Comedy Central Productions

Background
Before the name "Comedy Central" existed, the network was owned by an outfit called "Comedy Partners" founded by Viacom, Inc. and Time-Life (later Time Warner, now WarnerMedia). Time Warner's HBO unit had expanded into basic cable with a channel called "The Comedy Channel". Similarly, Viacom was operating "Ha! TV Comedy Network". After both channels took a hit, the two compromised and created a jointly-owned company as "Comedy Partners", merging both channels into "CTV: The Comedy Network", but later renamed it to "Comedy Central" in order to save confusion from Canada's CTV network. In April 2003, Time Warner sold their half of Comedy Partners for $1.23 billion, resulting in Viacom owning 100% of Comedy Central and the network was made part of the MTV Networks (now ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks).

1st Logo (November 1991-March 25, 1995)


Nicknames: "The Tires", "The Tire Junkyard"

Logo: The Comedy Central globe of the era (which isn't tilted to the side, has yellow text, and a heliotrope top) is placed on a pile of rusty tires on a junkyard. The "COMEDY-CENTRAL" marquee spins around from time to time.

FX/SFX: The "COMEDY-CENTRAL" marquee spinning around.

Music/Sounds: Penn Jillette saying, "This has been a presentation from Comedy Central!".

Availability: Uncommon. It's seen on the CC-era of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) up to the sixth season on VHS tapes. Also seen on several Comedy Central shows from the era. Most episodes of MST3K on PlutoTV and DVD releases have this and the HBO Downtown Productions logo removed; however, they can still be seen on one episode, "The Rebel Set".

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (March 25, 1995-June 5, 1996)


Nicknames: "Comedy Central on the Moon", "Building Earthquake", "Weird Central"

Logo: On a black background, we see the 1995 Comedy Central globe emitting blue circles with crude drawings of buildings moving around below and a giant moon on the left showing a reverse version of the Comedy Central globe spinning rapidly.

Variant: On season seven of MST3K, the logo fades in and is silent.

FX/SFX: The Comedy Central logo on the moon spinning and the Comedy Central logo emitting blue circles.

Music/Sounds: Penn Jillette saying "This has been a presentation from Comedy Central" along with some men scatting and whistling the network's generic tune from the time throughout, and ending with a man shouting "HEY!".

Availability: Seen on season one episodes of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist on DVD and VHS, and season seven of MST3K on VHS. This logo and the HBO Downtown Productions logo are retained on at least one episode of MST3K on PlutoTV, "The Starfighters".

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (June 5, 1996-November 30, 1997)
Nicknames: "The ATM", "Comedy Central ATM"

Logo: It begins with a shot of a credit card being inserted into what is presumably an ATM. It then switches to a shot of an ATM screen, with the text in green being displayed from top to bottom in a computer-type font. The text reads "Courier", followed by the Comedy Central logo (in green, tilted to its side, and with the name written in a different font), and "Courier" under the logo. The last line "blinks" a few times, becoming highlighted in green with the text in black.

Variants:
 * An interesting edit exists on the first three episodes of South Park where the "credit card" animation was kept in, but the screen in the ATM was cut because it was abruptly switched to the 4th logo.
 * Similar to the next logo, South Park episodes on their website have a copyright stamp added to the logo, along with the Comedy Central URL.

FX/SFX: The credit card being inserted, which appears to be live-action, and the ATM screen, which is CGI.

Music/Sounds: The whirring of the credit card being inserted and the "beeping" sounds, like a real ATM.

Availability: Uncommon. It's seen on Comedy Central shows of the period. The Rhino VHS and DVD releases of early South Park episodes retain this logo (it is removed on the season 1 DVD set) along with seasons two, three and four of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist. The credit card animation was still retained on some early episodes of Win Ben Stein's Money when it was aired on GSN.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (August 13, 1997-December 1, 1999)
Nicknames: "The Transmitter", "Yellow Rings"

Logo: On a background with wavy blue and gray lines, a slightly revamped version of the Comedy Central logo in blue and yellow appears at the bottom of the screen, at first being distorted, but quickly sharpening up. The transmitter on the top of the logo "activates" and then many yellow rings with the words "this has been a presentation of" inside begin to emerge from the transmitter. A white copyright stamp is shown below, along with the "comedycentral.com" URL.

Trivia: Comedy Central's logo was slightly redesigned during this period, gaining a smoother look; most notably, the small hyphen ( - ) from the "COMEDY CENTRAL" marquee was removed and the buildings are now on the United States of America, with South America placed further down on the globe.

Variant: Sometimes, the logo has no copyright stamp; only the URL in black. South Park episodes that did not have it later had it added below on the southparkstudios.com versions.

