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===Television series===
===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 [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] rights to five sitcoms – ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'', ''[[Night Court]]'' (which was not included in the launch schedule), ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]'', ''[[Empty Nest (TV series)|Empty Nest]]'' and ''[[Grace Under Fire (TV series)|Grace Under Fire]]'' – through respective deals with [[Warner Bros. Television]], Disney-ABC Domestic Television and [[The Carsey-Werner Company|Carsey-Werner Distribution]] for its initial schedule.<ref name=bc1/><ref>{{cite news|title=LAFF Comedy Diginet Lands Five Sitcoms|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/82990/laff-comedy-diginet-lands-five-sitcoms|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=February 13, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Spin City]]'' (acquired through [[Paramount Television|Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution]]) was later added as part of the network's initial lineup.<ref>{{cite news|title=Laff Diginet Rolls Out On Multiple Platforms|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/84595/laff-diginet-rolls-out-on-multiple-platforms|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=April 15, 2015}}</ref>
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 [[Broadcast syndication|syndication]] rights to five sitcoms – ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'', ''[[Night Court]]'' (which was not included in the launch schedule), ''[[Ellen (TV series)|Ellen]]'', ''[[Empty Nest (TV series)|Empty Nest]]'' and ''[[Grace Under Fire (TV series)|Grace Under Fire]]'' – through respective deals with [[Warner Bros. Television]], Disney-ABC Domestic Television and [[The Carsey-Werner Company|Carsey-Werner Distribution]] for its initial schedule.<ref name=bc1/><ref>{{cite news|title=LAFF Comedy Diginet Lands Five Sitcoms|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/82990/laff-comedy-diginet-lands-five-sitcoms|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=February 13, 2015}}</ref> ''[[Spin City]]'' (acquired through [[Paramount Television|Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution]]) was later added as part of the network's initial lineup.<ref>{{cite news|title=Laff Diginet Rolls Out On Multiple Platforms|url=http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/84595/laff-diginet-rolls-out-on-multiple-platforms|website=TVNewsCheck|publisher=NewsCheck Media|date=April 15, 2015}}</ref>

====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 (TV series)|Ellen]]'' (April 15, 2015–present)
* ''[[Empty Nest (TV series)|Empty Nest]]'' (April 15, 2015–present)
* ''[[Funniest Pets & People]]'' (April 18, 2015–present)
* ''[[Grace Under Fire (TV series)|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 [[Federal Communications Commission|FCC]] [[E/I|educational programming]] requirements.''
* ''[[America's Heartland]]'' (April 15, 2015–present)
* ''[[WWSB#Animal Outtakes|Animal Outtakes]]'' (September 12, 2015–present)
* ''[[Eco Company]]'' (April 15, 2015–present)
* ''[[Skooled]]'' (September 12, 2015–present)


==Affiliates==
==Affiliates==

Revision as of 22:45, 10 December 2015

Laff
TypeDigital multicast television network
Country
United States
AvailabilityNationwide via OTA digital television (covering 55% of the U.S.)[1]
FoundedJanuary 18, 2015 (2015-01-18)
by Jonathan Katz
OwnerLaff Media, LLC
ParentKatz Broadcasting, LLC
Key people
Jonathan Katz
(president/CEO/founder, Katz Broadcasting)
Launch date
April 15, 2015 (2015-04-15)
Picture format
480i (SDTV)
Affiliates(see list)
Official website
www.laff.com

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.[2]

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."[3]

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.[4][5] 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.[2] The network also provides additional humorous content via its website and mobile app.[6] 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).[4]

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).[7][8][9]

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.[9][10] Spin City (acquired through Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution) was later added as part of the network's initial lineup.[11]

Current programming

Comedy series
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.

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.[12]

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;[5] 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.[13][n1 1] 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).[4][5] 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;[14] 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).[15][16] 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

City of license/market Station Virtual
channel[12] 		Primary affiliation Owner Date of affiliation[3] Notes

Alabama

Montgomery WALE-LD 17.2 Justice Network Woods Communications
Corporation		 August 11, 2015

Arizona

Phoenix KNXV-TV 15.3 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015
Tucson KGUN-TV 9.2 July 1, 2015

California

Fresno KFSN-TV 30.3 ABC ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015
Los Angeles KABC-TV 7.3
San Diego KGTV 10.2 E. W. Scripps Company
San Francisco–Oakland
–San Jose		 KGO-TV 7.3 ABC Owned Television Stations

Colorado

Denver KMGH-TV 7.3 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015

Connecticut

Hartford–New Haven WFSB 3.3 CBS Meredith Corporation
(sale pending to Media General)		 April 15, 2015[15]

Florida

Fort Myers–Naples WFTX-TV 36.3 Fox E.W. Scripps Company September 1, 2015
Miami–Ft. Lauderdale WLTV-DT 23.4 Univision Univision Communications
Orlando WFTV 9.3 ABC Cox Media Group April 15, 2015
Sarasota WSNN-LD 39.3 Independent/
All-news		 Citadel Communications
Tampa–St. Petersburg WFTS-TV 28.2 ABC E. W. Scripps Company
West Palm Beach WPTV-TV 5.3 NBC

