Comedy Central to Stream 24 Straight Hours of Stand-Up Specials on YouTube

LaToya Ferguson

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Sometimes Comedy Central really just lives up to its name, and tomorrow is one of those times. Starting Thursday, October 17 (at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT), the comedy-centric network will be streaming 24 straight hours of its half-hour stand-up specials on its Stand-Up YouTube channel.

The “24 Hours of Stand-Up” livestream—featuring stand-up performances from over 60 comedians—will also serve as lead-up to the season premiere of “Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents…”

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With stand-up performances spanning the past two decades in comedy, the livestream will feature sets from a number of major comedians before they broke big. That includes comedians like Patton Oswalt (1999), Kevin Hart (2004), Amy Schumer (2010), Donald Glover (2010), Natasha Leggero (2011), and Michael Che (2014), among many, many others. Post-live stream, each of these stand-up specials will also air on Pluto TV (on the Comedy Central Stand-Up channel) throughout the weekend.

Pluto TV and Comedy Central are two of the entities who will be impacted by the upcoming CBS-Viacom merger. In an analysis after the deal was announced from IndieWire’s Chris Lindahl and Tyler Hersko, the duo wrote:

“ViacomCBS now has control over several streaming services, such as CBS All Access, Pluto TV, and the Showtime streaming platform. Although it’s not unusual for entertainment conglomerates to operate multiple streaming services, none of ViacomCBS’s streaming offerings operate on the financial level of platforms such as Netflix or Hulu. CBS All Access has never figured out a way to adequately markets its incredible library offerings; Viacom has the same rich source of content and the same plight – if they ever figure out what to do with Comedy Central digitally, Netflix’s burgeoning comedy slate should run scared.

It’s unlikely that the company will consolidate all of its streaming services into a single entity — Disney recently announced it would instead offer a bundle of its subscription services for a discount — but ViacomCBS needs to find a succinct way to capitalize on owning multiple streaming platforms in the future.”

“Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents…” then returns for its third season on October 18 (at 11 p.m. ET) with two back-to-back episodes, featuring Jaboukie Young-White and Vanessa Gonzales. Watch a preview for the live stream below.

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