Laff (legal name: Laff Media, LLC) is an American
digital multicast television network
A television broadcaster or television network is a telecommunications network for the distribution of television show, television content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations, pay television providers or ...
headquartered in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
and is owned by the
Scripps Networks subsidiary of the
E. W. Scripps Company. The network specializes in
comedy
Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium.
Origins
Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...
programming, featuring mainly
sitcom
A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...
s from the 1990s through the 2020s.
[
]
History
Laff's launch was announced by Katz Broadcasting in January 2015 as having a scheduled launch date of , coinciding with Tax Day
In the United States, Tax Day is the day on which individual income Tax return (United States), tax returns are due to be submitted to the Federal government of the United States, federal government. Since 1955, Tax Day has typically fallen on ...
in the United States; the explanation by Katz is that people needed "something to laugh to" on what they deemed one of the most stressful days of the year. The network launched at Noon that day; the first program was the film '' My Mom's New Boyfriend''.
Katz announced that television stations owned by ABC Owned Television Stations
ABC Owned Television Stations is a sub-division of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcastin ...
and 13 E. W. Scripps Company would serve as the network's charter affiliates; the former serving as a replacement for the standard definition feed of the Live Well Network, which with Laff's announcement also began to roll-back to only being carried by ABCOTS stations. On March 13, 2015, Katz Broadcasting announced an affiliation deal with the Cox Media Group
CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company p ...
to carry Laff on the subchannels of seven of its stations expanding its initial reach to 47% of the country. The following week on March 20, as part of a multi-network affiliation agreement with Katz, the Meredith Corporation
Meredith Corporation was an American media conglomerate based in Des Moines, Iowa, that owned newspapers, magazines, television stations, and websites. Its publications had a readership of more than 120 million and paid circulation of more than ...
announced that it would carry the network on two of its stations. Additional affiliation deals were struck later in the year with Media General
Media General, Inc. was an American media company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company's origins can be traced back to 1887 when Richmond attorney Joseph Bryan acquired ''The Richmond Daily Times'', which later became ''The Richmond Times-D ...
, Tribune Media
Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
, and Griffin Media.
On February 13, 2015, Laff acquired the syndication rights to five sitcoms. Laff followed that deal for film licensing with Disney–ABC Domestic Television
Disney–ABC Domestic Television (also referred to as ABC Syndication, doing business as Disney–ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution, and formerly named Buena Vista Television) is the in-home sales and content distribution firm o ...
, Miramax
Miramax, LLC, formerly known as Miramax Films, is an American independent film and television production and distribution company owned by beIN Media Group and Paramount Global. Based in Los Angeles, California, it was founded on December 19, ...
, and Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production company, production and broadcast syndication, distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, California, it is a division o ...
by March 17. Laff made a multi-year deal for five sitcoms with Carsey-Werner Productions in April 2016. ''Roseanne
''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...
'' reruns were removed on May 29, 2018, after Roseanne Barr
Roseanne Cherrie Barr (born November 3, 1952), also known mononymously as Roseanne, is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She began her career in stand-up comedy before gaining acclaim in the television sitcom ''Roseanne'' (19 ...
was fired from the show by ABC (which then continued on as ''The Conners
''The Conners'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams and developed by Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen, and Dave Caplan for ABC as a direct continuation of the series '' Roseanne''. The series is produced by Werner Enter ...
''); both decisions were based on a Roseanne Barr tweet considered racist.
A list of 2019 Nielsen ratings published by '' Variety'' indicated that Laff averaged 223,000 viewers in prime time, down 5% from the 2018 average.
The network moved off ABC Owned Television Stations
ABC Owned Television Stations is a sub-division of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcastin ...
at the beginning of 2021, in favor of new carriage on Scripps's recently acquired Ion Media
Ion Media, LLC (formerly known as Paxson Communications Corporation and Ion Media Networks) is a subsidiary of the E.W. Scripps Company that operates the linear broadcast networks Ion Television, Ion Mystery, and Ion Plus. Prior to its acquis ...
stations in place of the now-defunct Qubo
Qubo ( ; stylized as qubo) was an American television network for children between the ages of 5 and 14. Owned by Ion Media, it consisted of a 24-hour free-to-air television network often mentioned as the "Qubo channel" (available as a digital ...
, Ion Plus
Ion Plus is an American broadcast television network and FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company. The network originally launched in 2007 as Ion Life, maintaining a format featuring lifesty ...
and Ion Shop networks.
In July 2023, the managing company of Laff announced an over-the-top streaming channel counterpart of Laff, called Laff More.
