Maker Studios Forges Digital Partnership With ‘Just For Laughs’ Festival

The alliance gives Maker Studios the opportunity to turn Just For Laughs into a major Internet video franchise. The digital network company that targets millennials will manage the existing Just For Laughs Gags channel on YouTube. It will create a service to feature the stand-up comedy presented over the last 30+ years at Just For Laughs festivals including the one that takes place in Montreal in July. Maker also will develop a Just For Laughs website, using its proprietary video player to distribute content. And Maker will help to develop shows for the festival featuring the studio’s talent; videos of these performances will run on Maker’s channels including the Nacho Punch hub (formerly called The Station). Just For Laughs digital leader Andy Nulman says that the arrangements will “pump” the Gags channel “to its pinnacle,” convert the library into “a distinct product that will captivate the digital fan,” and “create new collaborations and unique original content.” Maker’s investors include Canal +, Time Warner Investments, Upfront Ventures, Northgate Capital, Greycroft Partners, actor Robert Downey Jr’s Downey Ventures, and Elisabeth Murdoch.