IFC Puts ‘Brockmire’ Into Extra Innings

Before taking an end-of-season curtain call Wednesday, IFC’s comedy Brockmire will circle the bases, airing a marathon of the entire series.

The premiere episode of the show, starring Hank Azaria as a troubled baseball announcer, will start the marathon at 6:30 p.m. ET. The season finale airs at 10 p.m.

IFC has already renewed Brockmire, which has been its highest rated new series ever as well as the most time-shifted new comedy on cable.

Since its debut, Brockmire has garnered nearly 8 million total viewers, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-3 ratings. It adds nearly 1 million more between video-on-demand and TV Everywhere.

The show originated as a short on Funny Or Die, and the TV series is in partnership with IFC. In addition to Azari, it stars Amanda Peet and Tyrel Jackson Williams.

“By every measure, Brockmire has already become a brand-defining show for IFC, thanks to its critical acclaim, cultural relevance, and, above all, razor-sharp humor,” said Jennifer Caserta, president of IFC. “We are so grateful for the stellar performances of Hank, Amanda and Tyrel, our partnership with Funny Or Die and how well the series has been received by critics and fans alike.”

The digital pre-premiere of Brockmire generated nearly 3 million total views on digital platforms including VOD, IFC.com, the IFC Facebook page and FunnyOrDie.com.

Throughout the Wednesday night Brockmire marathon, IFC will run sneak peeks of the network’s newest sketch comedy Baroness Von Sketch Show, which features an all-female cast. It debuts this fall.

IFC’s parent company AMC Networks last year purchased a minority ownership stake in Funny Or Die after a series of successful collaborations with IFC. The partnership has paved the way for Funny Or Die and IFC to further expand by creating smart, culturally relevant comedy across television, digital and social platforms. Brockmire is the first major collaboration between IFC and Funny Or Die since the deal was announced.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.