FX/SFX: The "transmitter" effects. This was done by H-Gun Studios in Chicago, IL.

Music/Sounds: An "interference" sound followed by loud synth "bong" sounds as the "rings" come out from the transmitter, or the closing theme of the show.

Music/Sound Variant: A variant with different synth "bong" sounds was seen on the South Park episode "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut".

Availability: Common. It first appeared on the first episode of South Park as part of the variant for the previous logo. The first season DVD removes this logo on all but "Cartman's Mom is a Dirty Slut", while the second season DVD features this logo intact. Preserved on DVDs and VHS tapes of season five and the first six episodes of season six of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, earlier episodes of Bob and Margret and on Comedy Central Presents episodes from the era, although the first episode is plastered by the sixth logo.

Editor's Note: This logo was and still is a favorite of many.

5th Logo (May 29, 1999-January 21, 2001, February 13, 2002)
Nicknames: "The Bubbles", "Comedy Central Aura"

Logo: On a background with what looks like bubbles floating around, the Comedy Central logo, now in white, zooms in from the center of the screen and glows. The text "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF..." is above it, and the copyright stamp for the show (usually "© [YEAR] Comedy Partners, Inc. All Rights Reserved") is below. This logo has seven different color palettes:
 * Silver background with red and silver bubbles.
 * Blue background with dark blue bubbles.
 * Green background with green and dark green bubbles.
 * Red background with dark red bubbles.
 * Gold background with gold bubbles.
 * Purple background with purple bubbles.
 * Blue background with purple bubbles.

Variants:
 * On South Park episodes on Comedy Central with compressed credits, the "zooming-in" portion of the logo is removed.
 * In later years, the URL "www.comedycentral.com" was seen at the bottom.
 * A copyright stamp was added on the South Park episodes shown at "southparkstudios.com".
 * A variant on Upright Citizens Brigade exists where the logo quickly switches between the blue/dark blue, silver/red, and green/dark green palettes.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming in, pretty simplistic animation compared to the previous logo.

Music/Sounds: A low "WHOOSH" as the logo zooms in, followed by a hip hop and techno drum fanfare (used on Comedy Central's bumpers at the time) or the closing theme of the show.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On Strangers with Candy, a techno theme (also used on Comedy Central's bumpers at the time) with something that sounds like a car's tires screeching.
 * On Comedy Central Presents, the last part of the RickMill Productions logo theme plays over the logo.
 * On Don't Forget Your Toothbrush, Win Ben Stein's Money, and South Park, it's the sound of muffled slushing and bubbling.

Availability: The silver/red/silver, blue/dark blue, green/green/dark green and red/dark red variants are uncommon. The yellow, purple, and blue/purple ones are rare. First seen on season 2 episodes of Comedy Central Presents and last seen on the Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist episode "Lerapy". The blue variant might have been seen on South Park episodes from this era, but the only evidence this logo appeared on the show is the blue-variant appearing on the episode "Prehistoric Ice Man" on the second season DVD (the rest of the episodes end with the previous logo). Nearly all of the colors can be found on DVDs of Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist episodes from the era. It also appeared on Craig Kilborn/early Jon Stewart-era The Daily Show episodes and Comedy Central Presents episodes from the era. The blue version can also be seen on the DVD of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, at the end of Comedy Central's Canned Ham: The Dr. Evil Story (a fake documentary tying in with the film).

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (October 2000-May 28, 2004)
Logo: Over a shaded orange background, we see lots of yellow circles zooming in toward the camera. Each circle has a different close-up of the current Comedy Central logo (much like the original, but looking more abstract, with different buildings and a different font) and the text "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF" scrolling to the right. When the circles move away, we are treated with the end product, the updated Comedy Central logo in the center with "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF" above in black, and "comedycentral.com" below, in white, and circles moving behind the logo.

Variants:
 * On later seasons of South Park, this logo starts with the finished product on numerous episodes, bypassing the circles. A copyright stamp for Comedy Partners is included. A few episodes keep the animation as usual, but still have the copyright notice plastered over all the animation. The first variant also appeared on Comedy Central Presents.
 * Versions where the background is blue or green instead of orange exist.
 * Current reruns of South Park keep this logo intact; however, it is part of the split screen credits. Therefore, sometimes the logo is extended to fit with the length of the commercial (in case it is too long). This is done by having the logo play as normal with the last bit of the circle animation going on a continuous loop when the finished product appears.

FX/SFX: Pretty inspired animation.

Music/Sounds: A funky bass/guitar sounder that loops itself, not unlike music heard on Comedy Central's commercial tags at the time. It depends on the variant.

Music/Sounds Variant: Sometimes, if the logo is plastering older Comedy Central logos, the original logo's audio will still be heard.

