HBO has since renamed the festival and relocated it to Las Vegas, Nevada.
[2] 2008 marked the inaugural debut of the Aspen Rooftop Comedy Festival as a replacement to the former HBO event.
RooftopComedy.com brought the focus of the festival towards an underground talent base and an online media focus, and The Wheeler Opera House ensured that the festival transitioned to an event for the Aspen community by offering affordable tickets and local discounts on festival passes.
Comedy Arts Festival had evolved into primarily an industry event, the producers of the new festival committed to creating a community for developing unproven comics, as well as presenting comedy for a devoted live-comedy audience.
Awards were presented to comedians and those working in the field of online comedy who "are doing exciting, innovative and, yes, hilarious things.