TechTV was an American cable television channel with a focus on technology. It was launched as ZDTV on May 11, 1998 by computer magazine publisher Ziff Davis following two short-lived technology-based programs by the company. Initially targeting tech enthusiasts with programming including Xplay, The Screen Savers and Call for Help, it aimed to report and inform on computers and the internet during the dot-com bubble. In 2000, it was sold to Vulcan Ventures, owned by Paul Allen, and rebranded as TechTV in 2001, expanding its reach to 43 million homes while shifting toward broader tech-related content, including gaming and pop culture. Facing struggles brought on by the dot-com crash and the growth of the internet, TechTV merged with Comcast's G4 network in 2004, briefly becoming G4techTV before the TechTV brand was phased out entirely by 2005, as G4 pivoted to a younger, gaming-centric audience, marking the end of TechTV's original vision.