British TV and Radio Stations - British Comedy Guide

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At the top of this page is a list of the 12 main TV and radio stations broadcasting new British comedy. Below that is a list of other channels. Click on any channel to find out more about that station and to obtain a list of the new comedies it has broadcast...

	BBC One The BBC puts its most mainstream and highest rated comedies on BBC1, many of the shows are sitcoms suitable for the whole family. Friday night between 8:30pm and 10pm is where most new series are scheduled. Before BBC2 existed, all the BBC's TV output was via this station.
	BBC Two BBC Two is the British Broadcasting Corporation's second major terrestrial television channel. It aims to deliver intelligent yet popular comedy shows and, as a result, the comedies shown on this channel tend to be a bit more quirky and cult than those on BBC1. New comedy is normally scheduled on Thursday nights between 9pm and 10:30pm.
	BBC Three BBC Three is the BBC's youth channel, available via digital platforms including Freeview. The channel broadcasts comedy aimed at the 25 to 34-year-old age group. Many of the comedies on this channel are quite experimental in nature - BBC3 is now often used as a test bed for nurturing hit comedies for BBC Two and BBC One.
	BBC Four BBC4 exists to provide alternatives to programmes on mainstream TV and thus the comedies found on this channel tend to be quite niche in scope. As BBC Four is focused on arts and factual series, it does not have much room for comedy - however, so far, it does have a very high hit rate in regards to the original comedy that it has commissioned.
	ITV1 ITV1 is the generic on-screen brand name used by the twelve franchises of the ITV Network in the United Kingdom. This channel has had considerable success with British comedy in the past but it has struggled to create popular comedy for the new generation. It currently only has two comedy 'rating grabbers': Harry Hill's TV Burp and Benidorm.
	ITV2 In the last couple of years ITV2 has started to move into commissioning its own comedy shows (rather than broadcasting ITV1 repeats). So far, most of these programmes have been met favourably by the audiences that have found them, but none have yet attracted a large audience. ITV2 comedy includes Comedy Cuts, Katy Brand's Big Ass Show and No Heroics.
	Channel 4 Since 1982 Channel 4 has been investing in cult sitcoms and cutting edge comedy projects. As a result, it has broadcast many of the darker and more controversial comedies, like Nathan Barley and Brass Eye. Over the years C4 has created a number of hit sitcoms - these include Father Ted and Spaced. However, C4 is now heading slightly more mainstream by also commissioning shows like 8 Out Of 10 Cats.
	E4 E4, which launched in 2001, has recently begun to commission new British comedy shows. It has broadcast a number of pilots in the last few years, and has so far created two big hits for its parent company Channel 4 - Fonejacker and The Inbetweeners.
	Five Britain's fifth terrestrial station commissioned their first British comedy programme in 2006... but a few years down the road and they are still looking for their first comedy hit. In 2008 the channel announced that it was giving up on scripted formats and looking to move into producing cheaper formats like panel shows - but so far no new commissions have appeared.
	BBC Radio 2 Radio 2 broadcasts new comedy in the Saturday lunchtime slot of 1pm - 2pm, stand-up comedy is particularly favoured on the station.
	BBC Radio 4 Radio 4 has launched hundreds of audio comedy shows. Popular R4 comedies series which are still broadcasting include The News Quiz and Just A Minute. Many famous TV comedies actually started life in audio form on Radio 4 - Dead Ringers and Little Britain are just two of the many R4 series that went on to become TV hits. Radio 4 currently broadcasts comedy shows every weekday at 11:30am, 6:30pm and 11pm.
	BBC Radio 7 Digital radio station BBC Radio 7 is the principal outlet for the BBC's vast archive of audio comedy. Many old Radio 4 series can be heard on this station. Radio 7 has a modest budget to produce some of its own programming - Spats, Tilt and The Penny Dreadfuls are three of the comedies it has produced so far.

Other Channels

Here is a list of the other TV channels and radio stations that have broadcast at least one new British comedy programme...

The following four channels used to broadcast new British comedy, however they are no longer operating...

List Comedy By Network

You can also list comedy by network (i.e. see all the BBC's radio and TV comedy output together)...