TWiT.tv
 | This article may rely excessively on sources too closely associated with the subject, potentially preventing the article from being verifiable and neutral. (December 2020) |
38°16′35″N 122°40′03″W / 38.2764301°N 122.6676119°W
 | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Worldwide, via Internet |
| Headquarters | Petaluma, California |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | TWiT LLC |
| History | |
| Launched | April 2005 |
| Founder | Leo Laporte |
| Links | |
| Website | TWiT.tv; wiki |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| YouTube | Watch Live |
TWiT.tv is a podcast network that broadcasts technology-focused podcasts, founded by broadcaster and author Leo Laporte in 2005, 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. As of January 2024, the network hosts 14 podcasts;[1] however, some are being discontinued, or are only available with a Club TWiT subscription.[2] Podcasts include This Week in Tech, Security Now, and MacBreak Weekly.
TWiT founder and owner Leo Laporte, in an October 2009 speech, stated that it grossed revenues of $1.5 million per year, while costs were around $350,000.[3] In November 2014, during an interview with American Public Media's Marketplace Leo Laporte stated 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.[4] 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, and made "almost" $10 million in revenue in 2016.[5]
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.[6]
Programming [edit]
TWiT's podcasts are centered around technology and technology news. Hosted by experts in journalists or those with working knowledge of respective fields.
As of January 2024 there are 14 shows hosted on the network.
All the shows are available free to watch or download from the TWiT.tv website and are funded by cost per mille embedded sponsorship.[7] Most of the shows are livestreamed from the TWiT studio in Petaluma, California. TWiT's servers host the network's chat rooms using the Internet Relay Chat.[8]
On April 18, 2021, Leo Laporte announced a new paid tier called "Club TWiT" which allows access to member-only podcasts, ad-free podcast feeds, and a members-only Discord server.[9]
On April 10, 2024 Leo Laporte announced the cessation of the Club TWiT "Annual" subscription, and indicated, perhaps humorously, if TWiT would even be around in 2025.[10]
Shows[edit]
The TWiT Network is host to the following shows[11]
| Show | Hosts |
|---|---|
| Home Theater Geeks* | Scott Wilkinson |
| iOS Today* | Mikah Sargent, Rosemary Orchard |
| MacBreak Weekly | Leo Laporte, Andy Ihnatko, Alex Lindsay, Jason Snell |
| Security Now | Steve Gibson, Leo Laporte |
| Tech News Weekly | Mikah Sargent |
| This Week in Google | Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, Paris Martineau |
| This Week in Space | Rod Pyle, Tariq Malik |
| This Week in Tech | Leo Laporte |
| Untitled Linux Show* | Jonathan Bennett |
| Windows Weekly | Leo Laporte, Paul Thurrott, Richard Campbell |
* Paid-access only per Club TWiT membership.
Retired Shows[edit]
The following are the shows that have been retired from the network:[12]
| Show | Hosts |
|---|---|
| Abby's Road | Abby Laporte |
| All About Android | Jason Howell, Ron Richards, Huyen Tue Dao |
| Android App Arena | Jason Howell |
| Ask The Tech Guy | Leo Laporte |
| Before You Buy | Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Leo Laporte |
| Coding 101 | Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Louis Maresca, Shannon Morse |
| Dr. Kiki's Science Hour | Dr. Kiki Sanford |
| FLOSS Weekly | Doc Searls |
| FrameRate | Brian Brushwood, Tom Merritt |
| FourCast | Tom Merritt, Scott Johnson |
| Futures in Biotech | Marc Pelletier |
| Game On! | Brian Brushwood, Veronica Belmont |
| The Giz Wiz | Dick DeBartolo, Leo Laporte, Chad Johnson |
| Green Tech Today | Becky Worley, Dr. Kiki Sanford |
| Hands-On Android | Jason Howell |
| Hands-On iOS | Mikah Sargent |
| Hands-On Mac | Leo Laporte |
| Hands-On Photography | Ant Pruitt |
| Hands-On Tech | Leo Laporte, Jason Howell, Mikah Sargent, Ant Pruitt, Megan Morrone |
| Hands-On Wellness | Ant Pruitt |
| Ham Nation | Bob Heil, Gordon West, George Thomas, Don Wilbanks, Valerie Hotzfeld, Amanda Alden, Dale Puckett |
| iFive for the iPhone | Sarah Lane, Megan Morrone |
| Jumping Monkeys | Megan Morrone, Leo Laporte |
| Know How... | Leo Laporte, Iyaz Akhtar, Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ, Bryan Burnett, Megan Morrone, Florence Ion, Jason Howell, Sam Machkovech |
| The Laporte Report | Leo Laporte |
| MacBreak | Leo Laporte, Kendra Arimoto, Emery Wells, Merlin Mann, Alex Lindsay |
| Marketing Mavericks | Tonya Hall |
| Maxwell's House | Ray Maxwell |
| Munchcast | Leo Laporte, Cammy Blackstone |
| net@night | Leo Laporte, Amber MacArthur |
| The New Screen Savers | Leo Laporte |
| NSFW | Brian Brushwood, Justin Robert Young |
| OMGcraft | Chad (OMGchad) Johnson |
| Padre's Corner | Fr. Robert Ballecer, SJ |
| redditUP | Sarah Lane, Chad Johnson |
| Roz Rows the Pacific | Roz Savage |
| Science News Weekly | Dr. Kiki Sanford |
| Smart Tech Today | Mikah Sargent, Matthew Cassinelli |
| The Social Hour | Sarah Lane, Amber MacArthur |
