Motherload Launches, With :30 Pre-Roll Ads

Viacom’s Comedy Central has gone live with its new broadband video channel, Motherload, serving some of its top-rated shows online in three-minute chunks.

The site’s 80 short videos a week will combine new and archival programs. The first batch, available today, consist of three to four minute clips from “The Daily Show,” “South Park,” “Chappelle’s Show” and “The Colbert Report,” along with online-only offerings like “Meet the Creeps,” “Odd Todd,” and “I Love the Thirties.”

The ads so far consist of :30 pre-roll spots for advertisers like Energizer and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. While the ads and content play, a static unit for the current advertiser remains visible in the window.

Verizon was named by Comedy Central as a launch sponsor for the channel, but its ads were not immediately visible on the site.

“Comedy Central’s young adult audience is made up of technically savvy and avid Web users,” said Beth Lewand, VP of digital media for Comedy Central, in a statement. “‘MotherLoad,’ is the latest addition to [our] multiplatform strategy, delivering content anywhere, anytime.”

Comedian Greg Giraldo is the channel’s host. Every weekday he’ll provide a minute-long roundup of the new material to be found there.