Techno-TV for the Internet Set

As the personal computer and the Internet slowly morph into media for the masses, they’re starting to show up with inevitable frequency on that mass-media workhorse, the television set.

Earlier this month, CNBC launched its IBM-sponsored technology program, “Scan.” The fledgling MSNBC cable network is hoping to make a splash with “The Site.” C/Net, the ambitious San Francisco-based technology information firm, is building a stable of cable TV technology shows. Wired magazine is poised to join the fray as well with an MSNBC show called “The Netizen.”

And those are only the most elaborate efforts. Less highbrow shows that have sprung up in the last year include pedestrian consumer shows, such as “Computer Connection” on CNN, and daily business programs, such as “Digital Jam” on CNNfn.

The prize is an influential demographic--the technology-savvy younger end of the 18- to 35-year-old range--that advertisers such as telephone and computer companies will pay dearly to reach. But finding a consistent, broadly appealing focus in an area as sprawling and complicated as high technology is no easy trick.

Neither is avoiding the many potential conflicts of interest surrounding programs that are paid for--even owned--by the very industry they cover. Several of the bigger shows, in fact, are actually companions to Internet-based information services, and their producers are more than a little interested in how the information revolution will change conventional television.

So far, “C/Net Central,” carried on the Sci Fi Channel and USA Network, and MSNBC’s “The Site” appear to have taken the lead in attracting wired viewers and advertisers.

“Our show is very hot with advertisers like MCI, IBM and Microsoft,” says Kevin Wendle, executive producer of C/Net TV. “These advertisers are looking for opportunities to reach an audience which is interested in this content, because there aren’t that many places to reach these people.”

The 30-minute “C/Net Central,” which was launched with the C/Net Web site in 1994, now anchors a two-hour block of programming on the Sci Fi Channel. It’s flanked by two other C/Net shows, “The Web” and “The New Edge.” Both “C/Net Central” and “The Web” deliver industry news from the C/Net online empire, and all are aimed at technology sophisticates.

So far, so good: More than a million people a week watch the “C/Net: The Digital Domain” block on Sci Fi and the repeat of “C/Net Central” on USA--a pretty respectable head count for a cable program.

The MSNBC network reaches only about 22 million homes--compared with 38 million for the Sci Fi Channel and 68 million for USA. “The Site” has released no viewing numbers so far, but the combination of the show’s daily time slot, free cross-promotion from NBC and the expansion of MSNBC should enable it to build a following.

Produced by NBC News as a 50-50 joint venture with the newly formed television arm of computer trade publishing powerhouse Ziff Davis, “The Site” tries to tread a thin line in appealing to both techies and neophytes. Insider gossip is mixed with feature stories that range from cheesy pieces on computer camps for kids to information about adoption services online, and the tone steers away from the gee-whiz.

Indeed, after its initial weeks on the air, the producers have ratcheted the content up a few notches on the technical scale. One recent week’s lineup, for example, included pieces on home banking, virtual funerals and bogus computer chips.

“In all the technology shows I have worked on, there is a tendency to become very rah-rah about the product and talk about how cool each gadget is,” says Richard Fisher, executive producer for Ziff Davis Television. “We try really hard not to do that. The key word is ‘context’--what does this technology mean to people’s lives?”

Both “The Site” and C/Net struggle with the challenges of making the two-dimensional medium of the Internet interesting on television. “The Site” has included a computer-generated figure at the coffee bar who dishes the dirt on New York’s Silicon Alley each day, while “C/Net Central” tries to inject some humor via stand-up comedian Brian Copeland.

The two shows share another attribute: the strong potential for conflicts of interest. The problem is most evident in the case of “The Site,” a news show about computing and the Internet that’s half-owned by the most important company in that industry, Microsoft.

The issue is a constant for “The Site’s” production team, and it caused something of a ruckus when a look at the merits of Microsoft’s Explorer Web browser versus Netscape’s Navigator came down heavily on the Microsoft side. Some reports, including one in the Washington Post, claimed the review was factually wrong and unbalanced.

NBC and Ziff Davis counter that a team of experienced news producers and reporters make sure “The Site’s” reporting is balanced, though there may have been some lapse on this particular segment.

C/Net has somewhat different issues. “C/Net Central” was launched as a companion to C/Net’s massive Web site, and thus the show has a built-in conflict when reporting on other Web sites. And it has some powerful industry shareholders--namely Intel, which holds a 4.5% stake, and Microsoft co-founder and technology entrepreneur Paul Allen, who owns 20.9%.

CNBC’s “Scan,” which premiered Oct. 5, has yet another type of conflict: The show, a feel-good program about technology’s impact on people’s lives, is underwritten by IBM, and the computer giant has a veto over editorial content. So far, the IBM link doesn’t seem to have a direct impact on what’s covered.

Freelance writer Louise McElvogue can be reached at mclouise@tunanet.com