MONTREAL – International comedy festival Just For Laughs announced a new multi-platform partnership with cable company Videotron which will see the MSO become the presenter and main partner of the Just For Laughs Festival for the next three years.
In addition to presenting the Festival, Videotron will also be the main distributor of Just For Laughs content on several of its platforms and a partner in the concept and content development process, says Wednesday’s press release.
"Videotron was an obvious choice as partner/presenter of the Just For Laughs Festival," said Gilbert Rozon, president and founder of the Group Juste pour rire, in the release. "As a global telecommunications company engaged in new media and multiple content distribution platforms, Videotron will not only help the Festival maintain its success and increase its visibility, but will also enable us to distribute our content more widely."
The Just For Laughs/Videotron partnership extends beyond the framework of a conventional sponsorship. "In addition to using our technology to support Just For Laughs’ content, we will work together, at the very inception of the creative process, on possible projects such as the development of exclusive series for the web and humour capsules conceived and produced for mobile telephones and other emerging content distribution platforms," said Videotron president Robert Depatie.
The Just For Laughs/Videotron partnership also calls for the exclusive broadcast of paid and free content from Just For Laughs on Videotron’s multiple platforms, including illico Digital TV, Internet and mobile telephones.
During the 25th edition of the Just For Laughs Festival (July 8-29 2007), all six French-language galas will be available on video on demand, as of the next day. Also, illico on Demand will offer reruns of the 21 "Juste pour rire en direct" live shows, highlights of the galas, "Comicographies" and other series developed by Juste pour rire, plus the "Just For Variety" series. At the beginning of 2007, a new Humour Zone will be created for this content for illico on Demand.
In the spring, Canal Vox, which is dedicated to supporting young talent, will carry "Mercredis Juste pour rire," a show featuring young comics, on Saturdays.
Subscribers to Videotron’s high-speed Internet access service will be able to access live webcasts of the French-language Festival Galas and other Just For Laughs live shows, adds the release. They will also be able to view five half-hour specials from the new "Live from Just For Laughs" series, which will be taped at Just For Laughs events during the Festival.
Subscribers to Videotron wireless telephone service will soon be able to access a host of humour capsules from the "Just Kidding" and "Ink inc." series, as well as exclusive capsules created during the Festival.
"This partnership will not only give us an opportunity to work with one of Québec’s most prominent cultural institutions but will also let us offer our customers many exclusives and previews, helping us keep our promise to give customers the best possible experience when it comes to entertainment," added Depatie.
