Turner International has announced a partnership with United States-based Electus Digital to launch comedy website CollegeHumor in Australia.

Already an iconic and popular brand among Australians, CollegeHumor Australia will offer localised editorial content developed from an Australian perspective, in addition to existing CollegeHumor content created by the US-based editorial team. Turner International has also appointed Authentic Entertainment to manage CollegeHumor’s commercial operation in Australia. The alliance provides a new platform for Australian advertisers to reach a desirable demographic—particularly 18-34 year olds—with comedy.

CollegeHumor is consistently ranked among the top comedy brands on the web. With the most-visited comedy network online and the most-viewed YouTube comedy channel worldwide, the new site, CollegeHumor.com.au, now provides a dedicated, curated portal for this large fan-base specific to Australia.

Shane Rahmani, general manager of Electus Digital and CollegeHumor said: “The official launch of CollegeHumor Australia furthers our mission of global comedic world domination. Today Australia becomes a funnier place as CollegeHumor has arrived and we couldn’t imagine better partners to bring our brand to life down under than Turner International and Authentic Entertainment.”

As part of the strategic advertising partnership, Turner International—known for its brands CNN, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and TCM—will be responsible for editorial development as well as growth and monetisation of the site in Australia, and will work together with Authentic Entertainment to offer commercial opportunities and innovative content marketing solutions for brands in the Australian marketplace.

The dynamic and diversified offering allows Australian advertisers to capitalise on CollegeHumor’s existing audience through original, integrated campaigns.

Phil Nelson, senior vice president and managing director of North Asia and Southeast Asia Pacific at Turner International, said: “CollegeHumor’s unique style of comedy is already a proven hit in Australia and by partnering with Electus Digital, we’re looking forward to taking this phenomenal brand to the next level in the Australian market.”

The launch of CollegeHumor Australia marks the first time CollegeHumor content will be created locally for a market outside of the United States.

Giles Hardie has been appointed managing editor of the new site, bringing with him two decades of involvement in the Australian comedy scene including experience in comedy writing, performance and video production. He will work closely with CollegeHumor’s US-based editorial staff to maintain a consistent voice across the CollegeHumor brand. Natalie Mayslich, senior director of strategy and operations, who helped architect the deal, will work closely with Giles and the broader Turner and Authentic teams to manage the partnership on behalf of Electus Digital.