Interview with Sylvain Parent-Bédard | A new king of humor is born!

The president and CEO of ComediHa!, Sylvain Parent-Bédard, emerged exhausted, but above all galvanized, from the negotiations which allowed him to get his hands on Juste pour laughs. “It was a very demanding process. Six weeks of intensive work, seven days a week, almost eighteen hours a day… It’s an exercise that should have been completed in six months or a year. The experience was extraordinary for the entrepreneur that I am. »

By acquiring assets from Just for Laughs (JPR), Sylvain Parent-Bédard becomes one of the most powerful men in our cultural industry. For the “little guy from Quebec” who, at 17, came to see Michel Courtemanche perform in Montreal, this is a giant step.

ComediHa! will now be able to exploit several contents from the company created by Gilbert Rozon in 1983, notably artist tours, the Juste pour Ristres festival, Just For Laughs, Zoofest, ComedyPro, a rich audiovisual catalog, as well as the very popular show The gags which, thanks to its universal character, is broadcast in around fifty countries.

The building housing JPR’s head office, located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, is not part of the agreement. The building, valued at $4.9 million, would have been sold to another buyer.

In a report from the controller of the firm PwC, responsible for the judicial restructuring of JPR, we learn that ComediHa! will only retain a handful of the hundred or so employees that Just for Laughs had initially. “That’s one of the sad sides of the adventure,” says Sylvain Parent-Bédard. We will become owners Thursday or Friday. Tuesday or Wednesday, the current owners will lay off 100% of the employees. I did interviews with some key people. We intend to make offers to about three to eight of them, possibly ten, to help us transition. »

Read “Repurchase of Just for Laughs: ComediHa! does not intend to retain the majority of employees”

My colleague Hugo Joncas wrote on Tuesday that, according to sources, the amount of the transaction would amount to $25 million. The buyer simply responds that he did not object to the disclosure of the amount of the transaction. “I wanted to act with complete transparency. The Superior Court of Quebec will make the figure public. »

Read “ComediHa! can redeem Just for Laughs »

Some observers have spoken of a “monopoly” of humor with the creation of this new structure. Sylvain Parent-Bédard refutes this idea. “I totally disagree with that. There are comedy festivals in Sherbrooke, Gatineau, Val-d’Or and Alma. There are several artist agents and several producers. The industry is balanced with broadcasters and venues everywhere. ComédiHa! has shown over the last few years that he can work with everyone. So, no, it will not be a monopoly. »

Sylvain Parent-Bédard founded ComédiHa! in 1997. In 2000, Le Grand Rire de Québec was born, which became ComediHa! Fest. The group participates in the creation of the show Lol 🙂, which was broadcast in more than 130 countries. The SYSMIK subsidiary produces musical events such as Madonna and Céline Dion on the Plains and the SuperFrancoFête which continues to grow.

Sylvain Parent-Bédard’s company will now have several heads. What should this gigantic structure look like with JPR content? “Just for Laughs will not be a separate entity. We acquired assets. These brands will be among those that ComediHa! will exploit. What exactly will the plan be? Unfortunately, we only had six weeks to complete the transaction. We have to sit down and make rigorous decisions so as not to repeat the mistakes of the past. »

We know it, ComediHa! Fest is attached to Quebec City and Just for Laughs in Montreal. Are we going to see a merger of these major festivals? “We’re not there yet,” says Sylvain Parent-Bédard. Of course we will be tempted to create synergies. But we dare to think that the two major Quebec markets for festivals will remain separate. For the Just for Laughs festival, Zoofest and ComedyPro, no decision has been made. »

In the immediate future, an edition of Just For Laughs and another so-called “transition” edition, called ComediHa! salutes Montreal, will take place this summer in Montreal. “It will not represent what the festival should look like in the coming years,” Sylvain Parent-Bédard would like to point out. Details of this edition which will take place from July 18 to 28 will be revealed on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, there has been a lot of talk about the links between NPO-type activities and those that are commercial within major festivals. Sylvain Parent-Bédard was obviously waiting for my question. “I have read a lot of things and I disagree with several things. Our private, for-profit organization has always endorsed and financed NPOs. Never, in 25 years, have our NPOs suffered deficits. You must have a high level of ethics, governance and transparency. I also invite all organizations to exercise caution in this regard. »