Viva Plus on the way to becoming a comedy channel

For some time now, MTV has only been playing music videos at off-peak times - early in the morning and at night. Now its little brother Viva Plus, which belongs to MTV Networks, is following suit. If everything goes according to plan, a non-stop comedy program will be flickering across the channel from next winter. The new offer is intended to attract a further specialist audience, with a focus on adults up to the age of 49. MTV boss Catherine Mühlemann told the Aargauer Zeitung that the first comedy channel on German free TV is being established. The MTV Group already operates Comedy Central in the USA and comedy channels in Europe, some of them with considerable success. The German offshoot is to consist of a balanced mix of international and national productions. A program from the subsidiary Brainpool, which produces "TV total", "Die Wochenshow" and "Mein neuer Freund", among others, would be conceivable for the domestic material. Paramount Comedy is in play as a possible title for the channel. Around one and a half years ago, MTV Networks swallowed up the Viva Group. But anyone who assumes that this growth strategy means more music on television is wrong: the channel's clip offering has been steadily shrinking for years.