Vancouver comic says comedians to lose major source of income over changes to Canada Laughs
Patrick Maliha says content changes will cut royalties that are major source of income to Canadian comics
UPDATE: Just For Laughs decides radio channel will stay 100% Canadian
Vancouver-based comedian Patrick Maliha is not laughing at the news that Montreal's Just For Laughs will be rejigging the Canadian comedy program, Canada Laughs.
The program has run on Sirius XM satellite radio since its creation in 2005 and serves as an exclusive platform for Canadian comics — from the established to the up-and-coming — to showcase their work and, more importantly, to get paid.
But Canadian comedy legend Howie Mandel, who is part of the partnership that owns Just For Laughs, explained on his Facebook page late Sunday that some of the station's content will now be drawn from the Just For Laughs archives, which include performers from around the world.
Loss of income
Maliha says the content changes are going to cut into the royalties Canadian comedians have come to rely on as a major source of income.
"We have lost the only channel in the entire country that pays Canadian comedians any type of residual," Patrick Maliha told CBC Radio's On The Coast host Gloria Macarenko.
"Hundreds upon hundreds of working comedians have now had their income cut in half, if not more so."
Maliha says that in addition to opening up to Australian, American and British comics, the new program will feature out-of-date routines drawn from past Just For Laughs-hosted events.
"The wonderful thing about Canada Laughs, with it being 100 per cent Canadian, was that it would stay current," said Maliha. "Now, because of Just For Laughs using their umbrella and having galas that basically just go up to 2012, you don't really have that."
'Canadians will still be involved'
In the Facebook video, Mandel said the station will continue to accept material from outside the archives and that the station will still benefit Canadian comics.
"Canadians will still be involved, independent comedians will still be involved and everybody and everything that is programmed on that station will be receiving a royalty," Mandel said.
Mandel said it was Sirius XM who approached Just For Laughs about the deal.
"The came to us and said, 'can you help us with the Canadian comedy?'" said Mandel. "We said yes because that's what we do."
Listen to the full interview here:
With files from CBC's On The Coast and The Canadian Press