US industry fears for the future of cable channel

A major shake-up of America’s Comedy Central channel has left industry figures reeling – just as their live business has been pummelled by coronavirus.

The 30-year-old network has been shifting away from scripted programmes like Inside Amy Schumer towards cheaper unscripted fare – a strategy that that its UK sister company has also followed.

An exodus of executives – including president Kent Alterman and 20 of the 30 development chiefs– following a merger between parent company Viacom and the CBS network last year has further stoked fears.

Alterman, long seen as a champion of comedians and more offbeat shows such as Broad City, departed at the end of last year.

In a substantial report on the front page of the New York Times’s second section today, comedians’ managers have expressed concern about the changes.

Brian Stern, from AGI, told the newspaper: ‘They made a big mistake with the executives they let go. They have great taste, and they are wonderful with talent… I can’t see them being the network that they were.’

And Peter Principato of Artists First added that the policy of cutting back ‘makes it feel like the end of Comedy Central’.

His client, Awkwafina, is the star of one of the few new sitcoms on the channel, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. But aside from  The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the schedule is packed with reruns of South Park, The Office and Parks and Recreation – again a similar strategy as the UK.

‘That line-up may not give the world the next [Dave] Chappelle or [Amy] Sedaris,’ The Times noted, ‘but viewership totals for the network have trended upward in recent months.’

Comedy Central has now been added to the portfolio of MTV head who signalled a more aggressively commercial regime. He told the Times that  ‘creative, cultural and commercial hits’ would be at the core of his strategy ‘as we work together to grow existing hits and develop new ones that define culture across adult animation, scripted series/original movies and topical.’

Fears have been exacerbated as cable TV has lost ground – and audiences – to streaming services, especially on stand-up specials, with Netflix snapping up both big names and breakthrough comics such as Hannah Gadsby.

Comedy Central UK rowed back on its commissioning last year in what was described as a ‘pause’. Today’s schedule from 2pm to midnight comprises seven hours of Friends reruns, Michael McIntrye’s 2012 stand-up special Showtime, Russell Howard’s 2008 stand-up special, and an hour of new Impractical Jokers, the hidden camera show imported from the US.

Published: 18 May 2020