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Exclusive: Sam Griffel has joined Elevate Entertainment as the Director of Development.

Griffel will work across Elevate’s entire slate of material alongside Head of Development and Production, Samantha Levenshus.

He comes to Elevate after working in original programming and development at Spotify. In addition to his work in the podcasting space, Griffel has developed and produced for media entities large and small including Disney, HBO and Paramount Global.

Elevate touts Griffel’s ability to draw equally from his legal, talent and producing backgrounds to develop and champion emerging voices creatively and strategically, ensuring their IP and creative visions are protected. He is a member of the New York and California bar associations.

“With multiple projects from our slate eyeing a 2024 production schedule, it’s an ideal time for the company to be adding to our team,...

If you are looking to laugh for 24 hours straight, then Comedy Central has you covered. The network will live stream 24 hours of stand-up content from over 60 comedians on its Stand-Up YouTube channel starting on October 17 at 11 pm Et. All the laughter will culminate in the season premiere of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents… on October 18.

The live stream event will cover specials curated from the past two decades including past stand-up performances from before-they-made-huge comedians like Kevin Hart (2004), Jim Gaffigan (2000), Amy Schumer (2010), John Mulaney (2009), Zach Galifianakis (2001), Patton Oswalt (1999), Gabriel Iglesias (2003), Anthony Jeselnik (2009), Chris Redd (2017), Donald Glover (2010), Ron Funches (2014), Michelle Buteau (2015), Bo Burnham (2009), Cristela Alonzo (2013), Dave Attell (1999), Maria Bamford (2001), Joel Kim Booster (2017), Neal Brennan (2012), Lil Rel Howery (2013), Aparna Nancherla (2016), Baron Vaughn (2013), Natasha Leggero (2011), Patrice O’Neal (2003) and a robust roster of others.

When the live stream runs it course, the new season of Comedy Central Stand-Up Presents… will air back-to-back episodes featuring Jaboukie Young-White and Vanessa Gonzalez.

Comedy Central has announced the lineups for its January Stand-Up Month, including four new one-hour specials, and talent for a new digital series of half-hour specials under two different banners.

The January Stand-Up Month will feature new specials from Ron Funches, James Davis (Hood Adjacent with James Davis), Chris Distefano and Roy Wood Jr.. The specials will air consecutive Fridays throughout the month at 11 Pm Et/Pt.

In addition, Comedy Central’s digital series Comedy Central Stand-Up Featuring will premiere January 8 on YouTube, Facebook Watch, Twitter and Instagram. The series will spotlight a new up-and-coming comedian on Tuesday and Thursday each week.

In the spirit of Adam Devine’s House Party and Live at Gotham, the series will feature short sets from some young voices. The...

Comedy Central said it would launch four one-hour stand-up comedy specials in January as well as a later slate of 12 half-hour stand-up programs, two under the banner of being presented by comedienne and actress Amy Schumer.

The Viacom-owned network said the four hour-long specials, led by comedians Ron Funches, James Davis, Chris Distefano and Roy Wood Jr. would air on consecutive Fridays throughout January at 11 p.m. eastern.

Meanwhile, the network will launch the latest in its more than 22 seasons of half-hour stand-up programming, led by comedians including David Gborie, Vanessa Gonzales, Charles Gould, Joe Kwaczala, Will Miles, Sara Schaefer, Dulce Sloan, Allen Strickland Williams, Tom Thakkar and Jaboukie Young-White. Nore Davis and Mia Jackson will appear under the “Amy Schumer Presents” banner. All 12 half-hour specials will tape January 31 through February 2 at the Civic Theatre in New Orleans.

The network also said a digital stand-up series, “Comedy Central Stand...

Viacom’s message to Madison Avenue at its first Digital Content NewFronts song and dance: It is, finally, strategically positioned to deliver concentrated internet audiences at scale.

To be sure, the core of Viacom’s business remains locked in traditional TV and film. But with the coming-out party for the recently created Viacom Digital Studios, the conglomerate’s story is that it has a boatload of digital-first programming, partnerships and talent deals — designed to extend existing brands MTV, Comedy Central, Nick and Bet more broadly online across YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat as well as create new programming franchises.

“The launch of Viacom Digital Studios is an amazing opportunity to reimagine our iconic brands for a new generation of young, mobile-first audiences,” said Kelly Day (pictured above), the former AwesomenessTV exec who was tapped as president of Viacom Digital Studios last fall.

In addition to Viacom Digital Studios’ plans for...