Comedy Central’s digital content is expanding globally, as the world’s largest global comedy brand and Viacom Digital Studios International (VDSI) announce the greenlights of localized versions of the internationally originated short-form series “Comedians Solve World Problems.” The new series will roll out in 10 territories: U.S., MENA, Asia, GSA, France, Spain, Benelux, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil.
These global greenlights follow the success of the series’ first season, which was produced by Comedy Central International for the U.K. Now through VDSI, the series is expanding to more regions, including the U.S. – a first for any Comedy Central International short form.
The U.S. and Asia have completed production with five and 10 episodes, respectively. MENA, GSA, France, Spain and South Africa are nearing completion of production with eight episodes per territory. Mexico and Brazil are currently in pre-production, and Benelux is slated for production later this year.
In each region, a portion of the total episodes will feature one world problem across all regional versions. The remaining episodes will focus on local news. Each episode will spotlight two comedians, with up to 20 total comics from each territory. The show will run on local markets’ digital and social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat beginning in March 2019. In Asia, the series will be featured on the linear channel as well as on the local Comedy Central Play App in selected territories.
The first season of “Comedians Solve World Problems” generated over 5 million total views to date. Each episode ran between 1-3 minutes and was available across territories in Southern & Western Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Central & East Europe.
With the recent launch of VDSI, Viacom introduced production hubs in Buenos Aires, New York and London to increase the international output of its short-form digital content. In 2017, Comedy Central produced 14 short-form shows like “Josh Investigates,” “Comedians Solve World Problems” and “Bad Snappers” in 150 territories on owned and operated social platforms. Now, through VDSI, Comedy Central plans to produce 20 additional short-forms through 2019.
