Just For Entertainment Distribution

Just For Entertainment Distribution: New Name, More Feel-Good Programming

Two years ago, ComediHa! Distribution rebranded to Amuz Distribution, and now, the company has undergone another transformation as Just For Entertainment (JFE) Distribution.

“The rebranding of our parent company, ComediHa!, follows the acquisition of Just For Laughs (Juste Pour Rire) back in June,” says Alex Avon, chief revenue and strategy officer. “We have now mostly completed the integration of the Just For Laughs assets and operations. Our new name reflects this expanded scope and unified group. With Just For Entertainment Distribution, we aim to ensure that strong brands like Just For Laughs Gags continue to resonate internationally.”

Avon adds that JFE Distribution is positioned to become “a preeminent entertainment company within multiple sectors, continuing our program evolution from Amuz to include even more than comedy, dramedy and documentary programs. We will also distribute the company’s music and stand-up festival programming.”

The evolution to Amuz Distribution from ComediHa! Distribution encompassed a broader range of content beyond comedy—and this expansion continues following the recent merger. JFE Distribution’s primary focus remains on comedy and feel-good content but also now includes a wider variety of content, such as live performances and stand-up shows from Just For Laughs, primarily produced by its parent company. Additionally, the catalog now features both English and French content, “allowing us to cater to a more diverse audience,” Avon says.

“‘Entertainment’ in many forms is the core connection between the content,” he adds. “And an emphasis on our motto, ‘Keeping the world feeling good,’ which we have maintained in the transition of names. Just For Entertainment produces live comedy and music events in several countries; produces television programming across scripted, music and comedy specials; and JFE Distribution distributes feel-good television programs both produced in-house and from third-party producers.”

The company attended the inaugural MIP London and is heading to Series Mania with an ever-growing program slate. The hidden-camera series Just For Laughs Gags, for example, has been in high demand from buyers and commissioners around the globe, with a footprint in over 100 territories already. There are 25 completed seasons and a 26th in preproduction. The popular scripted non-verbal sketch series LOL—ComediHa! is also getting a new season, marking its 12th, in production this spring.

“Buyers have been quite receptive to our feel-good programming overall,” says Avon, “especially in these unsettling times. And we have plenty of great, award-winning shows to offer, many with universal themes that fit into all corners of the world, such as About Antoine; Like Father, Like Daughter; LOL—ComediHa! and many more.”

Avon has seen shifts in the market in both platforms and programming desires. On the platform side, he notes, JFE Distribution launched, and absorbed, over 30 FAST channels since the Just For Laughs acquisition. “JFE Distribution takes a 360-degree approach to monetizing its assets. Along with global programming distribution, the company will continue to be present on FAST channels and is now syndicated across 30-plus different platforms and markets, including Amazon Fire TV, Anoki and Local Now, Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV, Rakuten TV, Sling TV and others. These FAST channels make Just For Entertainment Distribution one of the largest independent Canadian media companies with this high of a reach with FAST channels.”

As for programming, he says, “We have over 2,500 hours of fantastic, feel-good scripted and unscripted programs ranging from hidden-camera, documentaries and sketch shows to dramedy series, musical specials, stand-up comedy specials and much more.”

Amuz Distribution Makes a FAST Play

It has been a year and a half since Amuz Distribution underwent a rebrand, and the company has expanded its slate with new acquisitions, diversified into additional genres and made some strategic moves to further the reach of its content. “We vigorously seek and acquire dynamic new series for the international market to expand on our feel-good programming mission, and we were fortunate to be able to acquire nearly 1,000 hours of comedy programming from the Just For Laughs (JFL) Group this July, with the majority of hours coming from Gags, with season 25 now in production,” says Alex Avon, chief revenue and strategy officer at Amuz Distribution. “We also brought on a new position to focus on OTT and FAST as additional platforms for our award-winning shows such as the very special dramedies About Antoine; Valmont; Like Father, Like Daughter and more.”

Amuz Distribution has an “established and trusted” distribution team with worldwide buyer connections, Avon says. “Producers have confidence in us to take good care of their shows. We are quite selective in our acquisition strategy as well, valuing quality over quantity.”

Over the past year, the company has acquired distinctive programs that include About Antoine, a multiple award-winning dramedy series, including the 2023 MIPCOM Diversify Award, based on a true story about a poly-handicapped child and his family life; Like Father, Like Daughter, a charming family comedy following the adventures of Daphnée and her vibrant father Pierre as they transform their everyday life into epic, humorous quests in Rosemont–Petite-Patrie; 1995, a film by and about Ricardo Trogi exploring his early filmmaking days; and the animated comedy series Babyatrice, about a precocious, self-proclaimed queen of the castle, produced by Écho Média. Also acquired for the catalog, Longhope Media’s Abroad is a sketch show that focuses on the immigrant experience of living in a foreign country. This is complemented by the bevy of newly acquired Just For Laughs content, including many hours and 25 seasons of Gags.

