Adgully Exclusive | "Laughter" is our brand ambassador says Viacom 18's Ferzad Palia while announcing the launch of "Comedy Central'

The channel has teamed-up with BBH as its creative agency and Vizeum would be the media agency.

During the launch announcement of the new channel, Ferzad Palia, Senior Vice President and General Manager, English Entertainment, Viacom 18, spoke to Adgully and explained the reason behind the timing of the launch. Palia said, "The time is right due to the spread of technology and also because people at this time are stressed. They are open to comedy and to laughing at themselves. Exposure to international content is growing as people increasingly travel. India has never been more ready for a dedicated English comedy offering. We are delighted to add Comedy Central, the world's biggest comedy channel to our existing portfolio of Viacom18 brands. The service will deliver clever and disruptive content to our viewers; titles that have been handpicked from across the globe, especially for India."

Further he added saying, "At Comedy Central India, we believe that everything in life can be looked at in a lighter vein. Hence, our philosophy 'Laugh It Off ' which will be brought to the fore in everything we do as a brand."

In context with the content Palia said, "We have picked up best content across the world. Laughter is something you can always come and snack in and what we have is 24 hours of comedy. Its for all age group from 15 ' 45 plus audiences and will have combination of shows that will be enjoyed across the age groups."

The brand will extend itself beyond television into LIVE events, merchandising & availability on mobile platforms. Comedy Central would be available across approximately 20 million households and across analogue, digital cable and DTH platforms.

On the distribution and marketing plan that they are looking at in India, Palia said, "We are catering across 7 metros such as Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and others. For marketing, a massive through-the-line marketing plan with innovations across TV, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Below the Line and Digital will be unveiled shortly. The plan will also involve strategic partnerships with lifestyle touch points the target audience frequents like coffee chains, theatres, clubs, gyms, salons, shopping destinations & other hangouts."

He further added, "New media will be used as a brand extension as we will be present on YouTube, Twitter, etc. We will also have a dial in service on the mobile."

"We would be premiering a lot of shows during the weekend, in terms of the channel's overall content around half of it will be fresh unlike other channels that mainly run marathons to allow viewers to catch up on the weekend, because most of our shows cater to a mature audience like, "Goodness Gracious Me', "Faulty Tasks' and so on. We have shows for our younger audience too like "Cinderella block at mid-night." Said, Ferzad Palia.

On brand ambassador of the channel, Palia ends up saying, "Laughter" is our ambassador.

Comedy Central would air multi-award winning shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and South Park along with global hit shows such as Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, The Office, Seinfeld, The Wonder Years & That 70s Show the channel boasts of some of the biggest titles in its programming line-up. The channel will have a mix of all genres within comedy, ranging from Sitcoms to Sketch Comedy, British Comedy, Stand-Up & Gags, among others. | By Ranjana Gupta [ranjana(at)adgully.com]