• by Adam Buckman , April 1, 2016

Comedy Central became the latest TV network to launch its upfront sales season with bold plans to produce more and more original content.

The Viacom-owned comedy channel announced a 2016-17 content development slate Thursday morning in advance of its upfront presentation held later that day at Town Hall in Manhattan.

Comedy Central’s development plans for new programs include five series pickups, 10 new specials and 11 pilot orders. A day earlier, the network announced it was renewing seven of its existing series for new seasons, and giving a first-season extension to one other show, “Not Safe With Nikki Glaser,” in which host Glaser and her comedian guests talk about all things sexual.

The network had previously announced renewals for four shows -- “South Park,” “Inside Amy Schumer,” “Workaholics” and “Broad City.”

The network also announced development and production deals with a slew of production companies and top comedy talent in an effort to ensure its position as TV’s dominant brand in comedic entertainment.

“The scope of the announcements further solidify Comedy Central as the home of the smartest, funniest series and talent with the most vibrant, expansive and multiplatform development pipeline in the industry,” the network stated.

The cabler's development slate includes specials starring Jordan Klepper, correspondent on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah,” and comedian and roast master Jeff Ross -- whose upcoming special will have him roasting a gathering of police officers. Also, a series of stand-up specials featuring new and upcoming comedians, and two specials produced by and starring Kevin Hart.

The network announced development deals with Klepper and another “Daily Show” correspondent, Jessica Williams, plus deals with Schumer, Chris Hardwick, Channing Tatum, Olivia Wilde, Jack Black, Eva Longoria, Ed Helms, Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone. In the press releases, the announcements were attributed to Kent Alterman, president of original programming for Comedy Central.

Comedy Central’s renewals included “Tosh.O,” “Drunk History,” “Review” and “This is Not Happening.”

“As anyone can see, we are continuing our tradition of collaborating with the smartest, funniest talent -- both established and emerging, and in front of or behind the camera -- to develop content across every imaginable platform, whether through long form, short form or ephemeral form, that is always bound by a strong, distinctive point of view,” Alterman said in a prepared statement.

In announcing so much new and returning content in one fell swoop, Comedy Central is joining the growing number of TV networks that are promoting their prodigious production of original content in this new upfront sales season.

Ever since Nickelodeon kicked off the upfront presentation season on March 2, cable networks have been promising advertisers that increasing the number of original shows is central to growing their audiences in the coming year.

The list includes Game Show Network, which got the ball rolling on March 8 with a vow to continue its development of originals. “The commitment we’ve made for expanding original programming that we’ve talked about over the past few years has achieved exactly what we promised it would,” GSN President and CEO David Goldhill said at the time.

On March 15, National Geographic Channel unveiled an ambitious list of originals representing many hours of new series, limited-run event specials and one-offs that were global in scope.

This past Tuesday, it was Scripps Networks’ turn to promote its reliance on first-run programming for attracting and retaining its viewing audience.

In a presentation preview for the press, Scripps’ head of ad sales, Jon Steinlauf, said the Scripps networks – HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, DIY and Great American Country – produce more than 2,500 hours of new programming annually, an astonishing amount.

The reason: Scripps is trying to create an environment in which viewers rarely encounter a rerun when they tune into any Scripps network. It’s a daunting task, but an effort that Scripps feels is paying off in viewer loyalty – something the company positions as a singular strength going into upfront season.

With 12 networks distributed internationally, Discovery Networks is positioning its investment in new programming prominently in its upfront presentation this year. At a press preview of the company’s upfront presentation Thursday in New York, Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav said the company “invested another $300 million in content” this past year.

At the same event, Discovery’s Henry Schleiff -- group president overseeing Investigation Discovery (ID), American Heroes Channel and Destination America -- noted that ID alone will produce 650 hours of original content in 2016. “Incredibly, for the math majors in the room, this means that 360 out of 365 nights in 2016, we’ll have premieres,” Schleiff said. 

Like Scripps, ID’s strategy of limiting its reruns is aimed at building viewer loyalty. In its upfront presentation, ID is boasting of having “the No. 1 length-of-tune in all of television for four straight years. More people watch ID for long periods of uninterrupted time than any other network -- cable or broadcast,” Schleiff said.