Ha! (TV channel)
MTV Networks | |
History | |
---|---|
Launched | April 1, 1990 |
Closed | April 1, 1991 (1 year, 0 days) |
Replaced by | Comedy Central |
Ha!: TV Comedy Network (commonly known as Ha!) was an American pay television channel owned by Viacom; it was one of the first American all-comedy channels available in basic-tier television offers. Launched on April 1, 1990, at 7 p.m. ET,[2] it competed with another startup comedy-oriented cable channel, HBO-owned The Comedy Channel. In 1991, the two channels merged to form Comedy Central.
Background
Programming
Unlike The Comedy Channel, which focused on stand-up comedy specials and clips of classic comedy feature films, Ha!'s programming centered largely on acquired off-network
The channel name was culled by MTV Networks from a list of 400 possible suggestions by branding agency Fred/Alan, Inc., New York, whose creative team created the logo, branding, advertising, and was the primary consultant on the on-air promotion.[4] As with other channels owned by MTV Networks, the logo was designed in an approach that gave it many variations, each with a different illustrative approach.
Towards the end of 1990, with costs on both sides of the competitive equation struggling to meet the limited needs of cable systems' even limited capacity, HBO and Viacom agreed to merge their respective comedy channels. Ha! and Comedy Channel combined to create CTV: The Comedy Network, which began airing on April 1, 1991;
Original programming
- Access America (December 7, 1990–1991)
- Afterdrive (November 1, 1990–1991)
- The Big Room
- Clash!
- Comics Only (December 31, 1990–1991)
- London Underground
- Random Acts of Variety
Acquired programming
- The Abbott and Costello Show (October–December 1990)
- All Is Forgiven
- The Associates
- The Bad News Bears
- The Best of Groucho
- The Betty White Show
- Best of the West (April–November 1990)
- Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (September 1990)
- Bridget Loves Bernie
- Camp Runamuck
- Candid Camera
- Captain Nice
- Car 54, Where Are You?
- The Charmings
- C.P.O. Sharkey (April–December 1990)
- The Duck Factory
- Fractured Flickers
- Fresno (June–July 1990)
- The Jack Benny Program
- Laurel and Hardy
- Love, American Style
- The Lucy Show
- Mad Movies with the L.A. Connection
- McHale's Navy
- Mork & Mindy
- The New Candid Camera
- Occasional Wife
- The Phil Silvers Show
- Phyllis
- Quark
- Rhoda
- Saturday Night Live
- SCTV
- The Steve Allen Show
- Tabitha (June–October 1990)
- The Texas Wheelers (April–November 1990)
- That Girl
- The Tim Conway Show (May–June 1990)
- The Tony Randall Show
- TV's Bloopers and Practical Jokes
- When Things Were Rotten
- Whose Line Is It Anyway?
- Working Stiffs
- Your Show of Shows
References
- ^ a b Seibert, Fed. "Positioning HA!". Fredalan.org. The Fred/Alan Archive. Archived from the original on 2020-07-12. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ Jim Sullivan, Globe Staff. "Cable Comedy: No Laughing Matter", The Boston Globe, March 30, 1990.
- ^ Ernest Tucker. "The comedy cable clash // Who will laugh last?", Chicago Sun-Times, April 1, 1990.
- ^ "HA! @ The Fred/Alan Archive". Archived from the original on 2020-07-12. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ 2 Comedy Channels Will Merge Archived 2022-08-23 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, December 19, 1990.
- ^ "The Naming of Comedy Central @ The Fred/Alan Archive". Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ "Viacom buys Comedy Central". CNN. April 22, 2003. Archived from the original on October 12, 2007. Retrieved August 3, 2020.