NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2015 LINE-UP

JUDD APATOW, BILL BURR, MARGARET CHO, BILLY CRYSTAL, NATHAN FIELDER, KATHY GRIFFIN, GABRIEL IGLESIAS, JOHN LEGUIZAMO, NORM MACDONALD, BILL MAHER, KUMAIL NANJIANI, TREVOR NOAH, PATTON OSWALT, ILIZA SHLESINGER, SARAH SILVERMAN, DAVID STEINBERG AND MORE TO BRING THE LAUGHS TO NEW YORK CITY

12TH ANNUAL FESTIVAL WILL RUN NOVEMBER 10-15

Citi Cardmember Presale Tickets Available August 11 - 16; Tickets Available at www.citiprivatepass.com

Tickets Available to the General Public on August 17 at www.nycomedyfestival.com

NEW YORK, N.Y. (AUG. 11, 2015) - Marking its 12th year, the New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), presented in association with Comedy Central, announced its 2015 line-up today. Expanding to six days and running from November 10 -15, the festival will feature some of comedy's biggest stars performing in New York City's most prestigious venues, including the Beacon Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Carnegie Hall, Carolines on Broadway, Madison Square Garden, The Theater at MSG, Town Hall and the 92nd Street Y.

Among the many highlights of this year's festival include Judd Apatow and Friends at Carnegie Hall, Billy Crystal in conversation with David Steinberg at Town Hall, Bill Burr at Madison Square Garden, and Comedy Central's new host of "The Daily Show" Trevor Noah at Town Hall. This year's returning festival veterans include Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Gabriel Iglesias, Norm Macdonald, Bill Maher, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt and Sarah Silverman, as well as first-time festival performers Nathan Fielder, John Leguizamo and Iliza Shlesinger.

This year's NYCF will feature over 200 of the country's most recognized and emerging comedians performing more than 60 shows throughout the city. Additional shows will be announced in the fall.

"Our aspiration for the festival has always been bringing together talent from all over the comedy spectrum, featuring comedic greats and highlighting emerging talent in the industry. This year's line-up is no exception," said Caroline Hirsch, founder and owner of the New York Comedy Festival and Carolines on Broadway. "Throughout the years, the festival has become a staple in the comedy and New York City communities and we look forward to offering another week filled with big laughs."

"Performing at Carnegie Hall is a dream come true," said Judd Apatow. "Not for me but for some foreign twelve year old violinist. But I am sure it will be great!"

"Once again, Comedy Central and NYCF are excited to present a stellar line-up of comedic talent and shows," said Steve Raizes, Senior Vice President, Comedy Central Consumer Products. "It's a great opportunity for fans to experience the huge range and styles of comedy that take place in New York City."

Over the past decade, the New York Comedy Festival has brought memorable performances to some of New York City's most well-known venues with such talent as Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Louis C.K., Dane Cook, Whitney Cummings, Larry David, Jim Gaffigan, Ricky Gervais, Kevin Hart, Bill Maher, Joel McHale, Tracy Morgan, Tig Notaro, Patton Oswalt, Andy Samberg, and Amy Schumer, among others. The NYCF has also produced informative and entertaining panels including "Id Isn't Always Pretty: An Evening with Broad City," "An Evening with the Late Show with David Letterman Writers," and "Clown Panties and Other Unpleasant Truths: An Evening With Inside Amy Schumer."

Citi is the official card of the New York Comedy Festival. Citi cardmembers will have access to purchase presale tickets to NYCF shows through Citi's Private Pass program. The presale will run from August 11 at 10:00 AM EDT to August 16 at 10:00 PM EDT. For complete presale details, visit www.citiprivatepass.com.

Tickets for all shows are available to the general public starting August 17 at 10:00 AM EDT. Tickets can be purchased through the New York Comedy Festival website: www.nycomedyfestival.com.

The 2015 NYCF is presented in association with Comedy Central. Now in its 12th year, the festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway. Sponsors of the festival include Citi, the New York Post, Time Out New York, Variety and the Village Voice. THE 2015 NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

(EVENTS CONFIRMED TO DATE AND ARE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONS)

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

A CONVERSATION WITH PATTON OSWALT - 7:30PM - 92ND STREET Y

MARGARET CHO - THERE'S NO I IN TEAM BUT THERE'S A CHO IN PSYCHO - 8PM - TOWN HALL

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12

NATHAN FIELDER - NATHAN FOR YOU - SNEAK PEAK AND Q & A - 7:30PM - NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

NORM MACDONALD - 7:30 PM - CAROLINES ON BROADWAY (PERFORMING THROUGH SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 15)

A CONVERSATION WITH BILLY CRYSTAL AND DAVID STEINBERG - 8PM - TOWN HALL

KATHY GRIFFIN: LIKE A BOSS - 8PM - CARNEGIE HALL

GABRIEL IGLESIAS PRESENTS: COMEDIANS OF STAND UP REVOLUTION - 8PM - BEACON THEATRE

KUMAIL NANJIANI - 10:00PM - NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13

SARAH SILVERMAN AND FRIENDS - 8PM - BAM

ILIZA SHLESINGER - 8PM - NYU SKIRBALL CENTER

JOHN LEGUIZAMO IN CONVERSATION - 8PM - 92ND STREET Y

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14

JUDD APATOW AND FRIENDS - 7PM - CARNEGIE HALL

TREVOR NOAH - 7PM - TOWN HALL

AN EVENING WITH BILL MAHER - 8PM - THE THEATRE AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

BILL BURR: DOES ANYBODY REMEMBER LAUGHTER? - 8PM - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL

Now in its twelfth year, the New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway in association with COMEDY CENTRAL. The festival has featured the country's top comedians, including Aziz Ansari, Hannibal Buress, Louis C.K., Larry David, Ricky Gervais, Kevin Hart, Bill Maher, John Mulaney, Tig Notaro, Nick Offerman, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, and Wanda Sykes, to name a few. In 2007, the festival launched the "Stand Up for Heroes" event to benefit The Bob Woodruff Foundation, which has featured performances by Ricky Gervais, John Mayer, John Oliver, Conan O'Brien, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, and Robin Williams, among others. To date, the "Stand Up for Heroes" events have raised over $27 million. For more information please visit the NYCF website, like the NYCF Facebook page, and follow the NYCF on Twitter, @NYComedyFest.

ABOUT COMEDY CENTRAL

Available on-air, online and on-the-go, Comedy Central (www.cc.com) is the #1 brand in comedy and is owned by, and is a registered trademark of, Comedy Partners, a wholly-owned unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA and VIAB).