Paramount Comedy Expands Russian Reach

New deal boosts distribution of Viacom's Russian-language comedy service to 4 million homes

By George Winslow -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/6/2012 2:25:03 PM

Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) has inked an agreement with Russia’s largest cable operator, National Cable Networks (NCN), that will expand the distribution of Paramount Comedy to 4 million homes in Russia.
As a result of the agreement, NCN’s ad sales division, National Media Advertising, will represent Paramount Comedy channel's spot sales.

“It’s testament to the power of comedy and our channel’s successful launch that we’ve been able to secure carriage for Paramount Comedy with Russia’s leading cable operator,” David Lynn, executive VP and managing director of VIMN UK, Australia and Eastern Europe, said in a statement. “NCN’s expertise and deep infrastructure, along with our newly enhanced slate of content, is a winning combination and I’m really looking forward to extending the fun and the laughter to even more Russian fans.”

The recently launched channel, which has been fully localized as a 24-hour Russian-language comedy service, also announced that it had inked a new programming deal with Warner Bros. International Television Distribution (WBITD).
The new WBITD deal, which includes more than 300 hours of comedy programming, will allow Paramount Comedy to exclusively air such shows as The Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men with Ashton Kutcher.

The expanded distribution in Russia comes as Viacom continues to roll out its comedy brands into new territories. In the last six months, Comedy Central has launched in Latin America, India and Africa; Comedy Central Extra in the Netherlands and Paramount Comedy in Russia. That has boosted their offerings to 18 comedy channels outside the U.S. that reach more than 100 million homes in 40 plus countries.