COMEDY CENTRAL(R) Joins Forces With Live Nation To Launch COMEDY CENTRAL's House Of Comedy Live From House Of Blues Venues Nationwide

NEW YORK, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- COMEDY CENTRAL, the preeminent brand in comedy, and Live Nation, the world's premier live entertainment company, announced today the launch of COMEDY CENTRAL's House of Comedy Live from House of Blues, a monthly COMEDY CENTRAL branded stand-up showcase in House of Blues venues nationwide.  COMEDY CENTRAL will also tape two one-hour stand-up specials from House of Blues venues with the first special being taped in Boston on April 16.

"Since COMEDY CENTRAL's launch 19 years ago, we have been approached dozens of times to partner in a comedy venue.  The House of Blues venues encapsulate the COMEDY CENTRAL sensibility and further extends our relationship with Live Nation," said Mitch Fried, SVP, COMEDY CENTRAL Live Entertainment.  "With Live Nation and its House of Blues venues, we have found the perfect companions to expand our thriving touring business and grow the COMEDY CENTRAL brand outwards and off channel."  

"COMEDY CENTRAL is one of the most recognizable brands in entertainment and they recognize the appeal and power of the live stand-up comedy happening in Live Nation venues across the country," said Geof Wills, President of Live Nation Comedy.  "This deal creates an important platform for us to launch new comedy touring talent as well as showcase established comedy stars in our House of Blues venues, expanding on our successful relationship that has drawn more than one million fans to COMEDY CENTRAL branded tours."

As part of the deal COMEDY CENTRAL will be integrated throughout the House of Blues venues including on and off stage, show marketing and press, as well as within the retail shops.  In addition, the network will offer its advertisers similar inclusion as the official sponsors of the series.

COMEDY CENTRAL's Live Entertainment division commenced in 2003 and partnered with Live Nation Entertainment for its first tour together, "COMEDY CENTRAL LIVE Starring Lewis Black and Dave Attell" with special guest Mitch Hedberg.  Since then, the successful live comedy partnership has produced tours for some of today's leading stand-up comedians such as Mike Birbiglia, Drew Carey, Dave Chappelle, Stephen Lynch, Demetri Martin, Carlos Mencia and Wanda Sykes.  The network's latest tour starring Gabriel Iglesias kicked off in January 2010.  

COMEDY CENTRAL will also create a dedicated site for the campaign on Jokes.com.  The site will feature performance information for upcoming shows and allow visitors to order tickets online.  Additional ticket and tour information for COMEDY CENTRAL's House of Comedy Live from House of Blues can be found at LiveNation.com.

About COMEDY CENTRAL:

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 98 million homes nationwide.  COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks.  COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is www.comedycentral.com.  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.

About Live Nation:

Live Nation Entertainment is the world's premier live entertainment company, consisting of Live Nation, Ticketmaster and Front Line Management Group.  As the world's first artist-to-fan vertically integrated live entertainment platform, the company is improving the fan experience and driving major innovations in ticketing technology, marketing and service.  Live Nation is the largest producer of live concerts in the world, annually producing more than 22,000 concerts on behalf of 1,500 artists in 57 countries.  In 2008, over 50 million fans attended Live Nation concerts, and the company drove more than 70 million unique visitors to LiveNation.com and other online properties.  Ticketmaster serves more than 10,000 clients worldwide in multiple event categories and sold more than 141 million tickets valued at over $8.9 billion on behalf of its clients in 2008. Live Nation is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, trading under the symbol LYV.  For additional information about the company, please visit www.livenation.com/investors.

SOURCE COMEDY CENTRAL Corporate Communications