Viacom gets all comedy's laughs now. (Cable).(buyout of Comedy Central)

From: Broadcasting & Cable | Date: April 28, 2003| Author: Romano, Allison | Copyright information

It's hardly a stretch to imagine the boys from South Park sharing a corporate home with MTV's The Osbournes and guy channel Spike TV. Now, with Viacom Inc. buying out AOL Time Warner's stake in Comedy Central, the channel that's just for laughs gets a chance to thrive off both a big-media parent and its well matched cable portfolio.

After much speculation, Viacom, which already owns half of Comedy, agreed last week to pony up $1.23 billion in cash for AOL's 50% stake. I...

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