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THE INTERNET has thrown a spanner in the works of traditional media, which have been wrestling with online content since it first showed up. Some have tried to ignore it – with fateful consequences that were intensified during the recent financial downturn. Others, such as News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch, have tried to fight it. Here and there, old school media companies have embraced it and used it to their benefit.
The Internet has also provided a platform for a new form of media, especially in broadcasting, that had no legacy to worry about: companies born online think digitally without worrying about how it used to be done.
It’s hard to categorise the new breed of broadcaster emerging online. At the forefront of the Internet broadcasting revolution are United States companies such as Revision 3 and the TWiT Netcast Network. The latter is run by entrepreneurial American technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte, who coined the term “Netcasting” for this new form of broadcasting.
Laporte is no rookie at broadcasting in general, with a substantial history in traditional TV and radio broadcasting. But he’s all about the Internet now, broadcasting online from the “TWiT Cottage” in Petaluma, California. His business started with a podcast called “This Week in Tech” his company now takes its name from. The show brings together prominent technology journalists and other pundits for a chat about the week’s technology news.
Since starting in 2005 it’s grown into a broadcasting network with more than 20 shows, mostly focused on technology and science topics but with some lifestyle netcasts, such as the food-orientated “Munchcast” and other specialist shows like “This Week in Law”.
TWiT made around US$2,5m in 2008, derived from a mix of advertising revenue and donations. More importantly, its costs are estimated to only have been $350 000. TWiT offers its shows for free but accepts recurring donations from viewers, or listeners, who wish to contribute. It’s the 21st Century version of a “subscription” and pretty much the only way you can get people to pay for online content at all.
Speaking to me from the TWiT cottage over Skype, Laporte says the business grew organically at first. He makes it immediately clear his form of broadcasting wasn’t designed for the mainstream. However, that’s changing in terms of Internet broadcasting in general.
Says Laporte: “I never attempted to make what we do something that was broad [in appeal]. I always wanted to make it more specific, even as geeky as we could. Having said that, I think what we’re doing is pioneering a medium that can eventually be broad.”
Laporte says content network is in a “sweet spot” right now because it’s targeted at technology enthusiasts, who are the very “people able to engage in the medium with the required hardware and high-speed Internet access”.
But while the geeks are the early adopters of the medium, the Internet is becoming less scary for the market at large. It’s simple to go to a website and watch a show. It’s more difficult to set up your home for this kind of content. But that’s changing, with new devices that bring Internet connectivity and broadcast-like content to a TV.
Another major change is who is producing the actual content. Whereas traditional radio and TV employed a small number of people who, for the most part, either got their jobs by being highly talented or knowing the right people, now anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can broadcast.
“It’s really gratifying for me to see that somebody who has something to say and who’s interesting can immediately go on the Internet and have potential for an audience of a billion people globally with fairly inexpensive equipment,” says Laporte.
“The democratisation of mass media will have an impact we can’t even imagine. We all have a megaphone now: it’s not just the evening anchor on the news who gets to talk about stuff. When moveable type was introduced to the Western world by Guttenberg in the 15th Century, it had an impact that was lasting and the Reformation came out of it. It changed everything. And this is like that – times a thousand,” Laporte says.
TWiT has proved there’s money in online broadcasting. And while SA’s lagging most of the world in terms of connectivity, that’s changing rapidly and creating a platform for the next generation of South African broadcasters waiting to take their content to the world.
The Internet has also provided a platform for a new form of media, especially in broadcasting, that had no legacy to worry about: companies born online think digitally without worrying about how it used to be done.
It’s hard to categorise the new breed of broadcaster emerging online. At the forefront of the Internet broadcasting revolution are United States companies such as Revision 3 and the TWiT Netcast Network. The latter is run by entrepreneurial American technology broadcaster and author Leo Laporte, who coined the term “Netcasting” for this new form of broadcasting.
Laporte is no rookie at broadcasting in general, with a substantial history in traditional TV and radio broadcasting. But he’s all about the Internet now, broadcasting online from the “TWiT Cottage” in Petaluma, California. His business started with a podcast called “This Week in Tech” his company now takes its name from. The show brings together prominent technology journalists and other pundits for a chat about the week’s technology news.
Since starting in 2005 it’s grown into a broadcasting network with more than 20 shows, mostly focused on technology and science topics but with some lifestyle netcasts, such as the food-orientated “Munchcast” and other specialist shows like “This Week in Law”.
TWiT made around US$2,5m in 2008, derived from a mix of advertising revenue and donations. More importantly, its costs are estimated to only have been $350 000. TWiT offers its shows for free but accepts recurring donations from viewers, or listeners, who wish to contribute. It’s the 21st Century version of a “subscription” and pretty much the only way you can get people to pay for online content at all.
Speaking to me from the TWiT cottage over Skype, Laporte says the business grew organically at first. He makes it immediately clear his form of broadcasting wasn’t designed for the mainstream. However, that’s changing in terms of Internet broadcasting in general.
Says Laporte: “I never attempted to make what we do something that was broad [in appeal]. I always wanted to make it more specific, even as geeky as we could. Having said that, I think what we’re doing is pioneering a medium that can eventually be broad.”
Laporte says content network is in a “sweet spot” right now because it’s targeted at technology enthusiasts, who are the very “people able to engage in the medium with the required hardware and high-speed Internet access”.
But while the geeks are the early adopters of the medium, the Internet is becoming less scary for the market at large. It’s simple to go to a website and watch a show. It’s more difficult to set up your home for this kind of content. But that’s changing, with new devices that bring Internet connectivity and broadcast-like content to a TV.
Another major change is who is producing the actual content. Whereas traditional radio and TV employed a small number of people who, for the most part, either got their jobs by being highly talented or knowing the right people, now anyone with a computer and an Internet connection can broadcast.
“It’s really gratifying for me to see that somebody who has something to say and who’s interesting can immediately go on the Internet and have potential for an audience of a billion people globally with fairly inexpensive equipment,” says Laporte.
“The democratisation of mass media will have an impact we can’t even imagine. We all have a megaphone now: it’s not just the evening anchor on the news who gets to talk about stuff. When moveable type was introduced to the Western world by Guttenberg in the 15th Century, it had an impact that was lasting and the Reformation came out of it. It changed everything. And this is like that – times a thousand,” Laporte says.
TWiT has proved there’s money in online broadcasting. And while SA’s lagging most of the world in terms of connectivity, that’s changing rapidly and creating a platform for the next generation of South African broadcasters waiting to take their content to the world.
