Comedy Central is an Indian pay television channel owned by JioStar under a license agreement with Paramount Networks EMEAA.

[2] To promote the then new channel and nudge viewers its way the group organised a live event featuring British comedian Russell Brand who performed in a three-city tour of New Delhi, Bangalore, and Mumbai, the biggest markets for English programming in India.

[4] Comedy Central HD was launched on 1 July 2015 to provide the 1080i HDTV simultaneous feed Comedy Central was prohibited from broadcasting in India for 10 days, from 25 May until 4 June 2012, after an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting found that two of its shows that aired in 2012, carried "obscene dialogues and vulgar words" that "offend good taste", violating several provisions of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.

[5] The incidents in question involved an episode of Stand Up Club where an unnamed stand-up performed an act with "obscene dialogues and vulgar words derogatory to women" aired on 26 May 2012, and an episode of the French hidden camera prank show PopCorn TV aired on 4 July 2012, where one of the crew members was shown standing opposite a wall, in a shop holding a pair of fake legs against his thighs in his hands and making suggestive movements similar to having sex.

The ministry's decision to directly issue a show-cause notice and, later, order a blackout raised serious concern in the Indian broadcasting industry.