HBO Takes Stake in Comedy Site

LOS ANGELES, June 11: HBO
has made an undisclosed financial investment in Funny or Die, in addition to commissioning ten half-hours of programming
from the web destination, founded by Will
Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy.

Since its
launch last year, the award-winning site has had more than 213 million video
views and an average of 3.2 million unique visitors per month. Its debut piece,
The Landlord, is
one of the most-viewed online videos of all time. Judd Apatow, of The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up fame, is one of the site’s principal
partners.

HBO has not
yet revealed any details about the commissioned content, noting only that it
will showcase the “innovative and comedic” sensibilities of the Funny or Die
team.

Announcing the
deal, Michael Lombardo, the president of the programming group and West Coast
operations at HBO, said: “This groundbreaking deal brings the innovative spirit
of Funny or Die into the television medium. With HBO’s long tradition of great
comedy, this partnership makes perfect sense.”

“Given HBO’s
reputation for showcasing the best in comedy, this is the perfect fit,
demonstrating a great intersection of online and television,” said Dick Glover,
the CEO of Funny Or Die. “Bringing the Funny or Die brand to television is
exciting, but even more so is that it’s for HBO.”

Actor Will
Ferrell, the star of hits like Elf and Blades of Glory who co-founded the web destination, added: “I don’t want to
overstate the importance of this deal, but this is the missing link moment
where TV and Internet finally merge. It will change the way we as human beings
perceive and interact with reality. Okay, I overstated it…but it is an exciting
deal.”

—By
Mansha Daswani