Availability: Common. It seen on programs from the time, such as South Park and Comedy Central Presents. The audio variant could be heard on later prints of the un-aired South Park pilot, as well as the remastered prints of early seasons of said show. The blue background variant appears on the TV movie Windy City Heat, and on Gerhard Reinke's Wanderlust. The green variant appeared on Beat the Geeks and Let's Bowl!.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (2004-)


Logo: Just the in-credit text "THIS HAS BEEN A PRESENTATION OF COMEDY CENTRAL" with a copyright stamp below.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on all recent Comedy Central originals.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (2004-2005?)
Nickname: "Hip-Hop Central"

Logo: On a yellow-orange background, we see several graffiti designs in different styles moving and a grunge-like Comedy Central logo, then it zooms in to the logo in the center with "this has been a presentation of" above, and "comedycentral.com" below.

FX/SFX: Graffiti animation.

Music/Sounds: A hip-hop/techno tune.

Availability: Seen on the pilot of Crank Yankers coming from the 2004 DVD release.

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo (2004-2005?)
Nickname: "Hip-Hop Central II"

Logo: On a red background, we see a close-up of the then-current Comedy Central logo, which zooms out as the camera cuts to the text "THIS HAS BEEN" and "A PRESENTATION OF" sliding next to what looks like melting graffiti. "THIS HAS BEEN" flickers, and the screen then cuts to another close-up of the Comedy Central logo as the text slides in at an angle, and the white parts of the logo briefly flash to black. The text flickers again and we see the logo appear in white once again. Everything flickers, as the logo changes its position and flickers between black and white. This all continues until it cuts to black.

Variant: There is a version that has the word "PRESENTATION" misspelled as "PRESENTATON".

FX/SFX: The flickers, the cuts.

Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo.

Availability: Rare, as this logo was limited to DVD releases of Comedy Central shows at the time.
 * Notable releases with this logo include Seasons 4-6 of South Park as well as Season 2 of Reno 911!.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo (2005-December 31, 2010)


Nickname: "Hip-Hop Central III"

Logo: On a lime green background, we see an extreme close-up of a white grunge-like Comedy Central logo with the holes in the letters "O", "R" and "A" filled in, skewed to the right and flashing a bit, then it suddenly cuts to a normal version of the logo next to a green, white, and blue cloud with the text "PRODUCTIONS" in a grunge-like font with all holes filled in. A copyright stamp with the year of the South Park episode's release next to it appears below in white.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: A rough guitar tune.

Availability: Rare. It used to be seen on syndicated reruns of South Park, among other Comedy Central shows such as The Sarah Silverman Program, but it has been deleted on most syndication prints now. It is still used in the UK.

Editor's Note: None.

11th Logo (January 1, 2011)


Nicknames: "The Double C", "Rapid Zooming", "Boredom Central", "Comedymark"

Logo: On a robin's egg blue background, the camera zooms into the upper right corner of the new Comedy Central logo, which features a black letter "C" inside a bigger reverse black "C", revealing the text "COMEDY CENTRAL" in a bold white font, with the new logo in the upper right corner of the text. We zoom into the new logo, revealing the "COMEDY CENTRAL" text, but with the word "CENTRAL" upside-down. The new Comedy Central logo squeezes into the middle of the text.

Trivia: Comedy Central introduced the new logo on December 10, 2010 and debuted it on January 1, 2011.

FX/SFX: The rapid zoom-ins.

Music/Sounds: A cool rock tune, which is actually a piece of production music featured in many promos for other ViacomCBS-owned networks (most notably Nickelodeon).

Availability: Seen only on the 2011 Comedy Central rebrand montage.

Editor's Note: None.

12th Logo (2012-2019?)
Nicknames: "The Double C II", "Boredom Central II", "Computer-Distorted C", "Comedymark II"

Logo: On a dark gray background, the two "C"s from the previous logo briefly wipe in while flickering. Then, the words "COMEDY" and "CENTRAL" (with "CENTRAL" upside-down) appear on the left and right side respectively. The final result has a robin's egg blue color similar to the background of the previous logo. A copyright stamp appears below.

FX/SFX: The wiping of the logo and the text appearing.

Music/Sounds: Three electronic xylophone notes, followed by two high synth notes. A noise sounding like a TV tuner interference can also be heard in the background.

Availability: Appears on international (including Latin American) prints of Comedy Central programs.

Editor's Note: None.

13th Logo (2018- )
Logo: We see the text "COMEDY CENTRAL PRODUCTIONS" with the words stacked on top of each other in white. The network's "C" logo in yellow occupies the space next to the former two words.

Variant: This logo often shares the screen with other logos.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Current. So far, it was only seen on the new series of Reno 911! and will likely appear on future Comedy Central originals.

Editor's Note: None.