Comedy Central Promotes Paul Beddoe-Stephens to Vice President, Digital Media

Longtime Digital Creative Exec Assumes Management Role

NEW YORK, November 7, 2007 -- COMEDY CENTRAL® has promoted Paul Beddoe-Stephens to vice president, digital media, it was announced by Erik Flannigan, executive vice president, digital media, MTV Networks’ Entertainment Group, to whom Beddoe-Stephens reports. Based in the comedy network’s New York offices, Beddoe-Stephens had been senior director, design & editorial, of the department.

In his new role, Beddoe-Stephens will manage COMEDY CENTRAL's digital department and lead the network's new media initiatives on its own Web sites, new platforms and digital distribution partners. He will continue to guide development of deep digital extensions to COMEDY CENTRAL on-air programming and specials, as he did for the recent launch of the new TheDailyShow.com.

"Paul brings thoughtful and creative digital leadership to the channel," said Flannigan. "He's been at COMEDY CENTRAL since its nascent days on the Web and helped establish the network as a digital leader. With an ambitious agenda to launch more vertical sites like the DailyShow.com and to redesign our flagship site, Paul's leadership will be critical to our continued success."

Beddoe-Stephens joined COMEDY CENTRAL in 1999 as Web producer, was promoted to senior producer, creative in 2002 and director of creative in 2004, and rose to become senior director, design and editorial, in 2006. During that time, Beddoe-Stephens helped lead the expansion of COMEDY CENTRAL’s digital media group from a 5-person team (1999) to current multiplatform organization, with 50+ staff, reaching over 5.2 million unique visitors per month (ComScore Media Metrix, September 2007).

Prior to COMEDY CENTRAL, Beddoe-Stephens was an editor at Hearst Special Publications in New York City (1995-99) and was a freelance writer covering digital business and art for publications including Wired.com, Sidewalk.com, Tribe Magazine and Houston Heights Newspaper from 1994-99.

He holds a BA degree from Columbia University in New York City.

This announcement follows several recent digital highlights and milestones reached across MTV Networks. In September, MTVN attracted nearly 45 million unique visitors in the U.S., and nearly 92 million worldwide, across its online portfolio, according to comScore Media Metrix. The company recently unveiled plans to roll out Flux, a next-generation social media platform that will grow to span the company’s young adult-and adult-directed websites and be open across the Internet. MTVN also has announced a development slate of two dozen targeted websites that will bring the company’s global website portfolio to more than 300 sites by year’s end. In August, the company announced that it will invest more than $500 million over the next two years in the development and distribution of its gaming business, to deeper serve and drive engagement among its core demographic audiences.

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 91 million homes nationwide. COMEDY CENTRAL is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned division of VIACOM Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) MTV Networks. COMEDY CENTRAL's Internet address is www.comedycentral.com.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 140 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC,MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Source: Comedy Central

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