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Line 54: On May 6, 1997, computer magazine publisher [[Ziff Davis]] announced its plan to launch a 24-hour interactive cable network specializing in computers and the Internet. The publisher put $100 million behind the project and planned to debut the channel, titled ZDTV, in early 1998. Projected programming for the channel included talk shows on the impact of technology, business-oriented shows evaluating investments in high-tech stocks, and reviews of software and hardware.<ref name=NewYorkDaily>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-tv-for-pc-crowd/122109644/ |title=TV for PC crowd |last=Kelly |first=Keith J. |newspaper=[[New York Daily News|Daily News]] |location=[[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]] |date=May 7, 1997 |page=56}}</ref> Children's programming was also planned for the weekends.<ref name=DesertSun>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-desert-sun-computer-tv-stakes-out-te/122111839/ |title=Computer TV stakes out territory |newspaper=[[The Desert Sun]] |location=[[Palm Springs, California]] |date=May 7, 1997 |page=32}}</ref> The channel had 11 initial charter advertisers, including [[IBM]], [[Gateway 2000]], [[Microsoft]], and [[Charles Schwab Corporation|Charles Schwab]].<ref name=NewYorkDaily/> Ziff Davis chairman and CEO Eric Hippeau cited the increasing presence of computers in cable television homes and workspaces as motivation for filling the niche of programming about computers, saying "This is a huge audience and it will only get bigger".<ref name=DesertSun/> The channel launched on Monday May 11, 1998, on cable systems in Las Vegas, Detroit, parts of Georgia near Atlanta and parts of [[Maine]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/zdtv-launches-monday/|title=ZDTV launches Monday|first=Martha|last=Stone|website=ZDNet}}</ref> An early adopter of ZDTV was [[Charter Communications]] (also owned by Paul Allen at the time), which began carrying the channel in Newnan, Georgia in July 1998.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.multichannel.com/news/zdtv-eyes-8m-mark-year-end-145310|title=ZDTV Eyes 8M Mark by Year-End|first=Linda|last=Moss|website=Multichannel}}</ref> On August 1, 1998, ZDTV was broadcast in its native San Francisco when the channel struck a deal with [[DirecTV]] to become available on Channel 273 Vulcan Ventures first invested in ZDTV, a network that supplemented content from Ziff-Davis' computer and technology based print publications (at the time including PC Magazine, MacWEEK, and eWEEK), in November 1998, acquiring a one-third interest from Ziff-Davis. In November 1999, Vulcan purchased the remaining two-thirds in a transaction that was completed on January 21, 2000. The deal (which permitted Vulcan to temporarily continue using the "ZD" initials and "red diamond" logo) was worth approximately $204.8 million. In July 2000, it was announced that [[ZDNet]] would be acquired by [[CNET]], placing ZDTV in the awkward position of using the initials and logo of a company that soon would belong to its main TV programming rival. However, a new name was already being worked on. | |||