The main objective of the new Just For Laughs website may be to get a laugh, but it’s also the first step in the company’s larger initiative to corner the online comedy market.

‘We want to make sure the JFL brand is associated with comedy online in the same way it is associated with comedy in other areas such as TV, stand-up and festivals,’ says Louis Malafarina, head of JFL’s Internet division, of the group’s plans. ‘People go online and they think of Just For Laughs. We’re not leaving room for some other third party to start claiming the space of comedy online.’

The new website (www.justforlaughs.ca), which launched Nov. 30, received more than one million page views in its first four days, according to Malafarina. It currently boasts more than 1,000 video clips from over 100 different comedians and new content is being added every day.

The current site combines content selected by JFL with user-controlled content. Amateur comedians can post their own clips and comment on the site’s community pages.

More than 700 individuals created profiles on the community pages within the site’s first week. Malafarina says he hopes people will use the site as a comedy lab and a forum for experimentation.

According to Malafarina, JFL will also launch two new versions of the site early in the new year, one for French audiences, which will feature around 50 comedians from France, and the other geared towards American audiences with a focus on gags and physical comedy.

The company is also negotiating distribution deals with international online outfits including The Venice Project, Veoh Networks, Meta Zone and JibJab, as well as local sites such as Canoe and Radio Énergie.

JFL also plans to put up an investment to produce its own short comedy clips specifically for the site. Malafarina expects the advertiser-driven site, which currently features ads from companies such as General Motors and eBay, to be profitable within 18 months to two years.

Online with the Liberals

Broadcasters took a high-tech approach to coverage of November’s Liberal leadership convention – with Global, CBC and CTV pumping up their online and interactive coverage of the event.

From broadband and BlackBerry television service, to mobile video updates and podcasting, Global news incorporated almost every mainstream interactive device out there. National Post political contributor Warren Kinsella hosted a live blog and even former PM Jean Chrétien took time to record a message from the convention floor on Global’s webcam.

According to Global National’s senior executive producer Kenton Boston, it was an e-mail from the convention floor that helped Global to break the story of Gerard Kennedy’s decision to shift his support to Stéphane Dion, the eventual winner and now leader of the federal Liberals.

Boston says Global is using new media and conventional broadcast hand in hand to build news audiences.

‘What [the convention coverage] shows us is that there is a way to work both broadcast and online more closely together,’ says Boston. ‘The web is a great extension of the traditional broadcast medium and vice versa. We’re hoping to reach out through the web and grow our TV audience.’

CBC also beefed up online coverage of the convention, updating its site as often as every two minutes throughout the three-day event, according to cbc.ca‘s editorial director Jonathan Dube.

Longtime Globe and Mail journalist Robert Sheppard headed up CBC’s live blog, posting about 60 entries over the weekend. The blog received almost 400 comments during the convention and an additional 200 after Dion was elected.

Also key to CBC’s online coverage was providing extensive background and contextual information.

‘We do have lots of evidence that there is a significant audience that will watch the news on television then go to the web for more information,’ says Dube.

CTV also covered the event on its broadband news channel and provided regular reports on its mobile video service. Peter Donolo, former director of communications for Chrétien, was CTV’s convention blogger.

Also…

* CTV now has full episodes of U.S. network dramas Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The O.C. and Smith streaming on demand on its broadband site. The deal with Warner Bros. International Television announced on Nov. 22 marks the first time a Canadian broadcaster has secured online rights to multiple programs with a major U.S. studio.

In October, CTV aired the first two episodes of this season’s The O.C. as a test run, sending 120,000 streams over 10 days.

* Bell ExpressVu launched two interactive TV services, TSN Extra and CBC News Plus, on Nov. 22, enabling customers to browse the networks’ websites while watching the regular broadcast.

* The New Media Business Alliance has changed its name. At a Nov. 16 meeting, the five-year-old industry trade association, which represents 100 various new media companies, became Interactive Ontario.