COMEDY CENTRAL® and Running Press Form Joint Publishing Program

NEW YORK, Feb. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- In a continuing effort to achieve utter and total comedy domination, COMEDY CENTRAL has joined with Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, to form a joint publishing program, it was announced today by Michele Ganeless, President, COMEDY CENTRAL and Christopher Navratil, Publisher of Running Press.  The joint publishing relationship, which builds on established and developing brands of the cable network, will release its first title, a holiday-themed novelty book from Denis Leary, in October 2012.  Mitch Fried, Executive Vice President, Enterprises, will oversee the program for COMEDY CENTRAL.

"Success today means reaching our fans on all different platforms.  This publishing relationship is another example of the kind of extension that keeps COMEDY CENTRAL the #1 brand in comedy," said Ganeless.

Navratil said, "We are excited to be working with Michele and her team at COMEDY CENTRAL."  He added, "This new relationship is the perfect fit for our list, humor is one of our core categories and being able to tap into COMEDY CENTRAL's talent and marketing will offer us a fantastic opportunity to publish a wide variety of branded titles in multiple formats."

"A publishing program is a natural brand extension for COMEDY CENTRAL and becomes another means of comedic expression that we can offer to our talent, including series, specials, DVDs, CDs and tours," said Fried.  "Our history of success gives us unprecedented access and opportunity to talent and we're very excited that the first title will come from our long-time friend, Denis Leary."

Added Leary, "I am truly delighted to be in business with Running Press and deliver a funny Christmas book based on a special I did for COMEDY CENTRAL seven-and-a-half years ago.  Sorry for the delay but I was a tad busy with 'Rescue Me,' two teenaged kids, two Red Sox World Series victories, the 17th Boston Celtic NBA championship, the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup and online porn.  Mostly the porn."

Titles within the COMEDY CENTRAL publishing program will focus on both new material from top and developing comedians as well as existing series/franchises within the brand offering a wide variety of books within the humor category.  The unique partnership will also have the advantage of being supported by COMEDY CENTRAL's full 360 degree marketing effort for the brand, including on-air, digital media, mobile, video on demand, consumer products, live tours, and retail integration.  The first title will be a holiday-themed novelty book from Denis Leary which will be published in October 2012 to tie-in with a TV special on the channel.  Additional details on this title and forthcoming titles will be announced by Running Press and COMEDY CENTRAL in the near future.

About Running Press

Running Press creates more than 175 new titles a year under three imprints: Running Press, Running Press Miniature Editions™, Running Press Kids. It is a member of The Perseus Books Group, an independent company committed to enabling independent publishers to reach their potential whether those publishers are Perseus-owned, joint ventures or owned by third parties. Member publishing programs include Avalon Travel, Basic Books, Basic Civitas, Da Capo, Lifelong Books, Running Press, Seal Press, Vanguard Press and Westview Press, as well as partnerships with PublicAffairs and Nation Books. Through Consortium, Perseus Distribution and Publishers Group West, the Perseus Books Group is also the leading provider of sales, marketing and distribution services to independent publishers.

About COMEDY CENTRAL

Available in 99 million homes nationwide, COMEDY CENTRAL (www.comedycentral.com), the only all-comedy network, is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIAB).  For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs visit Press Central, COMEDY CENTRAL's press web site at www.comedycentral.com/press and follow us on Twitter @ComedyCentralPR for the latest in breaking news updates, behind-the-scenes information and photos.

SOURCE COMEDY CENTRAL Corporate Communications