The Edinburgh Comedy Awards will return to this year's Festival Fringe after financial strain put their future in jeopardy.

Organisers announced in May that the prizes' futures were in doubt, having failed to secure a name sponsor to cover the annual £250,000+ running cost.

Previous sponsors have included Foster's beer, most famously Perrier water, and most recently UKTV's Dave TV channel.

This evening, founder and producer Nica Burns has announced that sponsorship has now been found, with separate organisations each supporting one of the awards' three prizes, alongside additional funding from herself.

This year's prizes will thus consist of: Sky Best Comedy Show; DLT Entertainment Best Newcomer; and The Victoria Wood Award, supported by The Victoria Wood Foundation and previously known as the Panel Prize.

In a statement, Burns said: "In only five weeks, three companies who are as passionate about comedy as I am have joined me to enable the 41st Edinburgh Comedy Awards to go ahead this August. I cannot thank Sky, DLT Entertainment and The Victoria Wood Foundation enough for responding so swiftly and decisively in the true spirit of the Fringe.

"It's an amazing commitment from them and a wonderful endorsement of the Awards' place in the fabric of Edinburgh. So it's business as usual for 2023 and plans for the long term future of the Comedy Awards are speeding ahead. To all the comics and those in the comedy industry who have voiced so passionately how much they love the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, our heartfelt thanks."

A Sky spokesman says: "Sky are delighted to sponsor the Edinburgh Comedy Awards this year, ensuring they can continue to be an integral part of the Edinburgh Fringe landscape. The Comedy Awards are massively important to the whole comedy community, with a more than forty-year history of identifying and nurturing the best new comedic talent, as the list of household names amongst past winners is testament to. At Sky, we are relentless in searching for the next generation of performers who'll entertain, surprise and, most importantly, make us laugh."

Donald Taffner Jnr, President of DLT Entertainment says: "Comedy has been part of my life since childhood. I have been coming to the Edinburgh Fringe for years to watch comedy, always seeing one more show than the previous year - 126 shows last year. I love the Fringe. As part of that, I have enjoyed the buzz the Edinburgh Comedy Awards bring to it so when I heard they needed support to make them happen this year, I reached out to Nica immediately. I feel privileged to be part of making the ECAs happen this year."

The Victoria Wood Foundation said: "Victoria Wood was a wonderful human being and an extraordinary talent. A brilliant performer, writer, musician, song writer and director, she started in small spaces and moved on to create hugely successful television series including dinnerladies and Acorn Antiques as well as serious work such as Housewife 49.

"Her sketch show, Victoria Wood As Seen On TV, was one of the most successful comedy series of its time and she broke records with her live stand-up shows, including regular, three-week sold-out seasons at the Royal Albert Hall. Immensely generous in spirit, she had an incredible eye for new talent, often giving young actors with comedic talent their first opportunities in television. We are delighted in the spirit of Victoria Wood to be supporting emerging comedy talent at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe through these fantastic awards."

The awards' eagerly-anticipated shortlist will be announced on Wednesday 23rd August, with the winners announced at a ceremony on Saturday 26th.

Further information about this year's judging panel, and the awards' long-term financial plans, will be revealed in coming weeks.