ZDTV to get 10,000 "Netcams" from 3Com
BURLINGAME, Calif., Dec 9 (Reuters) - The head of Ziff Davis Inc's ZDTV said the new 24-hour cable channel is set to launch its service at the end of the first quarter next year, with a Web site to go live before then.
Larry Wangberg, president and chief executive of ZDTV said 3Com Corp. (Nasdaq:COMS - news) has agreed to supply 10,000 Netcam devices to the new cable channel, which will use the cameras to enable its regular guests, such as computer industry figures, to be interviewed from their own homes.
''They're providing 10,000 Netcams which we will then distribute,'' Wangberg said after a presentation to a Technologic Partners investment conference here.
Details of the announcement will be released on Wednesday, as the cable industry gears up for its trade show in Anaheim, Calif.
Wangberg said ''ZDTV Your Computer Channel'' aims to be a ''truly interactive'' experience, with cable programs and the Web site referencing each other.
The new cable channel has already signed up major computer industry companies as sponsors, including Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), Sun Microsystems Inc. (Nasdaq:SUNW - news), Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCH - news), and plans to produce a majority of the programming for the network itself.
''At Ziff Davis, we believe in technology and we believe in it passionately,'' Wangberg said in his presentation. ''Technology is what drives us.''
Wangberg said he expects to employ up to 250 people in the new computer television production company, which will inhabit new quarters in San Francisco.
He said the company was pleased with its progress in signing up cable companies for the 24-hour channel, but would not provide further details.
Ziff Davis, which is owned by Softbank of Japan, publishes computer industry periodicals and has a growing presence on the World Wide Web.
Ziff Davis's television channel puts it in more direct competition with Cnet Inc. (Nasdaq:CNWK - news), a San Francisco-based company which produces television programming on the high tech industry and runs a network of Web sites which offer industry news, reviews and links to commerce sites. |
