I think in this (as is usually the case) it came down to a financial
decision. Vulcan wasn't making any money off TechTV, which is why they
decided to sell. The sad fact is that TechTV only worked when there was
an enormous tech boom and you had millions of wannabes watching so that
they could keep up with all the latest tech trends. Now that the tech
boom is over and all the carpet baggers have gone back to whence they
came, there is also no longer a real market for TechTV. The only
viewership they have now is the hardcore geeks, and that really isn't
enough to carry an entire station, as the programming additions within the
past year or so have demonstrated ("Conspiracies", "Anime Unleashed",
etc.)
What makes absolutely no sense, however, is why Comcast would buy the
channel, then fire all the talent as well as the crew. Unless they pull
some neat trick out of their ass, they just dumped all their viewership
along with the staff. The reason people watched TechTV, aside from liking
the live programs, is because they were loyal to the hosts, to whom there
was an almost tangible relationship. What is Comcast thinking? Who
knows. But from here and now, it looks like a really stupid, insane move.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Man of Intrigue and Danger http://www.vintage.org
[ Old computing resources for business || Buy/Sell/Trade Vintage Computers ]
[ and academia at www.VintageTech.com || at http://marketplace.vintage.org ]
Received on Fri May 07 2004 - 20:09:41 BST