New York laff fest sets lineup

Louis C.K., Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher, Norm Macdonald, Sarah Silverman and Wanda Sykes are among the performers (more than 150 comics total) booked for this year's edition of the New York Comedy Festival. Event, which counts Variety among its media sponsors, will be held Nov. 9-13 in venues across Gotham, with tickets on sale to the general public on Aug. 15. The festival is the brainchild of Caroline Hirsch, owner and founder of New York comedy club Caroline's On Broadway, and partner Andrew Fox. Each year, the fest partners with Comedy Central, which shoulders some of the financial burden that comes with putting on scores of comedy sets, and has just inked a new three-year pact with the festival to continue its support. "About four years ago, we got ourselves refocused on (the festival)," said Comedy Central live entertainment senior VP Mitch Fried. The series, Fried explained, is vital to the development of his division. "It's important because it's live touring and homevideo and a lot of businesses that relate to standup comedy; it's very important to us in terms of brand positioning for the network and in terms of relationships with the talent." Like any big corporate event, the shows provide Comedy Central with a chance to schmooze with ad buyers and VIPs, but the festival also gives execs a chance to check out talented non-headliners looking to venture further into television. It also provides the opportunity to film sets that can be broadcast on the network. Contact Sam Thielman at sam.thielman@variety.com