ThisWeekIn on its Way Out
January 10, 2013
ThisWeekIn podcaster Jason Calacanis throws in most of the towel with Leo LaPorte logos on it. Tech Crunch announces, “Jason Calacanis Says He Will Shut Down Podcast Network ThisWeekIn.com, This Week In Startups Will Continue.” Yes, ThisWeekIn will be no more, and Calacanis is returning leftover funds to his investors. Though the company is closing shop, the associated podcasts “This Week in Startups,” hosted by Calacanis, and “Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show” are to continue.
Calacanis doesn’t want us to get the idea that ThisWeekIn failed, however; he insists the show was moderately successful, but believes it would not be able to scale up to reach breakout success. Very few podcasts do, he notes, and only a team made of those who have already triumphed in this arena (like Leo Laporte, Kevin Rose, Adam Carolla, and Kevin Pollak) would be worth the bother. Hmm.
The article informs us:
“Back in 2010, the company raised $300,000 in funding from Matt Coffin, Sky Dayton, and Calacanis himself. At the time, Calacanis compared the model to Weblogs Inc., the blog network that he sold to Aol. (Before the funding was announced, Leo Laporte, host of This Week In Tech, criticized Calacanis for using the ‘This Week In’ name. Calacanis responded that he’d gotten Laporte’s blessing.)
“Over email, Calacanis . . . emphasized that the company was doing all right, breaking even with $500,000 in annual revenue and two hit shows (Calacanis’ and Pollak’s). He also said that there will be no layoffs, with the five full-time employees continuing to work on This Week In Startups.”
So. . . if the company is shutting down, how is it that it is doing alright, two shows are continuing, and there will be no layoffs? I’m a little confused on that point. Oh, well, I’m sure it will all work out.
So, what’s next for the great emulator? Discovering fire?
Cynthia Murrell, January 10, 2013
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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