Funny business

Funny or Die’s Dick Glover says comedy production has changed as multiple distribution platforms have arrived. In the future, the key to success won’t lie solely with TV, he tells Jesse Whittock.

With the quality of online production shooting up over the past few years, the question is whether it’s now actually good enough to be ranked alongside traditional linear TV.

According to Dick Glover, CEO of web portal Funny or Die (FoD), the answer is unequivocally yes. “As far as quality goes, we have proven we can deliver quality content at a reasonable cost, and that’s why so many people and companies like to work with us.

“As platforms continue to merge and meld together, the notion of ‘the TV show’ and its future success will not necessarily be because it is seen on cable or even a broadcast network. It will be about how many views on all platforms it receives.”

Glover’s opinion is echoed by a growing percentage of the broadcast entertainment industry, which is coming to terms with the idea that engaging audiences in the future isn’t just about scoring big in the overnights, but to access data that tailors content to individual viewers.

Comedy is considered one of the toughest nuts to crack, so this will be particularly hard for comedy producers such as FoD, the LA-based website actor Will Ferrell and Adam McKay launched five years ago. The lack of recent major breakout hits – besides Two and a Half Men, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and perhaps Modern Family – stands testament to that.

In the past, web comedy producers have fallen into three distinct traps, according to Glover. “First and foremost is a lack of consistently reliable creative product. Second, it’s a failure to keep the cost of content low; and, third a failure to capture mindshare while keeping the cost of marketing and distribution low,” he says.

Web comedy portals such as HaHaBonk and Comedy Demon have come and gone, and only FoD and College Humor have really had sustained impact. But market conditions remain brutal; even FoD was forced to close its UK sister site in 2010.

Glover recalls: “Back in 2008, when the economy took a hit, we refocused our business model and decided to put all our attention and energy into Funny or Die domestically, and building the brand and projects around that.”

Whether following an international or domestic strategy, the issues remain the same, he adds. “The challenge is to economically provide timely, funny content that can be distributed via all platforms and media and marketing effectively through our social media and partners.”

The unwritten law is comedy doesn’t travel. But Glover counters, saying: “What is funny may vary by culture and language, but much comedy, including lots that we do, has and continues to be universally appealing around the world.”

Working in favour of comedy web portals is the massive distribution potential and the ability to hit viewers directly. FoD has taken advantage of the growing number of platforms with its latest line of product launches. “We are continuing to grow in mobile with three apps recently launched; we have plans for a different tablet product; and we are expanding to smart TVs by launching a Google TV Spotlight App,” says Glover.

“We are also growing our content distribution strategy by launching channels on YouTube and Yahoo!,” he adds. In December, FoD announced it was producing web series First Dates with Toby Harris, which stars Seth Morris as a guy who goes on ill-fated dates, for the Yahoo! Screen portal.

Securing broadcast slots is also part of FoD’s strategy. The site’s third television series, Funny or Die’s Billy on the Street, premiered in December on Fuse and has been picked up for more episodes; and new projects with HBO and Turner are also in development. The company’s first feature film, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie, premieres at Sundance.

All in all, FoD has probably achieved as stable a position in the web comedy market as is possible. Glover says a blend of in-house production, third-party content and flexible distribution strategy has helped to prop up the content chain and grow the company.

“A large part of Funny or Die comes from users, and that is the beauty of it – anyone can submit and rise to the top. We play both ends of the syndication pipeline – distributing others’ content and providing ours to other syndicators.”