Company Overview
Launched in January 2000 with just 16 employees, Comedy World now has nearly 150 employees -- including more than 20 comedians and more than 30 writers -- in offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Our marketing, business development, web development, and executive staff inhabit a little pocket of relaxed frivolity in San Francisco's otherwise stolid financial district. Our on-air talent, production staff, and broadcast facilities are located in Marina Del Rey, not far from Hollywood.
Vision/Positioning
Comedy World intends to be the one-stop shop for all things funny, emitting original and classic humor from every outlet: audio, video, text, radio, and the Internet. We feature original content from top comedic talent such as Sandra Bernhard; KIDS IN THE HALL, a staple on HBO and Comedy Central for the last decade; Eddie Griffin, best known for his role on the WB show Malcolm & Eddie, Griffin also has appeared in the films Armageddon, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, and The Mod Squad; and Harland Williams, who first appeared in the movie Dumb & Dumber, and has since appeared in more than a dozen movies, including this year's The Whole Nine Yards. He's also had parts on TV shows like Ellen and MAD TV. We've tapped him to produce original content, participate in chat boards on our web site, and contribute to our fans' newsletter.
Our daily talent includes Ken Ober, a rising star best known from hosting MTV's game show Remote Control; and Allan Havey, who for three seasons hosted his own talk show on Comedy Central. He has also appeared on Letterman, Seinfeld, and Comic Relief. Havey has teamed up with Susan Olsen, who spent her childhood playing Cindy Brady on The Brady Bunch. We've also tapped Brian Whitman, one of the country's most popular morning drive personalities, in addition to more than 15 other comedians and radio personalities.
Our goal is to provide radio stations with fresh, original, around-the-clock live programming that appeals to a wide audience, while at the same time offering that audience the chance to interact with hosts and each other through a multi-featured web site.
Market Overview
Comedy World will serve two markets at once: radio stations looking for a new way to draw the hot 18-34 male demographic away from their competition, and comedy fans in search of edgy topical humor they can enjoy any time, anywhere. We will simultaneously offer radio stations the opportunity to join Comedy World 24 hours a day or syndicate individual shows.
Funding
Comedy World received its first round of funding ($10MM) from Attractor Investment Management, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm with more than $750 million in capital under management. Founded in October 1996 by Gigi Brisson and Harvey Allison, Attractor invests in both public and private companies in the Internet, software and telecommunication sectors. Private companies in which Attractor invested which are now public include Vignette, VeriSign, USWeb, Intraware and Critical Path. Other investors include Dan Rosensweig, CEO of ZDNet, Shelby Bonnie, CEO of CNET, and Charles Moldow, SVP at Tellme.
