Cold(ish) Weather and Hot Laughs Make The Comedy Network Canada's Fastest-Growing Specialty Channel

- Women, Men, Teens, Adults, and Total Viewer demos all up -

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TORONTO, April 11, 2012 /CNW/ - As viewers prepare for fresh spring television offerings, BBM data confirms what The Comedy Network already knows: Canada loves to warm up with hot, hot laughs! Since last September, Comedy has seen the largest absolute audience growth of any specialty network in Canada, resulting in growth factors of 24% among Total Viewers, 62% for Teens and 24% for Men 18-49. Comedy is also #2 for absolute audience growth among Adults 18-49, up 25% over the same weeks last year. And equally impressive, women have also been keeping warm with a steaming cup of Comedy, resulting in female viewers shooting up 25% (W18-49).

**Media Note** Photography is available online at www.bellmediapr.ca/comedy.

Up four positions among Adults (18-49) in the non-sports specialty rankings over last year, Comedy is pacing in the Top 5 among Adults (18-49, #5), as well as with Teens (12-17, #4) and Men (18-49, #4). Comedy also earned a Top 10 spot among females and total viewers (W18-49 and 2+, #10).

Among the most-viewed programming on Comedy this winter has been TOSH.0, wrapping up its winter run last week. With no redemption required, TOSH.0 finished Season 4A as Comedy's #1 series, attracting its largest audiences to-date with an average audience among Adults (18-49) of 167,000 viewers.

Led by top shows THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, THE COLBERT REPORT and TOSH.0, TheComedyNetwork.ca served over 35 million video views since last September, buoyed by a relaunch on the site in November.*

Already roaring into spring, Comedy ranked as the #1 specialty network for Adults and Women and Men (18-49) this long weekend, courtesy of Friday's TOSH.0 marathon and THE BIG BANG THEORY Easter Marathon.

Coming up, Comedy plants a new crop of SATURDAY NIGHT STAND-UP specials, starting Saturday, April 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT with ELLEN DEGENERES: HERE AND NOW, followed later in the month by KEVIN POLLAK: THE LITTLEST SUSPECT (Saturday, April 21 at 9 p.m. ET/PT) and TRACY MORGAN: BLACK AND BLUE (Saturday, April 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT). May keeps on cranking out the laughs with the premiere of an all-new season of TOSH.0 beginning Tuesday, May 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT before the Season 3A premiere of WORKAHOLICS at 10:30 p.m. ET/PT. Plus, a new batch of stand-up special premieres including ROSEANNE BARR: BLOND AND BITCHIN' (Saturday, May 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT), MICHAEL MCDONALD: MODEL. CITIZEN (Saturday, May 19 at 9 p.m. ET/PT), and JB SMOOVE: THAT'S HOW I DOOZ IT (Saturday, May 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT).

About The Comedy Network
Canada's first and favourite specialty comedy service, The Comedy Network airs comedy of all kinds, 24-hours-a-day, across multiple platforms, including a revolutionary broadband service at thecomedynetwork.ca. Launched in October 1997, The Comedy Network broadcasts, uncut and uncensored, an eclectic mix of scripted, stand-up, sketch, improv, and animated comedy - as well as topical comedy talk shows, game shows and classic situation comedies. The Comedy Network is a division of Bell Media, which is owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE), Canada's largest communications company, and is available in nearly six million households across the country.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
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Source: BBM Canada, BYTD 11/12 (8/29/2011 to 3/24/2012), Long weekend (4/6/2012 to 4/9/2012).

* Source: Omniture

Andrea Allen, Comedy, 416.384.5375, [email protected]
Nicola Krishna, Comedy, 416.384.5276, [email protected]