Editing TechTV (section)

===Origins===
On August 20, 1994, computer magazine publisher [[Ziff Davis|Ziff-Davis]] entered the television industry with the premiere of ''The Personal Computing Show'', a program that aired on Saturday mornings on [[CNBC]], [[America's Talking]] and the Jones Computing Network. ''The Personal Computing Show'', co-hosted by [[Jim Louderback]] and [[Gina Smith]], targeted a growing demographic of personal computer owners and demonstrated how to purchase, install, maintain and repair personal computers and peripheral devices such as [[Printer (computing)|printers]]. Shortly after ''The Personal Computing Show''{{'s}} premiere, Ziff-Davis revealed plans to produce a second show in October 1994 named ''PC Update'', a half-hour Sunday morning news program hosted by [[Leo Laporte]] and focusing on the computer industry.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-tv-taps-need/144200559/ |title=TV taps need for computer literacy |last=Coile |first=Zachary |newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|date=August 22, 1994 |pages=D-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-tv-taps-part/144202829/ D-6]}}</ref> According to Ziff-Davis spokesman Gregory Jarboe, ''The Personal Computing Show'' was unsuccessful due to its relegation to odd channels and timeslots.<ref name=WestCable>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-eye-on-america/144210157/ |title=Eye on America |last=Rafter |first=Michelle V. |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=December 29, 1997 |page=D-3}}</ref> When Ziff-Davis's sale to investment firm [[Forstmann Little & Company]] was announced in October 1994, a small [[Foster City, California|Foster City]]-based television operation named "ZD-TV" was listed as a company asset.<ref name="SanF941027">{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-ziff-davis-so/168133000/|date=October 27, 1994|pages=D-1, [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-ziff-davis-so/144198745/ D-3]|title=Ziff-Davis sold for $1.4 billion: Investment firm buys PC publisher|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=March 16, 2025}}</ref><!-- Thu -->

In April 1996, Ziff-Davis announced the establishment of ZDTV as a [[San Francisco]]-based unit specializing in the production of television and internet broadcasts, which would allow the publisher to showcase its products. Its first project was to develop ''[[The Site]]'', a daily hour-long [[prime time]] news show co-hosted by [[Soledad O'Brien]] about the increasing social and economic effects of technology. The program aired on the cable news network [[MSNBC]], which launched on July 15, 1996.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-ziff-davis-starts-tv-sh/143861885/ |title=Softbank's Ziff-Davis starts unit for TV show |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]] |location=[[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] |date=April 18, 1996 |page=41}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/santa-maria-times-msnbc-programs/143863425/ |title=Original programs on tap for MSNBC |last=Nessman |first=Ravi |newspaper=[[Santa Maria Times]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=June 7, 1996 |page=B-3}}</ref> It was the third San Francisco-based television program specializing in technology after ''[[CNET Central]]'' and ''Cyberlife''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-zdtv-runs-on/143864270/ |title=ZDTV show to run on MSNBC at night |newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|date=June 28, 1996 |page=F-1}}</ref> According to Ziff-Davis chief executive Larry Wangberg,<ref name=WestCable/> San Francisco was chosen as ZDTV's headquarters for its proximity to [[Silicon Valley]] and easy access to [[Multimedia Gulch]]-based talent.<ref name=Customized/>

On May 6, 1997, Ziff-Davis announced its plan to launch ZDTV as a 24-hour interactive cable network specializing in computers and the internet. The publisher put $100&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|100|1997|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) behind the project and planned to debut the ZDTV channel in early 1998. Projected programming for the channel included talk shows on the impact of technology, business-oriented shows evaluating investments in high-tech stocks, and reviews of software and hardware.<ref name=NewYorkDaily>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-tv-for-pc-crowd/122109644/ |title=TV for PC crowd |last=Kelly |first=Keith J. |newspaper=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |location=[[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]] |date=May 7, 1997 |page=56}}</ref> Children's programming was also planned for the weekends.<ref name=DesertSun>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-desert-sun-computer-tv-stakes-out-te/122111839/ |title=Computer TV stakes out territory |newspaper=[[The Desert Sun]] |location=[[Palm Springs, California]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=May 7, 1997 |page=E4}}</ref> The channel had 11 initial charter advertisers, including [[IBM]], [[Gateway 2000]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Charles Schwab Corporation|Charles Schwab]].<ref name=NewYorkDaily/> Ziff-Davis chairman and CEO Eric Hippeau cited the increasing presence of computers in cable television homes and workspaces as motivation for filling the niche of programming about computers, saying "This is a huge audience and it will only get bigger".<ref name=DesertSun/> Wangberg, who would be made the network's CEO, proclaimed Ziff-Davis's ambition of ZDTV becoming "to computing what [[CNN]] is to news, what [[ESPN]] is to sports".<ref name=Customized/> Although Ziff-Davis intended to continue producing ''The Site'' for MSNBC following ZDTV's launch,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/thousand-oaks-star-high-tech-news/144206675/ |title=High-tech news 24 hours a day |newspaper=Thousand Oaks Star |location=[[Thousand Oaks, California]] |agency=''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' |date=May 12, 1997 |page=D3}}</ref> the show was canceled in September 1997 as a result of the network's shift toward an all-news format.<ref name=WestCable/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-the-site-canceled/144205498/ |title=Tech TV show canceled |newspaper=[[The Modesto Bee]] |location=[[Modesto, California]] |date=September 23, 1997 |page=B-4}}</ref> In December 1997, Ziff-Davis revealed at the Western Cable Trade Show in [[Anaheim, California|Anaheim]] that it had secured agreements with four cable operators to carry the network: Prime Cable in Las Vegas, Harron Communications in Detroit, Televue in Georgia, and Prestige Cable in Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.<ref name=WestCable/>