Comedy Central: Stewart and Colbert extend contracts

Comedy Central’s biggest late night comedy duo will be sticking with the network. Both Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have negotiated two-year contract extensions with the Viacom Inc. cable network to keep their shows up and running.

Entertainment Weekly reports that Colbert’s contract extension runs through the end of 2014 while Stewart will remain on the network up to the middle of 2015.

Both “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” are bright spots on the late night TV dial. Stewart and Colbert will continue to do the heavy lifting on their shows by acting as host/writer/producer.

The Los Angeles Times reports that both shows have upped their ratings in the key demographic of 18 to 49-year-old viewers, with both comedians’ audiences growing by about 10 percent.

Every other late night comedy show including NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and CBS’s “Late Night with David Letterman” has seen their younger viewers flee.

The New York Times is reporting that Mr. Colbert’s contract was a sigh of relief for Comedy Central, which feared the comedian could be of interest to other television networks.

Jon Stewart has been at the helm of The Daily Show since January 1999 and reportedly has no plans to step aside anytime soon.

Colbert started as a correspondent on The Daily Show but quickly built his own following and launched his spin-off show, The Colbert Report, in 2005.

“The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” just earned four Emmy nominations apiece and will likely continue strong through the 2012 presidential election.