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Tom Merritt betrays his Patreon supporters with return to TWiT

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Why has Tom Merritt decided now to return to TWiT after a nearly two-year absence?
Why has Tom Merritt decided now to return to TWiT after a nearly two-year absence?

UPDATE: Tom is indeed getting some pushback about this on his Patreon page. And he’s said himself in the comments that his Patreon is down by six supporters.

UPDATE 2: If you think that we’re over exaggerating the bizarre nature of Tom appearing again on TWiT, please remember this little gem of an e-mail message that Leo sent.

Tom Merritt—his career nearly destroyed by a vengeful Leo Laporte—is returning as a guest this Sunday to “This Week in Tech,” effectively plunging a dagger into the backs of his Patreon supporters. Tom, of course, has been making a name for himself as the host of the “Daily Tech News Show” after leaving TWiT. The ever-greedy Leo denied Tom’s deserved salary increase so Lisa could continue her penny-pinching assault on the entire TWiT staff.

Many are dumbfounded with Tom’s intention to help bolster Leo’s sagging ratings and view his return to the Brickhouse as a slap in the face to their financial support of Tom’s quest for independence.

Sarah Lane is thrilled to be on "The New Screen Savers."
Sarah Lane is thrilled to be on “The New Screen Savers.”

Rumors are swirling that Leo softened his stance relative to the departed TNT star because his network is floundering. Hot on the heels of Sarah Lane’s appearance on “The New Screen Savers,” one can only imagine that Iyaz Akhtar will appear on “Before You Buy” next week.

So if you haven’t already withdrawn your support from Tom Merritt’s Patreon, you can click here to show your displeasure and keep your hard-earned money.

The back-and-forth is getting interesting:

tom-patreon

156 thoughts on “Tom Merritt betrays his Patreon supporters with return to TWiT”

  2. Of course he’s appearing on TWiT, he had to. Gum gave his show all that free publicity so being the nice guy Tom is he decided to take the high road and do Soup a solid.

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  4. I’m disappointed in Tom, glad I removed my support a month ago,
    I supported Tom because I felt bad for him getting jerked by Leo, because I liked Tom’s work, but last month I felt he was stable and didn’t need my help anymore, glad I did because tomorrow watching Tom on Twit would have made me shoot myself knowing I was supporting him

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  5. i get why people are upset and leo was a ass about the whole thing with tom leaving. however its not like hes quitting his show and coming back to twit. if anything this is leo trying to regain viewers and hes doing it for business reasons. it was prob the same with jason calacanis. leo sees the viewers tanking and hes panicking prob. as for tom coming on twit its been two years . if you dont want to support him go ahead. the way i see its a business move . hell prob plug his stuff for publicity . leo prob had to beg him to come on. and how is it betraying his supporters ? sure some supported him solely for the way leo crapped on him but some support him for his shows. people still stupidly do it for leos crap ahd he has paid sponsors.

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  7. Great to see Tom back with Leo on TWiT. Will Tom be home in L.A. with the Heil PR-40 microphone he got free during the TWiT days, or in person in Petaluma?

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  9. Adam Curry has done Leo’s show , and would probably do it again. It’s good exposure (no pun intended). I don’t think I can fault anyone for being on twit. I was more bothered by Tom taking a week of to do another project, and having a bunch of people I don’t care to listen to take his place. I got to give it to Dvorak and Curry, they always do the shows regardless of travel.

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    1. I’m glad he did. Jeff knows gaming and is in Petaluma anyway. I’d rather they have a guy on who knows what they’re talking about when it comes to gaming. Usully it’s just Paul and Leo going on about the Xbox on Windows Weekly.

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  11. Apparently DTNS is doing $16,000 a month on patreon. It’s mutually beneficial for these two to squash but Tom is the one doing the favour here.

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  12. This is the final straw! First Cali Lewis (or whatever the fuck her name is this week) screwed over her Patreon supporters by leaving her partnership with the ever creepy John P. to go out on her own.

