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Comedy Central scores with low-cost shows
With a growing slate of low-cost originals, Comedy Central is keeping its ratings buoyant as other entertainment networks struggle to simultaneously keep programming costs down while growing viewership.
The network, a 50-50 joint venture between AOL Time Warner and Viacom, is, on its face, certainly no exception to the rule of rising spending, as its programming expenses, according to Kagan World Media, the newsletter and databook publisher that, like Cable World, is owned by Media Central, will have nearly tripled since 1997, from $52.9 million four years ago to $152.2 million last year.
But rather than stake its brand on one or two expensive shows, Comedy has earned pleasing ratings and household delivery with relatively low-cost fare like the robot-gladiator contest Battlebots, the celebrity-chat-spoofing Primetime Glick and the late-night man-onthe-street series Insomniac with Dave Attell. Through the end of 2001, the network's prime-time household performance had improved 15% over 2000, and its total day numbers were up 12%.
What's more, because of its appeal to young males, Comedy is projected to bring in $240 million in ad revenue in 2001 and $283 million in 2002, making it one of the top-15 grossing networks on basic cable, according to data from Kagan.