New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTVN Entertainment Group announced this week the launch of Atom.com, a re-imagined version of its AtomFilms unit as a digital comedy network that will partner with the company's Comedy Central network to distribute original programming across digital platforms. Atom.com will also produce a half-hour series, "Atom TV," that had its premiere on Comedy Central this week.

Hulu.com., the joint venture between Fox and NBC that provides streaming video content online, announced a deal this week that The Colbert Report and The Daily Show are now available through the site. Hulu.com came out of beta on March 15 and has seen a steady share of US Internet traffic since, as illustrated in the following chart.

Philadelphia - Comcast (NASD: CMCSA) announced on Monday that it has added full-length streaming episodes of Viacom-owned programs including "South Park," "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" to the offering at its Fancast.com service. As part of the deal, Comcast's video-on-demand service will also expand carriage of standard and HD content from MTV and BET.

New York - South Park Digital Studios, a joint venture between "South Park" creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Comedy Central, on Wednesday launched a new website where users can watch every episode of the 12-season series for free.

Beginning next Wednesday, January 2nd, writers for CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman and Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson will return to work after 8 weeks on strike, the AP writes. The Writers Guild of America came to an interim agreement with Worldwide Pants, the production company for both shows owned by Letterman. "I am grateful to the WGA for granting us this agreement," the AP quoted Letterman as saying.

Following the leads of Conan O’Brien, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, and Craig Ferguson, Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show and Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, will resume their shows on January 7th, according to NoFactZone. The shows had been on hold since the WGA strike began on November 5th, and will return without their writers, who are expected to still be striking at that time. Comedy Central released the following statement:

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks has announced plans to make every episode of its Comedy Central network's "South Park" animated series available online for free streaming, Reuters reports.

New York - Viacom's Comedy Central cable network launched a dedicated website for its "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" program on Thursday, which features almost every episode the program has aired in its nine-year history.

New York - Viacom's MTV Networks announced on Friday that it is developing two dozen new targeted websites for its various TV and other properties, as part of its "360-degree development process across all platforms," and will count more than 300 by the end of the year.

New York - The creators of the animated series "South Park" on Viacom's Comedy Central cable network have secured a deal with the company to launch a joint venture that will incubate original material, including video games, across the Internet and mobile platforms, The New York Times reported.

New York - Viacom's Comedy Central cable network announced on Thursday a multi-year agreement with Canadian broadcaster CTV, giving CTV the exclusive broadcast and digital rights to Comedy Central programming. CTV may air Comedy Central content across a number of TV, online, VOD and mobile platforms in Canada, including on its own The Comedy Network. Canadian visitors seeking ComedyCentral.com will now be re-directed to TheComedyNetwork.ca.

Los Angeles - Norman Lear, a political activist and creator of TV shows including "All in the Family" and "Good Times," is producing a series of voter awareness short films that will be distributed on popular video sites like YouTube and MySpace, Variety reported. Lear has recruited writers including Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon ("Reno 911!"), and is in talks with Doug Ellin ("Entourage") and Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy"), to create shorts for the series. The spots will also be broadcast on-air before the election, through partners Comedy Central and Clear Channel.

New York - Viacom's Comedy Central on Tuesday announced the launch of an online stand-up comedy competition, "Open Mic Fight," that Burger King has signed on to sponsor. Seventy-two regional finalists will be chosen from videos submitted online, who will be narrowed down through a mix of online voting and live regional stand-up competitions to three contestants, from which online voters will choose a winner. The grand prize includes an appearance on a Comedy Central stand-up show; exposure on ComedyCentral.com, iTunes and mobile platforms; a slot opening on a Comedy Central Live Tour; talent representation and $10,000 cash.