Comedy Central moves Gareth Cliff's radio show timeslot after a month to try and lift audience numbers.

A month after it launched, Comedy Central (DStv 122) is moving the timeslot of the TV simulcast of the Gareth Cliff Show to a new timeslot to try and lift audience numbers, with the show which will move to a new starting time of 06:00 from 4 June from the current 07:35.

The Gareth Cliff Show started as a new internet radio show at the beginning of May, broadcast from 07:35 to 08:50 on Comedy Central which has cameras to capture video of the voices in the sound studio.

Comedy Central says the timeslot change of The Gareth Cliff Show after a month is due to viewers' requests for an earlier timeslot.

The channel declined to mention viewership figures which were requested in a media enquiry, but listenership is lower than the large listenership Gareth Cliff commanded at the SABC's 5FM radio station where he abruptly severed ties in May to start his new internet radio venture.

The earlier timeslot move is to try and capture working professionals before they leave the house for work on weekdays.

"We are confident that it will do even better in the new earlier timeslot, allowing viewers to watch it at leisure as they get ready for work in the mornings," says Evert van der Veer, the head of Comedy Central Africa on DStv, a channel run by Viacom Media Networks International Africa (VIMN Africa), in response to a media enquiry.

"With the earlier timeslot, the audience can now join us right from the start of the show when they are getting ready for work," says Gareth Cliff.