| Tech History Today | Tom Merritt |
| Tech News 2Night | Sarah Lane, Megan Morrone |
| Tech News Today | Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Iyaz Akhtar, Mike Elgan, Megan Morrone, Jason Howell |
| The Tech Guy | Leo Laporte |
| This Week in Computer Hardware | Patrick Norton, Ryan Shrout, Allyn Malventano, Sebastian Peak |
| This Week in Enterprise Tech | Louis Maresca, Brian Chee, Curt Franklin |
| This Week in Fun | Sarah Lane, Martin Sargent |
| This Week in Law | Denise Howell, Evan Brown, Stefan Szpajda |
| This Week in Radio Tech | Kirk Harnack |
| This Week in YouTube | Chad Johnson, Lamarr Wilson |
| Trey's Variety Hour | Trey Ratcliff |
| Triangulation | Leo Laporte, Jason Howell, Mikah Sargent, Denise Howell, Megan Morrone |
| TWiT Photo | Leo Laporte, Catherine Hall |
| Valley of Genius | Leo Laporte, Adam Fisher |
Litigation[edit]
In May 2017, Twitter announced that it would deliver original video content on its platform. Lawyers from TWiT believed this violated a spoken agreement between Leo Laporte and Twitter co-founder Evan Williams made in 2009, and infringed on TWiT's trademark. TWiT tried to informally resolve the trademark issue, and in January 2018 filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Twitter.[13]
In March 2018 Twitter filed a motion to dismiss.[14] On May 30, 2018, US Magistrate Judge Jaqueline Scott Corley granted Twitters' motion to dismiss the case. The judge found that TWIT's discussions with Twitter "do not support a plausible inference that Twitter agreed to never offer audio or video content under the Twitter brand."[15]
Awards[edit]
- This Week in Tech was the recipient of the 2005, 2008, and 2010 People's Choice Podcast Awards in the Technology category and Best Video Podcast in 2009 and 2011.[16]
- Tech News Today was the recipient of the 2012 International Academy of Web Television award for Best News Web Series.[17] It also won the People's Choice Podcast Awards in the Technology category in 2011 and 2013.[16]
- Security Now was the recipient of the 2007 People's Choice Podcast Awards in the Technology category.[16]
- 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.[18]
- In 2011, This Week in Tech was named "Best Technology Podcast", and TWiT Photo was named "Best New Technology Podcast" by iTunes Rewind.[19]
- In 2017, Triangulation was awarded the first "Best Podcast: Technology" Webby Award for the episode Leo Laporte Talks with Edward Snowden's Lawyer, and Leo Laporte was chosen as an Honoree for "Podcasts: Best Host" by The Webby Awards[20]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "Tech Podcasts from This Week in Tech - TWiT". TWiT.tv. Retrieved December 26, 2023.
- ^ "Club TWiT Exclusives". TWiT.tv. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
- ^ "Leo Laporte Makes $1.5 Million Per Year from Podcasting [Video]". Mashable. October 3, 2009. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Podcasting's audience (and its profits) are growing". American Public Media. November 6, 2014.
- ^ "This Week in Google episode 414". TWiT.tv. July 19, 2017. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "This Week in Tech episode 483". TWiT.tv. November 6, 2014. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ Andrew Keen interviewed on the TV show Triangulation on the TWiT.tv network
- ^ Kalish, Jon (October 3, 2016). "Geek Squad? Nah, Try TWIT's Chat Rooms". PCMag. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ "Club TWiT". TWiT.tv. April 18, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
- ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=PJmSCFsVjf29_zRi&t=6095&v=Bu-UJffrOnc&feature=youtu.be
- ^ "Podcasts".
- ^ "TWiT Shows Retired". TWiT.tv. TWiT. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
- ^ England, Rachel (January 17, 2018). "Twitter faces trademark infringement lawsuit from podcast network". Engadget. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
- ^ "Motion to Dismiss: TWiT LLC vs. Twitter Inc. Case: 3:18-cv-00341-JSC" (PDF). Retrieved March 20, 2018.
- ^ "Case Dismissal: TWiT LLC vs. Twitter Inc. Case: 3:18-cv-00341-JSC". Retrieved May 30, 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Podcast Awards - Past Winners". Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "Winners From The 2012 IAWTV Awards Held At CES In Las Vegas Jan. 12, 2012". International Academy of Web Television. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ^ "Geeks Among iTunes Best Podcasts of 2010". Sound & Vision. December 10, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "The Year in Podcasts – best of 2011 from iTunes Rewind". 1x57.com. December 23, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
- ^ "Leo Laporte talks with Edward Snowden's Lawyer". webbyawards.com. May 15, 2017. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
External links[edit]
- TWiT.tv
- 2005 establishments in California
- Internet properties established in 2005
- Television channels and stations established in 2005
- Companies based in Sonoma County, California
- Petaluma, California
- Podcasting companies
- Internet television channels
- Computer television series
- Mass media in Sonoma County, California