide children's content for sibling services Crave/{{Crave}} and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media would jointly produce children's programming. The rebrand ultimately didn't come into fruition; after a period of NetworkDecay (during which, Wow pushed back the date to fully acquire the channel) Comedy Gold would shut down on September 1, 2019.

The Comedy Network also has a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, this channel focuses on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. Since September 2018, Comedy Gold has been under the ownership of Canadian-American holding company [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], with plans to completely relaunch it as a kids and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada gained common voting shares in Wow, Wow provided children's content for sibling services Crave and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media will jointly produce children's programming.

In September 2019, The Comedy Network will rebrand as '''CTV Comedy Channel''', aligning the channel under the CTV brand.

In June 2018, it was announced that The Comedy Network would rebrand as '''CTV Comedy''', aligning the channel under the same branding as CTV.

Today, The Comedy Network has become home to repeats of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and other contemporary sitcoms. With most of Comedy Central's programming now airing on [=Much=] (Outside of Comedy Central's late-night news satire shows), the network has also become home to several original comedies from Creator/{{TBS}}. To meet with Canadian Content guidelines, the Comedy Network still produces and airs a small number of Canadian-made shows, including a revival of ''MatchGame'' in 2012. Since The Comedy Network wholly owns some of these shows, they have helped create profit for them in the past.

* ''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'' ([[LongRunner The longest-running, domestically-animated, Canadian series]]; 1995-2009)

The Comedy Network also has a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, this channel focuses on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. Comedy Gold is currently being acquired by Canadian-American holding company [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], with plans to completely relaunch it as a kids and youth channel. In exchange, Bell Canada will gain common voting shares in Wow, Wow will provide content for Bell Media's streaming services, [=CraveTV=] and [=SnackableTV=], and both Wow and Bell Media will jointly produce children's programming.

Eventually, the British programs were dropped, and the network started showcasing both original programming (''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'', ''Puppets Who Kill'', ''Butch Patterson: Private Dick'', ''Series/CornerGas'', etc.), and shows from Creator/{{Comedy Central}} (including ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/AtMidnight''). Pretty much anything from Comedy Central ended up on The Comedy Network, but since September of 2013, most of the former network's shows have premiered on sister network Creator/{{MuchMusic}}. In late 2016, The Comedy Network launched a branded Sunday night block for Comedy Central programming.

Today, The Comedy Network has become home to repeats of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and other contemporary sitcoms. With most of Comedy Central's programming now airing on [=MuchMusic=] (Outside of Comedy Central's late-night news satire shows), the network has also become home to several original comedies from Creator/{{TBS}}. To meet with Canadian Content guidelines, the Comedy Network still produces and airs a small number of Canadian-made shows, including a revival of ''MatchGame'' in 2012. Since The Comedy Network wholly owns some of these shows, they have helped create profit for them in the past.

The Comedy Network also has a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, this channel focuses on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. In exchange for a minority stake in holding company, [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], Bell Media will relinquish control of Comedy Gold so that it may be relaunched as a youth channel under Wow.

The Comedy Network also has a sister channel in Comedy Gold. Formally a Canadian version of TV Land, this channel focuses on classic sketch comedy and sitcoms from the 1970's to 2000's. In exchange for a minority stake in the fledgling animation holding company, [[Creator/FrederatorStudios Wow!]] [[Creator/RainmakerEntertainment Unlimited Media]], Bell Media will relinquish control of Comedy Gold so that it may be relaunched as a kids channel under Wow, though Bell Media will also co-produce content.

Initially, the station was subject to a fairly limited schedule. Episodes of British television were common (''Series/MrBean'' and ''The Baldy Man''), and the airtime was ''full'' of ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival performances, ''Open Mike With Mike Bullard'' (which was so AdoredByTheNetwork that it aired for eight seasons), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' repeats (aired from the beginning and, unlike most American reruns, includes episodes from the [[DorkAge much-maligned]] sixth and 11th seasons), repeats of CTV comedies, and other older TV shows.

* '''The Beaverton''' (Based on the website; 2016-present)

* '''Just for Laughs: All Access''' (2003-present)

Initially, the station was subject to a fairly limited schedule. Episodes of British television were common (''Series/MrBean'' and ''The Baldy Man''), and the airtime was ''full'' of ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival performances, ''Open Mike With Mike Bullard'' (a shoestring-budgeted talk show that was so AdoredByTheNetwork that it aired for eight seasons), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' repeats (aired from the beginning and, unlike most American reruns, includes episodes from the much-maligned sixth and 11th seasons), repeats of CTV comedies, and other older TV shows.

