Publisher Ziff-Davis Inc said that its ZDTV unit has received an investment of $54m from Paul Allen’s Vulcan Ventures Inc. Ziff bills ZDTV as the first 24-hour cable channel focused on the internet and related technologies. The $54m makes Vulcan Ventures a one-third partner in ZDTV, which claims to have 20 cable affiliates in the fold, allowing it to reach nine million homes. Ziff also said it will exercise its option to purchase the ZDTV business from MAC, an affiliate of Softbank Corp – which itself holds a 71% ownership stake in Ziff-Davis. Ziff had said it would exercise an option to purchase the cable concern from MAC if it had access to eight million homes by the end of the year. Included in the purchase is ZD Television Productions, which creates customized programming for ZDTV and third parties.