    Then , there’s Chad: he of the unannounced ad two weeks ago and now who accepts advertising , spitting in the eyes of his Patreon supporters. And still has a TWIT Fez in camera view.

    Now, this shit with Tom. Don’t these people have any scruples? Why are they giving in to this sexual harasser?

    These are three versions I don’t Patreon anybody. Remember, as much as they like to think so, these people are not rock stars celebs. They’re journalists who can’t get OTA jobs. Instead, they are web stars – if such a thing exists.

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  13. This is why you don’t give money to these people. All they will do is screw you in the end. The only people I think would not do it is no Agenda.

    But this has to show you how bad twit is doing. I did not think it was this bad. Just remember one thing. Now, Twit needs Tom more then Tom needs Twit.

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      1. EXACTLY HE DOESNT NEED TWIT. TWIT NEEDS TOM , sarah and so on. as for tom betraying us i don’t think so he did not appear for two years he took the high road. he didn’t trash leo on live air ect. as for pulling patreon funding go ahead hell probably be fine. he’s only doing it most likely as a business move. think about it it will remind people of toms show if they have been under a rock and it will show others how crappy tnt has become. its a free ad for tom.

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        1. I agree with you, Tom is a straight up guy. He (Tom Merrit) has been nothing but honest and transparent with patreons, more than I can say for Leo and his ceho. Put yourself in Tom’s shoes. Imagine how many appearances he has turned down. He had to make a decision when asked again. A true leader defines himself by his actions that are best for “everyone” involved, not by making selfish decisions that only benefit themselves.

          I grin from ear to ear knowing Lisa is hating every second of this, their ratings have tanked under her leadership, this week’s twit will shoot straight up proving her decisions has been the root of their demize.

          I will be watching today, only because Tom is on there.

          Happy Father’s day!

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  15. Meh, who cares? I’m in it for the content. I could care less about what goes on anywhere else. Everything everywhere is a big circle jerk no matter what. Who the hell cares? Obviously for those of you who have infinite amounts of time on your hands this is a big deal. For the rest of the world no one cares.

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    1. its no worse than when bill or reilly and john stewart went on each others shows. they trashed each other yet they go on each others shows. so what . its business leo once called tom a heir apparent for a reason. although leo screwed him over later on. you think people in tech industry go on twit just cause they like leo . doubtful they go on for a free plug .

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  16. Tom Merritt back on the twit network! So how many more ex twit employees is this site going to slate? Won’t be long till they hate everyone. I love that they are all coming back, just to piss the majority on here ?

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  17. I can say it now: Tom’s wife is annoying as hell! The lovely, doe-eyed Christina Warren is so much more attractive and interesting.

    Tom can do better than her.

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    1. Tom shouldn’t have married his wife, because YOU find her unattractive, annoying and less desirable than doe-eyed Christina Warren? All rightee!

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      1. Now that I heard….

        So lemme get this straight. That unattractive, dull midget has no screen presence, nothing insightful to add. I used to watch AAA, but bailed because of her amateurish commentary.

        The lovely Christina has interviewed US senators, served on panels at E3 and other computer expos and is a *real* writer, who actually interviews people and doesn’t repurpose like his wife did.

        She’ in Graduate School. Eileen whatever the fuck her last name is still in kindergarten.

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          1. Exactly. When I first saw a couple of posts by “Holden” I thought he was a sane person who wrote well but with whom I disagreed. After a couple of exchanges and seeing some more of his posts, I realized he is scarily consumed by anger and rage which make a logical discussion with him impossible. He is best left to his own devices to dwell in his own personal Hell. I hope he gets all his anger out here on TD where at least he isn’t hurting anyone.

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          2. Mr. M: I’m not saying that. All I’m saying is that unlike his wife, she’s a real journalist and not a wannabe.

            And that Christina is a million times better looking than his dumpy wife. He can do better than her.

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      2. Now that I heard….

        So lemme get this straight. That unattractive, dull midget has no screen presence, nothing insightful to add. I used to watch AAA, but bailed because of her amateurish commentary.

