Introducing Dave s Edinburgh Comedy Awards

Thursday 11 July 2019 UKTVs leading comedy channel Dave today announces its new title partnership of The Edinburgh Comedy Awards, directed by Nica Burns.

The Edinburgh Comedy Awards, which were established in 1981 and are entering their 39th year for 2019, celebrate the talent of both established and up-and-coming comedians performing at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe each year. From 2019, the awards will be sponsored by comedy channel Dave, to further celebrate and support comics, from those breaking into the industry to much-loved names.

Daves Edinburgh Comedy Awards are judged by an independent panel, who see all eligible shows performed live at the Fringe, with previous winners including Rose Matafeo, Al Murray, Bridget Christie, Jenny clair, The League of Gentleman, Frank Skinner, Steve Coogan, Lee Evans and Russell Kane.

Dave has a well-established passion for supporting fresh comedy, and with a growing slate of UKTV Originals, the channel is committed to seeking out new acts. With an audience of over 19 million people each month, original commissioned series include fan favourites such as Taskmaster, Hypothetical, Judge Romesh, Sliced and Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier. The channel prides itself on supporting new talent, with the majority of their original comedies bringing in young audiences, significantly above industry average.

Across 2019, Dave has nine UKTV Original comedy series on the channel, working with over 100 comedians across the year.

Luke Hales, channel director for Dave, said:

We spend a lot of time talking to our audience about what they want from both comedy and Dave, and one of the most common responses is asking to be introduced to new comics - so partnering with The Edinburgh Comedy Awards feels like the perfect way to help us discover even more new talent. We want to make sure Dave is immersed in fresh comedy in the real world, as well as on television. We love the Edinburgh Fringe Festival here at Dave, and this year, wanted to build on our involvement alongside Daves Joke of the Fringe - were extremely excited to help support the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, who share our passion and commitment for supporting both new and established comedy stars.

Nica Burns, Director of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, said:

We are delighted to announce that our new title partner is UKTV comedy channel Dave. There is an incredible synergy between us; we both love comedy and are always looking for up and coming talent - the stars of tomorrow - to sit alongside the stars of today. Many of our nominees, from James Acaster, to Nish Kumar, Sara Pascoe, Romesh Ranganthan and Lucy Beaumont are stars or panelists on Daves original comedy strands. We are looking forward to a great partnership and announcing our first Daves Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees and winners.

The new award, pictured, has been designed by UKTVs in-house creative team UKTV Creative. Alongside a brand-new partnership with Dave, 2019 is set to be a record-breaking year for the Awards already, with over 750 different comedy shows eligible for the shortlist, all of which will be seen by the judging team.

The nominations for Daves Edinburgh Comedy Awards will be announced on Wednesday 21st August, with the winners to be revealed on Saturday 24th August.

The Awards categories are:

Best Comedy Show - with a cash prize of £10,000

Best Newcomer - with a cash prize of £5,000

Panel Prize - with a cash prize of £5,000

A full history of the winners and nominees, eligibility rules and all other details about the Awards can be found at www.comedyawards.co.uk.

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Notes for Editors

For further information please contact: Anna Arthur PR Anna Arthur - 07973 264373

For UKTV and Dave - please contact: Taylor Herring PR Georgina Vincent - GV@taylorherring.com 0208 206 5151

About Dave

Freeview 19, Sky 111, Virgin 127, YouView 19, Freesat 157, BT & TalkTalk 19 On demand on UKTVPlay Ever since it was knee high to a TV remote, Dave had an idea. It wanted to be the first place viewers would come for brand-new, award-winning entertainment from the biggest and brightest stars and production companies in the UK. And in the years since, it has launched some of the most exciting and best-loved titles on TV.

There are names like BAFTA and Emmy-nominated Taskmaster - now in its ninth series -, Judge Romesh, Hypothetical, Jon Richardson: Ultimate Worrier and Comedians Giving Lectures. And of course theres Dave Gorman, whose inquisitive mind is returning to the channel for Terms and Conditions Apply. Its not just in front of the camera where the comic genius lies either, with a wealth of scripted treasure such as Sliced, Porters and the globally popular Red Dwarf.

Daves not content just to make you laugh and share gags with your mates though. Expedition with Steve Backshall and Hurricane Man are showing you regions and aspects of the earth never before seen on TV. Red Bull Soapbox continues to delight with its boundless capacity for invention. And stepping away from the TV entirely, Daves partnered with CALM to launch the Be The Mate Youd Want campaign and the Conversations Against Living Miserably podcast.

Reaching 20million viewers a month, Daves come a long way, but its only just getting warmed up.

dave.uktv.co.uk / @davechannel

About the Comedy Awards

Established in 1981 the Awards the contest for the comedy crowns of Best Comedy Show and Best Newcomer has made headline news at the Edinburgh Fringe festival for four decades.

The inaugural winners were Cambridge Footlights in 1981, whose line-up included Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Emma Thompson. Other winners whose careers have soared since carrying off the awards run from the late Sean Hughes, still the youngest ever winner at age 24, to Rose Matafeo, Hannah Gadsby, Bridget Christie, Sam Simmons, Frank Skinner, Steve Coogan, Jenny clair, Dylan Moran, The Leagu

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