Di Bona, Gersh form FishBowl Media

Vin Di Bona, creator of ABC’s really long-running America’s Funniest Home Videos, and Bruch Gersh, formerly SVP of strategy and operations, intellectual property at pre-merger William Morris, together have created FishBowl Worldwide Media.

Di Bona is chairman and Gersh is president and CEO.

“We’re completely independent and that will allow us to experiment in many different ways, not only with the creative community but also with existing and future partners,” says Gersh, who also served as SVP of business development at the Disney-ABC Television Group.

“As we’ve seen the entrepreneurial landscape shrink, we think the most feasible way to bring in new people is to offer them a bigger slice of the pie,” says Di Bona, himself a very wealthy man due to America’s Funnniest Home Videos, which is an under-the-radar television powerhouse, performing in any timeslot in which ABC slates it.

Di Bona and Gersh seem to be interested in all forms of media, whether that’s graphic novels, TV shows, films or digital video. According to the press release, “the Company will focus on projects that are novel, profitable and creative with an emphasis on innovation and building brand value.”

The company started as a graphic novel business, says Di Bona, “which is about to really blossom for us. We’ve put out four graphic novels over the past two years. Now we have options from four companies for features. We’ll probably be making announcements on deals with writers, directors, producers and major companies in the next two-to-four months.”

“We are looking at all content on all platforms,” says Gersh. “Where it originates doesn’t have to be the final destination. The idea is to embrace the process.”