Former UPN Chief Launches Online Comedy Venture

LOS ANGELES, February 22:
Veteran media executive Dean Valentine has unveiled a new interactive comedy
website that is promising to house the largest jokes database on the Internet,
as well as a slate of original stand-up comedy performances.

Valentine says the goal
with Comedy.com is to “become the leading online comedy brand by bringing
together the most innovative comedians with the most powerful 2.0 tools to
create a daily destination for the funniest content on the Internet.”

The site is being funded
by the San Francisco-based Walden VC. Valentine serves as CEO, with Scott
Immergut named general manager and Matt Komen appointed director of content.
Immergut will oversee the company’s day-to-day activities, while Komen will be
responsible for acquiring and producing all content for the website.

Valentine runs Symbolic
Action, a media investment fund focused on the convergence of content and
technology. He was president and CEO of UPN from 1997 to 2001, following a
stint as president of Walt Disney Television and Walt Disney Television
Animation. Valentine began his career at Disney in 1988 as director of
television development. Before joining Disney, Valentine served as director of
current comedy programming at NBC Entertainment.

—By Mansha Daswani