Casey Patterson has been named executive vice president, event production, talent development, and studio relations at MTV Networks Entertainment Group. Patterson previously was senior vice president of Spike TV and TV Land.

The Entertainment Group is comprised of several cable networks, including Comedy Central, Spike TV, and TV Land.

“Over the last several years, Casey Patterson has overseen the development and launch of some of the most exciting and original events on television,” says Doug Herzog, president of MTV Networks Entertainment Group. “The vision and passion she brings to these events is unmatched.”

The first woman hired at Spike TV in February 2003, Patterson has been instrumental in making the network a true television destination for men.

At TV Land, she oversees production of the TV Land Awards, which pays tribute to classic and contemporary TV shows.

Patterson is based in New York.

MTV Networks Entertainment Group president Doug Herzog announced today that New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom will serve as the host venue for the first annual Comedy Awards.  The Comedy Awards will recognize the year’s finest comics in film, television, and digital media.  Some of the more recognizable names on the event’s board of directors include Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, Will Ferrell, and Seth MacFarlane.  The jokesters on this board of directors will select the nominees for the inaugural award ceremony.

The Comedy Awards will be taped on Mar. 26 and air on Apr. 10 simultaneously across MTV Networks’ Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land, VH1, and Nick At Nite.  Comedy Central and MTV Networks have joined forces with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to create The American Comedy Fund to provide comedians with the financial support, medical benefits, and  assistance they need to advance in their careers.  For more information on the first-ever Comedy Awards, visit thecomedyawards.com.