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Laff is an American digital multicast television network that is owned by the Laff Media, LLC subsidiary of Katz Broadcasting. The network specializes in comedy programming, featuring a mix of feature films and archived sitcoms; it is targeted at adults between the ages of 18 and 49 years old.

The network, which transmits in 480i standard definition, is available in many media markets via the digital subchannels of broadcast television stations and on the digital tiers of select cable providers through a local affiliate of the network.

History

Katz Broadcasting (a media company owned by Jonathan Katz, co-founder and chief operating officer of Bounce TV, which had launched the gender-targeted multicast networks Escape and Grit in August 2014) announced the pending launch of Laff on January 18, 2015. Katz scheduled the formal launch date for April 15, intending to coincide with the Internal Revenue Service's deadline for Americans to file their tax returns, for the matter being that, as Broadcasting & Cable writer Jon Lafayette noted in a report on Laff's launch, "people will need something to make them smile."

Katz announced that television stations owned by ABC Owned Television Stations – the owned-and-operated station group of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) – and the E. W. Scripps Company would serve as the network's initial charter affiliates. Laff launched at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time on April 15, 2015, with the 2008 romantic comedy film My Mom's New Boyfriend as its inaugural program.

Programming

Laff's comedy-centered programming consists of a mix of theatrically released feature films, as well as off-network sitcoms from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The network also provides additional humorous content via its website and mobile app. Katz Broadcasting indicated that Laff would set itself apart from its multicast competitors by carrying more contemporary programming content, in contrast to the reruns of series from the 1980s and earlier commonly found on other over-the-air networks which rely on acquired content (such as Me-TV, Antenna TV and Decades).

Movies

Laff's daily schedule includes feature films, which air on Sundays from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; Monday through Fridays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m., 12:00 to 4:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 to 5:00 a.m.; Saturdays from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. and 1:00 to 7:00 a.m.; and weekends from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time (sometimes starting earlier or ending later depending on the length of the films), with the film roster incorporating releases focusing on varying comedic subgenres from the 1980s to the 2000s.

Laff's program schedule relies primarily on an extensive array of comedic films (totaling approximately 250 titles) from the libraries of three film studios by virtue of multi-year program licensing agreements announced on March 17, 2015, one month prior to the network's launch: Walt Disney Studios (including films from Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures, which are distributed for television through Disney–ABC Domestic Television), Miramax (distributed through Trifecta Entertainment and Media) and Sony Pictures Entertainment (including releases from Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, which are distributed through Sony Pictures Television).

Television series

In addition to films, much of Laff's programming lineup consists of reruns of situation comedies originally aired between the 1980s and the early 2000s. On February 13, 2015, Laff acquired the syndication rights to five sitcoms – The Drew Carey Show, Night Court (which was not included in the launch schedule), Ellen, Empty Nest and Grace Under Fire – through respective deals with Warner Bros. Television, Disney-ABC Domestic Television and Carsey-Werner Distribution for its initial schedule. Spin City (acquired through Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution) was later added as part of the network's initial lineup.

Current programming

Comedy series

• The Bernie Mac Show (September 14, 2015–present)
• The Drew Carey Show (April 15, 2015–present)
• Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza (April 18, 2015–present)
• Ellen (April 15, 2015–present)
• Empty Nest (April 15, 2015–present)
• Funniest Pets & People (April 18, 2015–present)
• Grace Under Fire (April 15, 2015–present)
• Life's Funniest Moments (April 18, 2015–present)
• Spin City (April 15, 2015–present)

Educational programming

Programs listed below, which Laff airs as part of a three-hour block on Saturday mornings, are compliant with FCC educational programming requirements.

• America's Heartland (April 15, 2015–present)
• Animal Outtakes (September 12, 2015–present)
• Eco Company (April 15, 2015–present)
• Skooled (September 12, 2015–present)

Affiliates

As of October 2015, Laff has current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 50 media markets encompassing 29 states (including stations in 15 of the 50 largest Nielsen markets), covering 59.14% of the United States.

The network was originally offered to prospective affiliates through subchannel leasing arrangements, in which the network handles all responsibility in the sale of advertising inventory; However, by October 2015, Katz had switched to a distribution fee model, in exchange for the network acquiring the advertising inventory due to a greater inventory of affiliate stations that have added the network on a newly created third or fourth subchannel. Affiliates have the option of transmitting the network in the 16:9 or 4:3 aspect ratio, depending on the bandwidth needed to deliver high definition content over the station's main channel and whether it carries any other subchannels in HD.

