"Open Mic Challenge" Videos Featured on Jokes.com, comedycentral.com, Facebook, Mobile Phones and PDAs and On-Air at COMEDY CENTRAL

The First Challenge Favorites To Be Announced And Featured on COMEDY CENTRAL During July 4 Weekend

COMEDY CENTRAL's Jokes.com, the premier online destination and home for stand-up comedy, has opened the playing field for its extensive network of comedy fans and aspiring comedians with the launch of "Open Mic Challenge." The monthly multi-platform-themed stand-up video challenge gives users the opportunity to upload homemade stand-up videos that will be featured on Jokes.com, comedycentral.com, Facebook and mobile handsets. Some of the best videos, selected by users as well as the COMEDY CENTRAL and Jokes.com staff, will be announced and featured on-air on COMEDY CENTRAL. The first challenge favorites will be unveiled and showcased on COMEDY CENTRAL during the July 4th weekend.

Each month, Jokes.com's "Open Mic Challenge" will team up with a COMEDY CENTRAL stand-up talent to present a new themed challenge. For two weeks, users can upload their own homemade stand-up video on Jokes.com. The "Open Mic Challenge" videos are featured on Jokes.com, comedycentral.com, as well as Facebook, MySpace and mobile handsets, enabling fans to watch and comment on their favorite aspiring comedians. Once the particular challenge ends, the winners will be announced and featured on-air on COMEDY CENTRAL.

The first "Open Mic Challenge," (http://community.jokes.com/give-us-your-best) themed "Give Us Your Best ___," was introduced and hosted by comedian Kristen Schaal. "Give Us Your Best ___" asked users to pay tribute to one of their favorite comics by doing an impression or creating an original stand-up performance inspired by that comedian. The favorites will be revealed and their videos will be featured in on-air interstitials alongside footage of the comedy greats who inspired them on COMEDY CENTRAL during July 4th weekend.

Comedian Kristen Schaal will continue as host for the July and August challenges. The second "Open Mic Challenge," themed "Life's A Beach," will launch on July 8. Participants will be asked to submit summertime-related videos. The third "Open Mic Challenge" launches on August 5. It will be themed "Best of the Web" and participants will be asked to upload Internet-related material.

COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network, currently is seen in more than 95 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. For up-to-the-minute and archival press information and photographs visit Press Central, COMEDY CENTRAL's press Web site at www.comedycentral.com/press.

Aileen Budow, +1-212-767-3952, aileen.budow@comedycentral.com
Web Site: http://www.comedycentral.com