Costly choices contributed to Just for Laughs’ debt

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Just for Laughs are expecting to receive 160,000 visitors this year.

The Canadian Press

An underperforming comedy festival in England and attempts by Facebook and YouTube to compete with TikTok were among the factors that saw revenues plummet for the Just For Laughs festival's parent company last year, suggests a report filed in Superior Court.

Thursday's report from insolvency trustee PwC, formerly known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, lists the circumstances that left the Just For Laughs Group unable to pay its debts.

The company announced earlier this month the cancellation of its festival planned for this summer in Montreal and took shelter from its creditors. She also canceled the Just for Laughs festival in Toronto.

Court filings show Just for Laughs Group recorded a net loss of more than $7.9 million in the first ten months of 2023. A series of costly efforts contributed to this.

A comedy festival in London in March 2023 resulted in a loss of around $800,000 after ticket sales fell short of expectations .

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In response to sponsors' dissatisfaction with the 2022 edition of the festival, the Just for Laughs Group knowingly organized the 2023 festival with a loss that would ultimately total approximately 2 million.

The production of the musical Hair was also a costly endeavor, although the report does not specify the extent of the financial damage that resulted. p>

Health restrictions, which imposed a ban on live events during the pandemic, have had a serious negative impact on the Just for Laughs Group, can we read in the report.

Changes to video monetization rules on YouTube and Facebook, favoring short-form videos similar to those posted on TikTok, have also led to a reduction in revenue from the group's primarily longer content.

Finally, TVA Group's decision not to purchase the 24th season of its show Les gagsdeprived the Juste pour laughs Group of licensing revenue which, according to the trustee, previously amounted to $550,000.

The Canadian Press reports that a spokesperson for the Just For Group rir declined to comment on the legal filing.

In a statement released March 5, the company said it would undertake a restructuring process to improve its financial health. She hopes to be able to organize festivals in Montreal and Toronto in 2025.