Pollstar (10/11/22) Lind, J.R.

Opportunities and revenue would suggest comedy shows are enjoying a golden age, with Levity Live President Judi Marmel saying: "It's a perfect confluence of the streaming platforms, social media content, podcasting and the desire for the consumer to hear funny, unfiltered things and they want to consume it live." She admits that the dark tenor of the times is having an impact, while audience appetites are robust. Pollstar Box Office reports estimated that the top 15 comedy tours collectively earned more than $267 million in gross on 3.46 million tickets between Sept. 16, 2021, and Sept. 15, 2022. Even more impressive are the strong grosses that lower-tier acts are making, and Marmel credits this to the fact that audiences for all varieties of comedy are able to find the type of comedians they want. Although Netflix deserves some credit for the resurgence, it too has entered the festival sector with its 11-day Netflix Is A Joke event in Los Angeles with over 250 performances. Another contributor is that more cities are now able to host a comedy scene. Marmel expects business to continue to be bullish, "in part because there's so many more high-quality comics bubbling under."

Read the full story from Pollstar.