TCLtv+ partners with Best Ever Channels
May 15, 2024
TCLtv+, the flagship streaming service offered by consumer electronics company, TCL, has announced a deal with branded content studio and digital syndicator Best Ever Channels and its original comedy FAST channel, WITZ Comedy-TV. The partnership will bring some of the brightest rising comedy talent to TCLtv+ in a unique collaboration for its new original special WITZ Live at Just For Laughs – Presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The special will be available exclusively on AVOD before premiering on WITZ Comedy-TV on TCLtv+.
WITZ Live at Just for Laughs – Presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka is the first entry in the original programming space for TCLtv+ and will be featured, alongside WITZ Comedy-TV, as Showcase content on the Google Feature page, as well as the platform’s FAST channel menu and AVOD “Comedy” category. Hosted by actor/comedian Tone Bell (Netflix’s Drink Masters and Survival of the Thickest), WITZ Live at Just for Laughs – Presented by Tito’s Handmade Vodka features a lineup of rising comics, including Erica Rhodes, Ian Lara, Erin Jackson, Orlando Leyba, Amos Gill and directed by Frank Mosca. The special was filmed in Montreal, Canada and co-produced with Angry Buddha Films and Just for Laughs TV.
“We are delighted to become the exclusive premiere partner for WITZ Live at Just For Laughs and look forward to even bigger collaborations with the teams at WITZ-Comedy TV and Best Ever Channels,” says TCL North America Chief Content Officer Chris Regina. “This alliance demonstrates the creative way in which we approach partnerships, and we are excited that our viewers are the real winners as they enjoy a highly curated roster of comedy talent.”
WITZ Comedy-TV, is an original digital comedy brand and platform, production studio, and FAST channel created and co-owned by BEC and New York’s The Stand, Inc. the channel features fresh comedy specials, shorts, and other programming from top comedic talent. With a focus on fresh and inventive programming, notable WITZ Comedy-TV highlights include the television debut of VOS Anonymous featuring Rich Vos, the premiere of Natalie Cuomo’s Shut Up You Loved It! special, Bret Ernst’s comedic showcase, Domesticated Animal, and more.
“As FAST and the free streaming ecosystem evolve, WITZ is breaking new ground in the original, branded content space and delivering the content that viewers and advertisers crave,” says Best Ever Channels Co-CEO Barry Gordon. “We’re proud to partner with TCLtv+, a brand that shares our vision for building a new comedy platform that gives talent the freedom to thrive and connect with audiences in search of fresh laughs alongside classic comedy.”
The Stand NYC comedy club will host a series of watch party screenings of WITZ Live at Just for Laughs on a TCL 85” SMART television permanently housed in The Stand’s iconic New York venue. Club patrons will also be able to watch streaming feeds of the WITZ Comedy-TV FAST Channel at the venue.
WITZ Comedy-TV joins a robust slate of programming recently added to the TCLtv+ streaming app, which is currently available to TCL Google TV and will soon be available on all other TCL Connected TVs in the US and Canada. TCLtv+’s rapidly expanding free service now includes more than 330 FAST Channels and thousands of premium film and TV series from major and independent studios, including Scripps Media, Fremantle, NBCUniversal, Sony, Lionsgate, FilmRise, A&E, Banijay, and more. Recent partnerships include comprehensive content deals with FOX and the NFL. The streamer recently announced its entry into original AI content with an AI powered romance title, Next Stop Paris, scheduled to premiere this summer.