As for genres, Amuz now represents scripted comedy and dramedy series, variety and sketch shows, music and documentaries, formats and movies. Speaking of formats, the company is looking forward to seeing its series Writer’s Block adapted by Gaumont.

As part of its expanded catalog and number of hours of programming after acquiring the Just For Laughs Group comedy assets, the Amuz portfolio increased threefold. Carlos Pacheco was tapped from JFL to join the company as director of monetization and OTT. Pacheco has an abundance of experience and know-how with FAST and OTT, having established over 30 FAST channels with JFL. “He is a great addition to our team and will help us reach our next level,” Avon says.

Pacheco says that in his new role, the focus is on “enhancing the quality and variety of programming on our established channels while collaborating with our platform and content partners to grow both their audiences and ours. Additionally, we’re expanding our reach through new partnerships, including Fire TV, Anoki and Local Now. The team is just getting started, with more exciting developments in the pipeline to be announced soon.”

Just For Laughs’ channels have been in full expansion, and the feeds are now syndicated across more than 30 different platforms and markets, including Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Xumo Play, Google TV, Rakuten TV, Sling TV and others. “This positions Amuz Distribution as one of the first independent Canadian media companies to achieve such a wide reach with FAST channels,” Pacheco says. “This growth is opening up new opportunities for our production and distribution partners who are looking to expand into OTT and FAST with our help.”

With an eye to the year ahead, Avon says that Amuz Distribution will continue “building our eclectic portfolio, representing more English-language content, looking into co-production relationships and producing more of our own IP. In addition to our OTT and FAST efforts, we remain committed to our traditional sales model, distributing great programming around the world and staying true to our mission of ‘keeping the world feeling good!’”

Amuz Distribution Evolves to “Keep the World Feeling Good”

Last May, Amuz Distribution began rolling out a rebrand from its former moniker, ComediHa! Distribution. Supported by 25 years of experience in the field of comedy, the company has moved into more dramedy and other feel-good programming. The evolution came from “a strong desire to expand our company’s program genres, as well as with a grant from Fonds Québecor, Canada Media Fund and SODEC that allowed for a change,” explains Alex Avon, VP of global distribution. “Initially under the ComediHa! umbrella, our distribution division is now mandated to additionally acquire and co-produce. Instead of pure comedy, which we definitely will continue, we will include more dramedy and redemptive programming.”

This includes Larry, about a former rogue cop whose wife was injured in a gang shooting. He becomes a mall cop with many interesting local characters providing a black comedy scenario. “We are looking at many feel-good programs, and in fact, from the beginning, our tagline has been ‘keeping the world feeling good,’” says Avon.

While comedy, of course, has its place in the Amuz Distribution offering, dramedy is allowing it to tell more of an expanded story—something that the marketplace is warmly welcoming. “Shows like Ted Lasso and Jury Duty led the way in the global zeitgeist, embraced globally for their empathy and complex characters,” Avon says.

Accordingly, the company has been acquiring more of these types of programs, such as the multiple-award-winning dramedy About Antoine, which is loosely based on the true-life story of Antoine, a poly-handicapped young man, and the challenges his family faces in both familial and romantic relationships.

Building out the slate, the plan is to acquire more English-language programs that “can travel further around the world, as well as acquiring both comedy and dramedy series that evoke a range of emotions,” says Avon.

Amuz recently renewed its pact with Casablanca Productions for several titles as well as a few new ones. This includes The Invincibles, a dramedy about four men about to turn 30 who attempt to revive their younger carefree days by breaking up with their girlfriends and struggle to balance their desire for freedom and need for stability, and The Phoenix, a heartwarming series that follows two longtime female friends who embark on a road trip after the death of a husband, exploring the universal themes of grief and transformation. Anyway… is an award-nominated comedy series featuring the loving, stormy and comedic relationship between a mother and her two adult children living in the big city. The award-winning comedy Writer’s Block is about two hapless TV showrunners who experience creative failure with season one of their crime series but are obligated to create a second season. There are two new series in the mix as well: The Clan, a dramedy following a repentant criminal who lives hidden under a new identity in witness protection, and Valmont, a mystery with five seasons about a woman whose world is turned upside down after the death of her husband.

“We are attending several global markets, reaching out to producers at events, such as Prime Time in Ottawa and Series Mania, where we can promote Amuz Distribution as a place for producers to join our premium, award-winning portfolio,” Avon says. “Our message to both producers who want representation among award-winning programs as well as buyers who want to acquire an eclectic mix of comedy, dramedy and feel-good programming is: Come to Amuz Distribution, where we are ‘keeping the world feeling good’ with fantastic programming.”