        The lovely Christina has interviewed US senators, served on panels at E3 and other computer expos and is a *real* writer, who actually interviews people and doesn’t repurpose like his wife did.

        She’ in Graduate School. Eileen whatever the fuck her last name is still in kindergarten.

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  18. As Gavin Belson said on “Silicon Valley” a couple of weeks ago, “These aren’t real journalists., They’re ‘tech journalists’.”

    I’ll go further. They aren’t even real “tech journalists.” These clowns are all self-appointed pundits.

    They couldn’t buy themselves a real job.

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  19. I think Tom is wrong for going on that show. But it’s just him being overly nice and clueless to most of Leo’s acts. This post will turn many against this blog. Leo will score a big victory with this and probably attempt to get Tom to go negative on trolls. He will throw Tom under the bus to get this blog against Tom. A good strategy for him.

    Soon you will see Brian and Justin back too. Twit will still not last, the clock is ticking and Leo won’t obstruct twit’s impending doom. He may bung the trolling though. But he has been exposed and that is a one way street, he can’t turn back. And if you think Leo wants Tom on for any other reason then to curb trolling…… Have you seen Dr Kiki, Iyaz, Amber, Kirk, Ray Maxwell or Lamarr Wilson, Roz or Scott Johnson on. He will want you back if you go to NBC like Becky or have a huge following like Veronica but otherwise…. They will all be back now. (No comment on Catherine Hall)

    Once the trolling subsides. You won’t see Tom, Sarah, Brian etc on TWiT again.

    Poll – http://strawpoll.me/4699839

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    1. i agree its leos desperate attempt to get viewers back, its just like tnss. hes dong what he should have done years ago and let former hosts who left or were fired for whatever come back and do the shows every so often. things would have been better off if he did that then. now he sees twit sinking and its is lame ass attempt to get people back. meanwhile tome ect will get free plugs and some will switch over and leave twit

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    3. It’s simply closure.

      Do you know what’s the second worse thing next to actively dealing with the chaos of TWiT? Having the yoke of “former TWiT person” around your neck forever. Whenever Leo fucks up… you’re told. Whenever TWiT cancels something or brings something back… it’s in your face.

      If you want it to go away you need to make it boring. Tom went on TWiT so he could close the circle and focus on DTNS. DTNS isn’t a reaction to Leo, it’s a franchise in and of itself.

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      1. And yet, he will be back on other episodes. Dont forget the TechTV people, they are all on as guests in the upcoming months ahead – the real story. THe guests arent just fired TWiT employees coming back.

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  20. I’ve always thought people like Tom Merrit and Scott Johnson hit Patreon simply to cash in somewhat on their online following, so this is really no big surprise.

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    1. I would say Tom is the least money driven person around. The more money he makes on Patreon the more he gives back to his audience. He pays Patrick, Jury, Veronica etc for one reason, to make a better show for his fans. There is a reason his Patreon is always going up and it’s because he is always trying to make his show better.

      He feels a deep responsibility to his patrons and I imagine most would be shocked to see how much effort he puts into his shows.

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    3. What do you expect them to do? This is their job. I’d much rather throw a few bucks at them here and there instead of listening to a podcast riddled with ads for Casper matresses and Naturebox.

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  21. Overreact much?

    Do I think it’s surprising that Tom is appearing on TWiT? Yeah. Do I think it’s a good idea? Not exactly.

    But “SEVER ALL SUPPORT OF TOM MERRIT BECAUSE HE’S APPEARING ON TWIT ONCE!”? No…

    This is business guys. It doesn’t pay to torch all your bridges behind you, and just for good measure throw a cruise missile at them.

    Leo has lost a lot of respect from me over the last couple years, to the point where I am no longer a viewer of anything on his network (though I think I’ll make an exception for this pot of gold). Tom has done everything he can to stay classy since the separation. Him appearing on one episode of TWiT doesn’t make him lose any class in my mind, and in some ways feels like sweet justice that he’s appearing as a guest and doing so well for himself after that disgrace of a separation and the way TWiT handled things.

