The glocalization of The Daily Show

This article analyzes the domestic success and international growth of The Daily Show (TDS) targeting specifically the Jon Stewart period (Comedy Central, 1999–2015), It then focuses on the glocalization of the program resulting in an official Dutch version The Daily Show: Nederlandse Editie that appeared on Dutch Comedy Central in 2011 and two contrasting unofficial versions, Al Bernameg (Arabic: البرنامج‎) broadcast on CBC/OnTV Egypt, 2011–2013 and then MBC MASR in 2014, and the Heute Show that has been on ZDF since 2009. This article concludes that the glocalization of TDS allowed a faux news satire show with universal appeal to take advantage of an emerging global media environment shaped by cross-cultural exchanges between the global and the local. By comparing and contrasting the three foreign versions, a blueprint for a sustainable glocalized TDS franchise emerges: a stable political environment, local relevance and the protection of a public channel.