Comedy Tonight: Colbert, Stewart Re-Up Through 2012

John Stewart and Stephen Colbert

Late-night cable giants Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have re-upped their contracts with Comedy Central through the 2012 presidential election. 

The network has signed the two hosts -- from "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report," respectively, to new contracts. Stewart's contract extension will keep him at the desk of "The Daily Show" through June 2013. He will continue to serve as executive producer, writer and host.

Colbert's extension is until the end of 2012. Colbert, who preaches his own brand of "truthiness," also serves as executive producer, writer and host for "The Colbert Report."

Both shows -- which parody politics, pop culture and the media -- have won Emmy and Peabody awards.

Doug Herzog, the president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group, which includes Comedy Central, told The New York Times the new contracts were "a big deal. For us, election years are like Olympic years." The two politically oriented comedy shows hosted by the two stars -- "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" -- enjoy big ratings bumps in presidential election years.

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"The Daily Show" and "Colbert," per the NYT, attract more young viewers than even the late-night shows on the broadcast networks. Comedy Central, a division of Viacom, is seen in more than 98 million homes nationwide.

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