TWiT.tv
| Type | television network |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Headquarters | Petaluma, California |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Leo Laporte (TWiT LLC) |
| History | |
| Founder | Leo Laporte |
TWiT.tv, which is the operating trade name of TWiT LLC, is a podcast (although TWiT uses the term "netcast") network founded by technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte and run by his wife and company CEO Lisa Laporte. The network began operation in April 2005 with the launch of This Week in Tech. Security Now was the second podcast on the network, debuting in August of that year. Currently, the network hosts twenty-two podcasts and live streaming shows, including The Tech Guy, This Week in Tech, Security Now, FLOSS Weekly, MacBreak Weekly, Tech News Today, Tech News 2Night, and 15 other podcasts covering various topics including technology companies, computer security, social networking, and current technology news.[1]
TWiT founder and owner Laporte, in an October 2009 speech, stated that it grossed revenues of $1.5 million per year, while costs were around $350,000.[2] In November 2014, American Public Media's Marketplace reported that TWiT makes $6 million in ad revenue a year from 5 million TWiT podcasts downloaded each month, mostly in the form of audio, and that 3,000 to 4,000 people watch its live-streamed shows.[3] On March 18, 2015, prior to the filming of This Week in Google, Leo Laporte stated that TWiT expects to make $7 million in revenue in fiscal year 2015.
TWiT gets its name from its first and flagship podcast, This Week in Tech. The logo design originated from a traditional logic gate symbol of an "AND gate" turned on its side. Voiceovers are provided by Jim Cutler.[4]
Programming
TWiT's netcasts are centered around technology and technology news at a deeper level than mainstream media. Hosts of the shows are usually experts in certain fields, either by working in the field itself or by being a journalist covering the field. At the beginning of 2014, there are 27 podcasts produced by TWiT,[5] but that was cut to only 22 shows in 2015.[1] Giz Whiz, Marketing Mavericks and Padre's Corner were among the shows that were axed during the year.
The New Screen Savers is the only new show added to the network in 2015, a show based on The Screen Savers, an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005.[6] Despite initial hopes at the network, the show struggles to find the audience appeal of its namesake. Twit has consistently has 5-7 podcasts in the iTunes top 40 tech chart, but The New Screen Savers has yet to break on to that list.[7]
TWiT further cut their field of self-produced shows by nearly twenty percent in late 2015. Among the shows cut are Coding 101, which is being replaced with a second weekly episode of Know How. The iFive for the iPhone show is cancelled, with some of that content being folded into iOS Today. Before You Buy is also being dropped, with its last episode being produced on December 18, 2015. After dropping their news director Mike Elgan the week before, TWiT also dropped Tech News 2Night. Host Megan Morrone and producer Jason Howell will take over Tech News Today on a daily basis at 4PM each weekday, starting on January 4, 2016.[8] No new news director has been named.
All the shows are available free to watch or download from the TWit.tv website and are funded by Cost per mille embedded sponsorship.,[9] they are filmed in their studio in Petaluma, California of which the live aspect is based around a NewTek Tricaster production system.
The shows have a history of making heavy-use of remote hosts and guests connecting in via Skype.
Funding
This Week in Tech Episode 561 on 5/08/2016 had extensive talk about podcast revenue. In the episode, Leo Laporte said a recent NY York Times article stated that podcasts ad revenue was $57 million per year and "If that's true, than I actually own 25% of all of the podcasting revenue in the world." This would put TIWT ad revenue around 12-13 million per year. [10]
Awards
- This Week in Tech was the recipient of the 2005, 2008, and 2010 People's Choice Podcast Awards Technology category.[11]
- Tech News Today was the recipient of the 2012 International Academy of Web Television award for Best News Web Series.[12]
- This Week in Computer Hardware, Home Theater Geeks, NSFW, This Week in Tech, MacBreak Weekly, TWiT Live Specials, iPad Today, Tech News Today, The Tech Guy, This Week in Google, and Windows Weekly were named "Best of 2010 in Podcasts" by iTunes Rewind.[13]
- In 2011, This Week in Tech was named "Best Technology Podcast", and TWiT Photo was named "Best New Technology Podcast" by iTunes Rewind.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Shows in 2015". TWiT.tv. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
- ^ "Leo Laporte Makes $1.5 Million Per Year from Podcasting [Video]". Mashable. 3 October 2009. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "Podcasting's audience (and its profits) are growing". American Public Media. 6 November 2014.
- ^ http://twit.cachefly.net/audio/twit/twit0483/twit0483.mp3
- ^ "Shows in 2014". TWiT.tv. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ Fost, Dan (17 May 1999). A Day in the Life of ZDTV's `The Screen Savers', San Francisco Chronicle
- ^ "iTunes Charts Top 40". iTunecharts.net. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
- ^ "2016 Programming Changes". Lisa Kentzell. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Andrew Keen interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network
- ^ https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech/episodes/561?autostart=false
- ^ One Technologies, LLC. "PodCastAwards.com".
- ^ "Winners From The 2012 IAWTV Awards Held At CES In Las Vegas Jan. 12, 2012". International Academy of Web Television. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ "Geeks Among iTunes Best Podcasts of 2010". Home Theater. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ "The Year in Podcasts – best of 2011 from iTunes Rewind". 1x57.com. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 2013-02-27.