To honor the 10th anniversary of the network's launch, the network unveiled a temporary new digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic, digitally originated graphic (DOG, bug, network bug, or screenbug) is a watermark-like station logo that most television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen area of their programs to identify the channel ...
logo beginning in April 2025, with the Laff typeface enclosed inside a number 10. They would also air a specially-marked "Special Presentation" of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. ...
, an event run by network owner E.W. Scripps Company, on May 28 and 29, 2025.
Programming
Laff provides comedy programming to owned-and-operated and affiliated stations every day from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time, with paid programming filling the remaining vacated hours. Laff's schedule mainly consists of 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s off-network
Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
sitcoms. On September 1, 2021, Nexstar launched a direct competitor to Laff, Rewind TV, and the latter network replaced Laff on Nexstar stations (or will in the upcoming months if not immediately possible due to contractual obligations).
Movies
Laff carries three to four comedic films throughout its weekend schedule. Laff also carries one movie throughout during early Monday through Friday Mornings.
Current programming
*''According to Jim
''According to Jim'' is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children (and then five children, starting with the seventh season finale). It originally ran on American Broadcas ...
''
*'' ALF''
*'' Bob Hearts Abishola''
*''The Conners
''The Conners'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams and developed by Bruce Helford, Bruce Rasmussen, and Dave Caplan for ABC as a direct continuation of the series '' Roseanne''. The series is produced by Werner Enter ...
''
*''Funniest Pets & People''
*'' Grounded for Life''
*''Home Improvement
The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...
''
*'' Just for Laughs Gags''
*'' Last Man Standing''
*'' Man with a Plan''
*''The Millers
''The Millers'' is an American sitcom television series that was created by Greg Garcia (producer), Greg Garcia and stars Will Arnett as Nathan Miller and Margo Martindale as Carol Miller. The Multiple-camera setup, multi-camera series aired fr ...
''
*'' The Odd Couple''
*''That '70s Show
''That '70s Show'' is an American television teen sitcom that aired on Fox from August 23, 1998, to May 18, 2006. The series focuses on the lives of a group of six teenage friends living in the fictional town of Point Place, Wisconsin, from 197 ...
''
*''World's Funniest Videos: Top 10 Countdown''
Former programming
*''3rd Rock from the Sun
''3rd Rock from the Sun'' is an American television sitcom created by Bonnie and Terry Turner, which originally aired from January 9, 1996, to May 22, 2001, on NBC. The show is about four Extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrials who are on an e ...
''
*''The Bernie Mac Show
''The Bernie Mac Show'' (often shortened to ''Bernie Mac'' in syndication) is an American sitcom television series created by Larry Wilmore, that aired on Fox for five seasons from November 14, 2001, to April 14, 2006. The series featured Ber ...
''
*''Cybill
''Cybill'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre, which aired for four seasons and 87 episodes on CBS from January 2, 1995, to July 13, 1998. Starring Cybill Shepherd, the show revolves around the life of Cybill Sheridan, a t ...
''
*''A Different World
''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...
''
*'' Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza''
*''The Drew Carey Show
''The Drew Carey Show'' is an American television sitcom that aired on ABC from September 13, 1995, to September 8, 2004. Set in Cleveland, Ohio, the series revolved around the retail office and home life of "everyman" Drew Carey, a fictionaliz ...
''
*''Ellen
Ellen is a female given name, a diminutive of Elizabeth (given name), Elizabeth, Eleanor, Elena, and Helen (given name), Helen. Ellen was the 609th most popular name in the U.S. and the 17th in Sweden in 2004.
People named Ellen include:
* Elle ...
''
*''Empty Nest
''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to June 17, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Richa ...
''
*''Everybody Hates Chris
''Everybody Hates Chris'' (stylized in all lowercase) is an American semi-autobiographical sitcom created by Chris Rock and Ali LeRoi that originally aired on UPN from 2005 to 2006, and then on The CW until 2009. The series is based loosely ...
''
*'' Grace Under Fire''
*''How I Met Your Mother
''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...
''
*''Life's Funniest Moments''
*''Night Court
''Night Court'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on NBC on January 4, 1984, and ended on May 31, 1992, after nine seasons consisting of List of Night Court episodes, 193 episodes. The show is set in the night shift of a Manhattan ...
''
*''Roseanne
''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...
''
*''Saturday Morning LaffBacks''
*'' Spin City''
Affiliates
, Laff has 425 current or pending affiliation agreements with television stations in 48 states, plus the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...
, covering 91.3% of the United States.
References
External links
*
{{Commons category, Laff (TV network)
2015 establishments in the United States
Television networks in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 2015
Comedy television networks
Classic television networks
Nostalgia television in the United States
E. W. Scripps Company