Jon Stewart, the host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, is leaving after more than 15 years.

Stewart will depart later this year, Michele Ganeless, president of the Viacom Inc pay-TV channel, announced in a statement.

“For the better part of the last two decades, I have had the incredible honour and privilege of working with Jon Stewart,” she said. “His comedic brilliance is second to none.”

His departure marks the second loss of a star in the past year for the network following the exit of Stephen Colbert to CBS.

“This is a significant downer for Comedy Central,” said Matthew Harrigan, an analyst at Wunderlich Securities Inc in Denver. “It certainly has a financial effect.”

Comedy Central’s prime-time audience has shrunk 17 percent in the current TV season that started in September, to an average of 693,000 viewers a night from 831,000 a year earlier, according to Nielsen data. – (Bloomberg)