Georgia

Atlanta WSB-TV 2.3 ABC Cox Media Group April 15, 2015[17]

Idaho

Boise KIVI-TV 6.2 ABC E.W. Scripps Company July 1, 2015
Twin Falls KSAW-LD 51.2 Low-power repeater of KIVI-TV

Illinois

Chicago WLS-TV 7.3 ABC ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015

Indiana

Indianapolis WRTV 6.3 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015

Kansas

Wichita KGPT-CD 26.5 Cozi TV Great Plains Television Network, LLC October 26, 2015

Kentucky

Louisville WKYI-CD 24.2 This TV New Albany
Broadcasting Company		 November 5, 2015

Maryland

Baltimore WMAR-TV 2.2 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015

Massachusetts

Boston WFXT 25.3 Fox Cox Media Group April 15, 2015

Michigan

Detroit WXYZ-TV 7.3 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015
Grand Rapids WOOD-TV 8.3 NBC Media General TBD

Missouri

Kansas City KSHB-TV 41.3 NBC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015

Nebraska

Lincoln KLKN 8.4 ABC Citadel Communications April 15, 2015
Omaha KMTV-TV 3.3 CBS E.W. Scripps Company October 26, 2015

Nevada

Las Vegas KTNV-TV 13.2 ABC E.W. Scripps Company July 1, 2015

New Mexico

Albuquerque-Santa Fe KWBQ 19.3 The CW Tanner Media, LLC
(operated under an SSA by Media General)		 TBD
Roswell KRWB 21.3

New York

Albany WXXA-TV 23.3 Fox Shield Media, LLC
(operated through SSA by Media General)		 TBD
Buffalo WKBW-TV 7.2 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 28, 2015[18] Launch was originally planned for April 15, 2015,
but was delayed two weeks due to technical
problems with the equipment used to transmit
WKBW's subchannels.[19]
New York City WABC-TV 7.3 ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015[5]

North Carolina

Charlotte WSOC-TV 9.2 ABC Cox Media Group April 15, 2015
Greensboro–Winston-Salem–
High Point		 WCWG 20.3 The CW Lockwood Broadcast Group June 1, 2015
Raleigh–Durham WTVD 11.3 ABC ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015

North Dakota

Fargo–Grand Forks KRDK-TV 4.8 Cozi TV Major Market Broadcasting April 2015

Ohio

Cincinnati WCPO-TV 9.3 ABC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015
Cleveland WEWS-TV 5.3
Dayton WHIO-TV 7.3 CBS Cox Media Group
Youngstown WYFX-LD 19.2 Fox Media General TBD

Oklahoma

Tulsa KJRH-TV 2.3 NBC E. W. Scripps Company April 15, 2015

Oregon

Portland KPTV 12.3 Fox Meredith Corporation
(sale pending to Media General)		 October 8, 2015[15]

Pennsylvania

Philadelphia WPVI-TV 6.3 ABC ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015
Pittsburgh WPXI 11.3 NBC Cox Media Group June 1, 2015

Rhode Island

Providence WNAC-TV 64.3 Fox Super Towers, Inc.
(operated through LMA by Media General)		 TBD

Tennessee

Knoxville WATE 6.3 ABC Media General TBD
Nashville WTVF 5.3 CBS E.W. Scripps Company September 20, 2015

Texas

Austin KNVA 54.3 The CW Vaughan Media, LLC
(operated through LMA by Media General)		 TBD[20]
Dallas–Fort Worth KUVN-DT 23.4 Univision Univision Communications August 4, 2015
Houston KTRK-TV 13.3 ABC ABC Owned Television Stations April 15, 2015
Lubbock KMYL-LD 14.2 MyNetworkTV Ramar Communications June 1, 2015
San Antonio KNIC-DT 17.4 UniMás Univision Communications September 1, 2015

Utah

Salt Lake City KTMW 20.4 Telemundo Serestar Communications October 7, 2015

Virginia

Norfolk-Hampton Roads WSKY-TV 4.3 Independent Lockwood Broadcast Group November 16, 2015

Washington

Seattle KIRO-TV 7.3 CBS Cox Media Group April 15, 2015

West Virginia

Charleston-Huntington WTZP-LD 50.3 Cozi TV Eagle Broadcasting Group, Inc. December 1, 2015

Wisconsin

Green Bay WGBA-TV 26.3 NBC E.W. Scripps Company August 11, 2015
Milwaukee WTMJ-TV 4.2 September 28, 2015

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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b Jon Lafayette (January 18, 2015). "Exclusive: Comedy Multicast Net Launching on ABC, Scripps". Broadcasting & Cable. NewBay Media. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Cynthia Littleton (January 18, 2015). "ABC Sticks with Live Well Digital Channel, Adds Comedy Net". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c "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.
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