Sequoia Ups Funding In Ferrell’s Latest Hit FunnyOrDie.com
By David Kaplan - Thu 31 May 2007 08:13 AM PST
Sequoia Capital’s initial small investment in Will Ferrell’s FunnyOrDie.com is now up to several million dollars, a detail buried in today’s NYT look at the mixed record Hollywood has with humor sites. Only a month old, the humor site seems poised to be a hit. Unlike other humor sites that have been around longer, like the IAC/InterActiveCorp.-backed CollegeHumor.com, or start-ups like Black20, this site has one major thing going for it: comedian Ferrell.
The NYT suggests the current attention Hollywood is lavishing on online video represents the sequel of a failed movie. During the late 1990s, actors and studios armed themselves with money from Silicon Valley in the hopes of creating entertainment for the web. But those efforts – examples include Pop.com, Digital Entertainment Network and Icebox – faltered due to exceedingly high costs (and spending), limited technology and viewers’ disinterest in watching video on their computers. Despite the changes in technology and the acceptance of online video, it’s still a challenge to attract an audience. For example, Time Inc. launched the humor site OfficePirates.com with great fanfare, but pulled the plug six months later when it couldn’t build solid viewership.
So far, FOD has gotten off to a nice start and has garnered some heavy traffic: Ferrell’s first video for the site, The Landlord, has been seen over 30 million times. That level of usage has spurred Sequoia Capital, whose partner Mark Kvamme came up with the initial idea, to increase its investment to several million dollars. (Via thedealblogs.com: Kvamme said last week at a lecture in Berkeley that the first investment was $17,000.) It has also hired 10 full-time employees, with plans to expand the staff to 25. In addition to the sound financial footing, Hollywood talent rep firm Creative Artists Agency, which has a minority stake in FOD, is already using the site to promote its clients, including Daily Show actor Ed Helms and boxer Oscar De La Hoya.
However, not everyone is a fan. In a sidebar, NYT TV critic Virginia Heffernan offers a fairly scathing take on FunnyOrDie, and its rivals like SuperDeluxe.com, as fake TV that’s too safe, too repetitive and too male-oriented.
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