The KO Group unveiled PAAF on Monday, a new YouTube channel that is 100% entertainment and brings together humorous podcasts and original content. The idea is to unite talents scattered across the web in one place to have a greater impact, according to Louis Morissette, president of the KO Group.
The PAAF channel, acronym for Pas Allergique Au Fun, is described by the KO group as “the new headquarters of Quebec entertainment.” Now available on YouTube, it already offers 10 contents that will be recurring appointments.
Some of them are podcasts that already existed, like “Golden Top G,” a parody of masculinist podcasts led by Pascale Marineau and Magali St-Vincent.
Others are brand new concepts, like “Services Mona-Pépérot,” where comedian Mona de Grenoble (Alexandre Aussant) helps her friends with various daily tasks, always armed with her reserve of liquor bottles.
In the first episode, she helps comedian Christophe Dupéré assemble an IKEA furniture with more or less convincing results, between two whiskey shooters.
With PAAF, the KO Group is betting on the idea that unity is strength, especially in a limited market like Quebec. “In the United States, the market is so big that someone alone on their side can end up with 300,000, 400,000 people and build a business model,” he explains.
“But here in Quebec, before reaching 300,000 or 400,000 people, it’s complex, so we have no choice but to come together. If everyone has their own podcast, if everyone has their channel, it will be difficult, we will all starve individually,” he added.
“Why not join forces? We will have a greater impact, we will be able to talk to sponsors, we will have more revenue, and we will be able to create more things,” he continued.
Louis Morissette was a guest on “Tout le monde en parle” on Sunday to talk about his new film “François.e” and his new PAAF channel.
Among the podcasts that had already made their mark on the web, there is also “Étienne te ramène,” where Étienne Marcoux interviews guests while enjoying a ramen soup with them.
There is also “Pas peu fières,” where Anne-Sarah Charbonneau and Florence Nadeau receive guests related to the LGBTQ+ community, as well as “Y’a plein de soleil,” a podcast of absurd interviews led by Anthony Courcy.
What is the advantage of joining PAAF for these established podcasts? A “turnkey service,” according to Louis Morissette.
“The podcast creators have to rent their studio, book their guests, write their podcast, do the editing, take care of uploading and social networks. It’s a lot of small things to think about,” he explained.
“Now, they can focus on creating the podcast, while we take care of all the clerical work around it. We have a studio, we will do the editing, we have a social media team and an internal sales team,” he added.
In addition to podcasts, PAAF offers other original content like “Ça met un frette,” where Pascal Cameron invites personalities to answer general knowledge questions while taking an ice-water bath.
In “Tu vas mourir,” humorist Étienne Marcoux literally addresses the question of life after death with thanatologist Louis-Simon Lamontagne, who reveals the behind-the-scenes of this often overlooked essential profession.
After the web series “Père poule,” humorist Jean-Thomas Jobin reunites with actress Julianne Côté for a new podcast called “Encore là,” giving voice to seniors.
Kim Rusk explores intimacy, desire, and the unspoken in “Velours,” while comedian Martin Vachon hosts “Jeux de chars,” a show offering quizzes, charades, and other fun activities.
The PAAF channel will be regularly updated with new content, also available on audio distribution platforms and PAAF’s social networks. In the long run, the KO group promises over 200 original contents per year.
“We will do more pilot episodes in June, there is no shortage of ideas,” explained Louis Morissette.
According to the KO Group, the launch of the PAAF channel is in line with KO Sports, which has garnered over 6 million views and 7 million listening minutes on YouTube since its launch eight months ago.
It is a model that needs to grow, according to Louis Morissette, considering the audience’s migration to different platforms. “If you want to reach people now, you need to be present in two, three, four different places. If you stay with just one brand, there is too much supply, too many players, and you won’t succeed,” he said.
While he still believes in the power of traditional television, at least for a few more years, he believes that the audiovisual industry is undergoing an inevitable transformation.
“Twenty years ago, everyone was watching TV. Today, some are on cable and others are more on YouTube,” he explained.
Louis Morissette will be addressing the media to discuss the precarious situation in TV production.
The PAAF channel is launched as a crisis unfolds in the Quebecois audiovisual industry.
The industry unions denounced the pressures exerted by producer Pixcom on the Association québécoise des techniciens et techniciennes de l’image et du son (AQTIS) to renegotiate the collective agreement to reduce production costs of a series intended for TVA.
Pixcom learned that the series “Alertes: Lily-Rose” would not see the light of day due to high production costs. TVA also ended the series “Indomptables” and “Passez au salon” due to lack of funding.
“There is not enough money in private television today to finance the series we used to produce,” said Nicolas Merola, head of Productions Pixcom.
Pierre Karl Péladeau, interim President and CEO of Groupe TVA, will address the media to discuss the situation in TV production.
