LAFF, the country’s first-ever, over-the-air broadcast comedy television network officially launched on Wednesday.
In time for its debut, the network has licensed the broadcast television rights to all 145 episodes of sitcom “Spin City” from Paramount Worldwide Television Licensing & Distribution.
Michael J. Fox headlined four seasons of “Spin City,” which centered around life inside the New York City mayor’s office. The series also featured Heather Locklear, Barry Bostwick, Richard Kind, Alan Ruck and Connie Britton. Charlie Sheen replaced Fox for the series’ final two seasons.
The addition of “Spin City” brings LAFF’s tally to nearly 1,000 episodes of popular contemporary sitcoms, including “The Drew Carey Show,” “Night Court,” Ellen DeGeneres’ first sitcom “Ellen”, “Empty Nest,” and “Grace Under Fire.”
LAFF is carried on the signals of local broadcast television stations with corresponding cable carriage, while standalone digital content is available at their website and via the LAFF TV app. Starting Wednesday, the network is available to half the country, including in 18 of the top 25 markets like New York, LA, and Chicago.
LAFF also features such movies as “Jerry Maguire,” “Clerks,” “This is Spinal Tap,” “The Fisher King” and “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.”
LAFF was created as part of the Katz Broadcasting portfolio. Katz Broadcasting was established in 2014 by Bounce TV founder/COO and former Turner Broadcasting executive Jonathan Katz. Katz is president and CEO of the company while also still serving as COO of Bounce TV.