It’s not exactly a laughing matter that two of the last holdouts for going HD among prime-time shows on Comedy Central are its two most popular, especially since it’s been nearly a year since the laugh network first announced its intentions to make a full transition.
Now with both series’ first programs of the new year—airing on Monday, Jan. 4—“The Daily Show” with fake anchor Jon Stewart and the “Colbert Report” with equally fake anchor Stephen Colbert will finally look sharper (at least physically and widen their horizons to 16:9.
The back-to-back 30-minute shows air Monday–Thursday in the 11 p.m.–midnight hour in the Eastern and Pacific Time zones.
Some Comedy Central shows such as “Southpark” had already made the HD leap in 2009, but according to published reports, Stewart and Colbert’s “newscasts” were delayed in their HD transition because both programs’ duel CR still had to be used four nights a week to pump out new shows in SD.
Still, feeding content from the source in newly acquired HD and viewing them at home in HD are two different matters—and figuring out exactly how soon cablers and DBS providers will give Comedy Central a coveted channel assignment in their respective HD tiers is yet to be determined.