Eventually, the British programs were dropped, and the network started showcasing both original programming (''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'', ''Puppets Who Kill'', ''Butch Patterson: Private Dick'', ''Series/CornerGas'', etc.), and shows from Creator/{{Comedy Central}} (including ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/AtMidnight''; and in its proper timeslots too). Pretty much anything from Comedy Central ends up on The Comedy Network, but since September of 2013, most of the former network's shows have premiered on sister network Creator/{{MuchMusic}}. In late 2016, The Comedy Network launched a branded Sunday night block for Comedy Central programming.

Any rebranding the network has taken on has occurred slowly. For most of the network's lifetime, before the CRTC began phasing out genre protection[[note]] In short, any Canadian network with a specific format or genre must predominately air programming related to that genre or format, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork even in non-peak hours, when no one would normally be able to see them.]] [[/note]], various Canadian shows would air with great repetition and lots of ad time. ''Corner Gas'' got it, and two of it's successors (''Hiccups'' and ''Series/DanForMayor'') got it as well. Canadian Content laws plus AdoredByTheNetwork counts for a ''lot''.

* '''Series/CornerGas Animated''' (TBA 2018)

Any rebranding the network has taken on has occurred slowly. For most of the network's lifetime, before the CRTC began phasing out genre protection[[note]] In short, any Canadian network with a specific format or genre must predominately air programming related to that genre or format, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork even in non-peak hours, when no one would normally be able to see them.]] [[/note]], various Canadian shows would air with great repetition and lots of ad time. ''Series/CornerGas'' got it, and two of it's successors (''Hiccups'' and ''Series/DanForMayor'') got it as well. Canadian Content laws plus AdoredByTheNetwork counts for a ''lot''.

!!Original programming broadcast by The Comedy Network include:

* ''The Beaverton'' (Based on the website; 2016-present)

* ''Corner Gas Animated'' (TBA 2018)

* ''Just for Laughs: All Access'' (2003-present)

The Comedy Network ([[OfficiallyShortenedTitle generally referred to as just ''Comedy'' since 2010]]) went on the air in October of 1997. A Canadian answer to Creator/{{Comedy Central}}, it is owned by Creator/BellMedia, owners of Creator/{{CTV}}.

Eventually, the British programs were dropped, and the network started showcasing both original programming (''WesternAnimation/KevinSpencer'', ''Puppets Who Kill'', ''Butch Patterson: Private Dick'', ''Series/CornerGas'', etc.), and shows from Comedy Central (including ''Series/TheDailyShow'', ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/AtMidnight''; and in its proper timeslots too). Pretty much anything from Comedy Central ends up on The Comedy Network, but since September of 2013, most of the former network's shows have premiered on sister network Creator/{{MuchMusic}}. In late 2016, The Comedy Network launched a branded Sunday night block for Comedy Central programming.

Canada's answer to Creator/{{Comedy Central}}, The Comedy Network (generally referred to as just ''Comedy'' since 2010) went on the air in October of 1997. Presently, it is owned by Creator/BellMedia, owners of Creator/{{CTV}}.

Initially, the station was subject to a fairly limited schedule. Episodes of British television were common (''Series/MrBean'' and ''The Baldy Man''), and the airtime was ''full'' of ''Just For Laughs'' comedy festival performances, ''Open Mike With Mike Bullard'' (a shoestring-budgeted talk show that was so AdoredByTheNetwork that it aired for eight seasons), ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' repeats (aired from the beginning and, unlike most American reruns, includes episodes from the much-maligned sixth and 11th seasons), and other older TV shows.

* ''Corner Gas Animated'' (2018)

Today, The Comedy Network has become home to repeats of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' and other contemporary sitcoms. With most of Comedy Central's programming now airing on [=MuchMusic=] (Outside of late-night, satire news shows), the network has also become home to several original comedies from Creator/{{TBS}}. To meet with Canadian Content guidelines, the Comedy Network still produces and airs a small number of Canadian-made shows, including a revival of ''MatchGame'' in 2012. Since The Comedy Network wholly owns some of these shows, they have helped create profit for them in the past.