Just For Laughs to release three vintage clips a week

Rare early appearances from stand-up giants are to be released on YouTube, thanks to the Just For Laughs festival.

Footage from the annual Montreal event, some of it going back 25 years, is to feature on a new channel launched yesterday.

So far clips from Mitch Hedberg, Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Chris Rock, Jon Stewart, Bill Hicks, Bill Burr and Tracy Morgan have gone online. But the festival has more than 500 hours of content, which it will release over thice-weekly instalments.

The aim is to spread the name of Just For Laughs outside its native Canada. Stand-up specials from the event have not been aired in the States for a decade; and while it was once a staple of Channel 4, Just For Laughs now tends to feature sporadically on digital channels, such as a compilation series Comedy Central aired earlier this year.

The new channel is a joint venture with Disney-owned Maker Studios, which already partners with the festival for the JFL Gags practical jokes series.

Here's their footage of Jon Stewart from 1992:

Published: 18 Sep 2014