ABC Owned Television Stations initially planned to launch Laff on all eight ABC owned-and-operated stations, replacing standard-definition simulcast feeds of the Live Well Network – which would continue to be transmitted on their second subchannels in high definition – on the third digital subchannel of each of the stations (ABC parent The Walt Disney Company had originally announced in June 2014 that it would shut down Live Well, before reversing course in January 2015, when it announced that the network would remain in operation but significantly scale back its affiliate distribution exclusively to ABC's O&Os). The network also signed an affiliation agreement with the E. W. Scripps Company, which would carry the network at launch in 13 markets served by a station owned by the group (Scripps' agreement originally did not include stations that the company acquired from Journal Communications in April 2015, however Scripps began adding the network to several of the former Journal stations starting that July). The two initial deals gave Laff affiliate clearances in 35% of all U.S. markets, and 13 of the 30 largest television markets (including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, Detroit and Houston).

The network immediately sought carriage on the digital subchannels of television stations owned by other broadcasting companies. On March 13, 2015, Katz Broadcasting announced an affiliation deal with the Cox Media Group to carry Laff on the subchannels of seven of its stations (including ABC affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta and Fox affiliate WFXT in Boston), expanding its initial reach to 47% of the country; the following week on March 20, as part of a multi-network affiliation agreement with Katz, the Meredith Corporation announced that it would carry the network on its stations in Portland, Oregon (KPTV) and Hartford (WFSB). Later that month, WSNN-LD in Sarasota signed on as a charter affiliate through a deal with its owner LDB Media.

In December 2015 the network obtained national carriage for certain hours of the day on BlueHighways TV.

List of affiliates

References

1. By comparison, Bounce TV – which was co-founded by Jonathan Katz – used direct response advertising as a meter of viewership before switching to Nielsen's C-3 ratings in 2013.

1. Kevin Downey (May 18, 2015). "Scripps in Multi-Net Deal For Katz Diginets". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved May 28, 2015. Laff in 64 million households/55%.
2. ^ Robert Channick (January 19, 2015). "Laff comedy network to launch on WLS-Ch.7 digital subchannel". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
3. ^ Jon Lafayette (January 18, 2015). "Exclusive: Comedy Multicast Net Launching on ABC, Scripps". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
4. ^ Cynthia Littleton (January 18, 2015). "ABC Sticks with Live Well Digital Channel, Adds Comedy Net". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
5. ^ Alan Pergament (January 20, 2015). "Ch.7 to add comedy network called LAFF in mid-April on sub-channel". The Buffalo News. BH Media Group, LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
6. David Bloom (January 18, 2015). "LAFF Comedy Broadcast Network To Launch April 15 in 21 Markets". Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
7. "LAFF Announces First Film Licensing Agreements". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. March 17, 2015.
8. Denise Petski (March 17, 2015). "LAFF Sets Film Licensing Deals With Sony Pictures TV, Disney & Miramax". Deadline.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
9. ^ Jon Lafayette (March 17, 2015). "LAFF Makes Rights Deals to Air 250 Movie Comedies". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
10. "LAFF Comedy Diginet Lands Five Sitcoms". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. February 13, 2015.
11. "Laff Diginet Rolls Out On Multiple Platforms". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. April 15, 2015.
12. ^ "Stations for Network - Laff". RabbitEars. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
13. Harry A. Jessell (October 13, 2015). "OTA The Bedrock of Katz's Growing Diginets". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
14. Jon Lafayette (March 13, 2015). "Cox Gets Joke And Gives Viewers LAFF". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media.
15. ^ "Meredith To Add Three Katz Diginets". TVNewsCheck. NewsCheck Media. March 20, 2015.
16. Jon Lafayette (March 20, 2015). "Meredith To Carry Grit, Escape, LAFF Networks". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
17. Rodney Ho (March 17, 2015). "WSB-TV HD channel picks up Atlanta-based LAFF comedy channel". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
18. Alan Pergament (April 30, 2015). "LAFF and Escape arrive; DIY's "American Rehab: Buffalo" may arrive soon". The Buffalo News. BH Media Group, LLC. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
19. Alan Pergament (April 17, 2015). "New comedy network premiere delayed; WGR's Capaccio replaces Buscaglia". The Buffalo News. BH Media Group, LLC. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
20. Gary Dinges (November 16, 2015). "Austin viewers get 2 new over-the-air TV networks". Austin American-Statesman.

External links

• Official website

• American television networks
• Comedy television networks
• English-language television stations in the United States
• Television channels and stations established in 2015
• 2015 establishments in the United States