Independent Comedy Network launches to online laughs

As we've written many times over these last few months, the low-cost economics of online production is creating a slew of opportunities for companies that want to distribute video over the Web.

This week comes another startup seeking to take advantage of it.

The Independent Comedy Network plans to produce and distribute "comedy for the reasonably intelligent," CEO Marc Campbell tells us in this Vator.tv pitch.

He says the company makes good comedy "easier" for everyone -- from comedians to fans to advertisers.

The company owns a comedy club in its home town of Santa Monica and also has partnerships with clubs in New York and Chicago to license and distribute video comedy through its online network.

Because ICN's production costs are much lower than those of traditional Hollywood, it will make it easier to take chances on producing shows using up-and-coming talent, rather than relying on high-priced veterans, Campbell says.

The company will distribute through its own site, icn.tv, through all the usual super-distributors such as YouTube, Joost, Veoh and Blip, and social networking sites like MySpace. Part of its monetization plan includes revenue sharing with those sites.

"We're happy to get our content anywhere people want to watch it," he says. 

It's rolling out its first five shows this week, and plans to have close to 100 by next year, according to Campbell. Each of those is a bet, he says, and those that are successful enough to "migrate up the entertainment food chain" will offer merchandising and other revenue opportunities.

To see the ICN company profile, click here. 

To see our previous coverage of online content companies, click on the "Vator Stories" button on the left-hand column, wait for the page to load, and then type in "online content" into the search box.