A Legend of the Comedy World

For 30 years, Comedy Central has been a source of comedy content for many of us. They have brought some of the most iconic sketch comedy shows to television, such as Chapelle's Show, Key and Peele, Inside Amy Schumer, Crank Yankers, The Man Show, and The Kroll Show. These series have been critically acclaimed and influential, and Comedy Central has been responsible for some of the most successful comedies in history, like South Park, Reno 911!, Drunk History, Broad City, and Workaholics (just to name a few). The network is responsible for creating The Daily Show, which changed the world. And, of course, there are the iconic and hilarious Comedy Central Roasts that give comedians and celebrities the opportunity to pay homage to (and eviscerate) some of the most notorious figures in show business - Donald Trump, Justin Bieber, Alec Baldwin, James Franco, Bob Saget, and Flavor Flav, for example.

Certainly, one of Comedy Central's main contributions to the field of comedy has been its exclusive stand-up specials. Over the years, it has launched the careers of many comedians, most notably through its now extensive catalog. The range of material covered therein is fascinating and provides a fun exploration into the history of stand-up comedy from the 1990s to present day.

In 1989, Time-Life (now HBO) launched The Comedy Channel - the world's first all comedy cable channel. Two years later, a rival network was created by Viacom called Ha! Eventually, however, The Comedy Channel and Ha! would merge, which resulted in the very first iteration of programming that looked like the Comedy Central we know and love today.

Prior to the merger, Ha! specialized in airing syndicated reruns of comedies and sketch shows. This is where The Comedy Channel acquired its syndication power (an asset that has served Comedy Central well to this day). In the early days, shows on The Comedy Channel tended to be more talk show oriented - comedian hosts interviewing guests or telling jokes between sketches - with a few exceptions, like the unique and unconventional shows, Mystery Science Theater and Onion World with Rich Hall.

After the merger, The Comedy Channel changed its name to The Comedy Network. This happened in 1991, and with it came a slew of new and exciting programming. Early successes on The Comedy Network include Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher (which was swiftly snatched up by ABC), Mystery Science Theater, and the original iteration of The Daily Show (hosted by Craig Kilborn).

In 1991, Comedy Central began airing shows such as Win Ben Stein's Money and brought Whose Line Is It Anyway? to American audiences. This was a pivotal era for the network as it introduced the comedy game show as a mainstream genre of television programming.

In 1997, Comedy Central TV increased in popularity due to the new and controversial animated series, South Park. Although this series was aired on a cable network, it quickly became popular with most households having access to it by 1998. This success led to more quality content being created and debuted such as John Stewart's Daily Show in 1999 and The Colbert Report in 2005. These shows solidified Comedy Central's place as one of the leading comedy networks in the world.

From Unknown Cable Channel to Streaming Giant

Today, Comedy Central's streaming site is really good in comparison to other streaming sites. However, not every network can say the same. In order to access Comedy Central's streaming service, users must be either a cable or satellite subscriber. Unfortunately, this is the only way to gain full access to Comedy Central's website and app. Although the site accepts customers of AT&T, Century Link, Spectrum, COX, DirecTV, Dish, Frontier, Mediacom, Optimum, SuddenLink, Verizon and Wow (depending on your location), not everyone is able to access all of Comedy Central's content.

It would truly be a shame if we couldn't enjoy all the great content that Comedy Central has to offer. Not only can you watch entire episodes of all your favorite shows (new and old alike), you can access Comedy Central's enormous back catalog of canceled shows, old stand-up specials, short-form Comedy Central online skits, and Comedy Central Roasts. Plus, if it's ever been on Comedy Central or is currently airing on Comedy Central, the network's streaming service will enable you to watch it.

Comedy Central's streaming site has a wide array of award-winning and iconic TV shows, as well as some syndicated programming that is widely beloved. For example, you can stream full episodes of popular Netflix series like Bojack Horseman, The Office, and Parks and Recreation. In terms of content, there is no questioning Comedy Central's quality standards - they are always top notch.

There are many benefits to Comedy Central, but there are also some areas where the site could improve its functionality and features. Let's take a look at some of these shortcomings and see what can be done to address them.

Time to Roast this Site

At first sight, the site's design is very professional and elegant. However, it is not the easiest or most user-friendly site out there. In terms of design, it looks fantastic but could be better in terms of practicality. For example, every show on Comedy Central has its own unique site design and layout. Clicking on South Park will take you to an entire different site. But clicking on Chapelle's Show stays in step with the rest of Comedy Central's site design. It can be confusing, to be honest - maybe it's just me, but I like my sites, especially ones that offer a large quantity of content, to be consistent. I want to be able to quickly and without much thought begin watching the show that I want to watch. Unfortunately, that is not always the case with Comedy Central.

The downside to Comedy Central's website is that there is no easy way to browse content. All of Comedy Central's programming is archived alphabetically, which is fine if you are looking for a very specific show and know it by name. However, it's not ideal when you want to look through the catalog for something new to watch. Unlike Netflix or Hulu, Comedy Central does not recommend content based on your viewing history or break it down into sections by genre or comedian. A better organizational structure, on the whole, would do wonders for this otherwise great streaming site.

Other than that, Comedy Central streaming is great. The picture quality is crystal clear even on live TV, tons of classic shows and rare standup specials are available, making this an impressive streaming site experience overall. If you already have cable or satellite, what're you waiting for? Go over to comedycentral.com now and log in to start streaming the laughs.