A Legend of the Comedy World
Comedy Central is a popular television network that a lot of us grew up with. For the past thirty years, they've been responsible for some of the funniest comedy content ever recorded. They're best known for their iconic sketch comedies like Chapelle's Show, Key and Peele, Inside Amy Schumer, Crank Yankers, The Man Show, and The Kroll Show. They also produce some of the most critically acclaimed and influential comedy series out there like South Park, Reno 911, Drunk History, Broad City, and Workaholics (just to name a few). Regardless of what you're watching on Comedy Central- whether it's one of their classic shows or one of their new series- you're guaranteed to have a good time.
The network is responsible for creating the satirical news show that changed the world, The Daily Show. And Comedy Central Roasts, which are held every so often and give comedians and celebrities the opportunity to pay homage to (and eviscerate) some of the most notorious figures in show business - Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, Alec Baldwin, James Franco, Bob Saget, and Flavor Flav have all been on the receiving end of savage jokes hurled by a star-studded dais.
Comedy Central has been a big supporter of the standup genre,launching many careers and providing many exclusive specials. Almost every comedian in the game has done standup for Comedy Central at one point or another, making it an extensive and fun trip through the history of standup comedy.
Comedy Central actually started out as The Comedy Channel- the world's first all comedy cable channel. Meanwhile, two years later, a rival network was created by Viacom called Ha! Eventually, however, The Comedy Channel and Ha! would merge, which resulted in the very first iteration of programming that looks like the Comedy Central we know and love today.
Prior to the merger, Ha! specialized in airing reruns of situational comedy shows and sketches. This is where The Comedy Channel got its syndication power (an asset which has served Comedy Central well to this day). In the early days, shows on The Comedy Channel tended to be more talk show oriented - comedian hosts interviewing guests or telling jokes between sketches - with a few exceptions, like the unique and unconventional shows, Mystery Science Theater and Onion World with Rich Hall.
Upon the merger, The Comedy Channel changed its name to The Comedy Network. This time, it was a more subtle shift in branding - but one that would lead to Comedy Central of today. The finalized name change didn't happen until around 1991, but that's when all of the new and exciting programming started to roll out. Early successes on The Comedy Network include Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (which ABC quickly snatched up), Mystery Science Theater, and the original iteration of The Daily Show (hosted by Craig Kilborn).
During the network's initial era, Comedy Central introduced shows like Win Ben Stein's Money and brought Whose Line is it Anyway? to an American audience.
In 1997, everything changed. This is the year when South Park aired for the first time. Suddenly, with the addition of this game-changing series, everyone wanted Comedy Central added to their cable services. By 1998, 50% of US homes had access to Comedy Central. It was only a matter of time before Comedy Central became a staple of all cable networks in the United States. And with the turn of the millennium, Comedy Central continued to create quality content - bringing the world John Stewart?s Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and introducing Dave Chapelle to the scene through his classic sketch series, Chapelle?s Show. And with that, a lynchpin to the comedy industry was born; Comedy Central is here to stay.
From Unknown Cable Channel to Streaming Giant
Most people nowadays view Comedy Central's content through streaming services rather than cable TV. And, as with any other network, Comedy Central offers its own streaming site which is really good. However, not everyone can say the same.
In order to access Comedy Central's streaming service, you will need to be a cable or satellite subscriber. Unfortunately, that is the only way to log into Comedy Central's streaming site. Comedy Central accepts cable and satellite customers of AT&T, Century Link, Spectrum, COX, DirecTV, Dish, Frontier, Mediacom, Optimum, SuddenLink, Verizon and Wow. If you are not a customer of one of these companies, unfortunately you cannot stream all of Comedy Central's content.
Plus, they have a library of older shorts and sitcoms that you can watch for free.
If you're looking for something to watch on Comedy Central streaming, there's a lot to choose from. You can stream entire episodes of all your favorite shows (new and old alike), access Comedy Central's enormous back catalog of canceled shows, old standup specials, short-form Comedy Central online skits, and Comedy Central Roasts, or watch Comedy Central programming live in real-time. Plus, the network has a library of older shorts and sitcoms that you can watch for free.
The streaming site Comedy Central has a lot of award-winning and iconic shows to enjoy until your eyes can't take it anymore. It also has some classic and beloved syndicated programming for viewers to enjoy. For example, you can stream full episodes of Netflix's Bojack Horseman, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. As far as content is concerned, there is no arguing with Comedy Central's penchant for quality, that is for sure.
There are definitely things Comedy Central could improve upon in order to make their site even more user-friendly and enjoyable. For example, the functionality could be improved with more intuitive menus and easier navigation, and the streaming quality could be upgraded so that videos load faster and are of better quality.
Time to Roast this Site
At first glance, I have to say that the site's overall design is nice. It's sleek, classy, and quite elegant. However, it's not the easiest or most user-friendly site I've come across. So from a design standpoint: the site looks great, but it could use some work in terms of practical functionality.
For instance, every Comedy Central show has its own tailored site design and layout. Clicking on South Park will bring you to a completely different site. But clicking on Chapelle's Show stays in step with the rest of Comedy Central's site design. It can be confusing - maybe it's just me, but I like my sites, especially ones that peddle such a large quantity of content, to be consistent. I want to be able to quickly and without much thought begin watching the show I want to watch. Unfortunately, that is not the case with Comedy Central.
When it comes to streaming sites, Comedy Central is a bit of a letdown. There is no really easy way to browse content, as all programming is archived alphabetically. This can be frustrating if you are looking for something specific and don't know its name, but it works well for finding content based on your viewing history or by comedian. A better organizational structure would make the site much more userfriendly.
Other than that, though, I am really happy with Comedy Central streaming. The picture quality is great even on live TV and they have a lot of classic shows and rare standup specials. If you already have cable or satellite, what are you waiting for? Go to comedycentral.com now and login to start streaming the laughs!
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