    I know this place is all about tabloid drama for a relatively small community, but lighten up guys.

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  22. Tom is not betraying anyone. I’m sorry TD, but you got this one wrong. Tom appearing in TWiT means nothing if not good things for Tom. DTNS is on the rise, and what better way to get new fans than to appear on TWiT and expose his knowledge and charisma to an audience that already knows him but might not be willing to relocate, they will now.

    Also, you’re missing the story, the story is not Tom appearing on TWiT, the story is Twit network bowing down to Tom, DTNS and the power of Patreon. A couple months ago Twit would have never given this type of spotlight to Tom, no way, no how. But now that they are in deep sh!t, they have to, because they need viewers, they need sponsors to see they’re still a viable platform, and they need to do that ASAP after dickgate and all their poor managed decisions.

    I for one I’m happy Tom is back at the brickhouse for one more show. DTNS is doing great and will keep doing great after this, you’ll see a surge of patreons.

    Sorry TD, you got this one wrong.

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    1. Totally agree with you Ron. I think HELLOWORLD is being a bit of a drama queen in suggesting people have been stabbed in the back by Tom.

      I think it’s a great opportunity for Tom to promote his own work.

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      1. Is it true that the TD admins are going to cut off HelloWorld’s access to post? I hope so! That would improve this site since he always posts crap, fake shit, or downright stupid posts.

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  23. You guys were pissed when Tom left TWiT, now you’re upset he’s appearing on TWiT? Make up your fucking minds.
    I was shocked to hear he’ll be back and I’m happy he’s returning to do the show.

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  24. it’s so funny people here think tom or chad or justin and brian are on the same side as TD or are supposed to be. you guys don’t remember when tom very openly called for the end of the drama at the start of the year? TD is the only group that wants discourse between leo and everyone else and you dont even realize you’re making all of these former-twit people look bad by being so unrelentingly childish. guess that doesn’t matter much since it seems most of the commenters here find a reason to complain about anyone they don’t ever have to see/hear anyway.

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  25. For those who believe Tom’s appearance won’t benefit Tom, remember that twit’s audience is much larger. Most of that audience doesn’t give a shit about drama. He’ll covert some of that audience over to him. Go snapshot his patreon numbers now, and then look again in a few days. You’ll see a bump.

    Some people are professional, and Tom is about as professional as they come. He deserves respect.

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    1. I agree ThinkPeople, I believe Tom has been beyond professional over these past 2 years and for people to quit their Patreon over what they think is betrayal is simply misguided. He rose above the crap that Leo was creating and now he’s better off from it doing his own thing and being successful with it.

      Tom being back on TWIT doesn’t mean he betrayed ANYONE. Clearly Leo begged him to come back and he didn’t have to do it, but he did. Tom always wants wants to be the peace keeper, so him being on the show simply means to him what happened 2 years ago is behind him and he’s ready to move on.

      I will say, however, that Leo getting old hosts to come back IS a desperation move. Again he’s trying to recapture the former glory that TWIT once had, and things like TNSS and having old hosts come back all point to that. It may work in the short term, but the company is still spinning out of control.

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  26. • There was a negotiation between Leo and Tom over a new contract for Tom.

    • It didn’t work out.

    • Leo said Tom had an agent who didn’t understand the financial realities of
    TWiT and what it could pay to keep Tom and thus the agent over-demanded. Could be true or could be BS.

    • Tom has not said why the contract negotiations broke down.

    That’s all anyone here knows. The only drama here is a soap opera concocted by those who think they can grok the whole truth from the sliver of reality they view over the public internet and then use to make unsupportable and expansive extrapolations.

    Of course, why these drama fans care so much about so little is another topic for another time.

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    3. Leo is the king of lies.

      He said “he couldn’t afford Tom” he said Tom asked for a raise. He tried to make Tom the bad guy instead of being honest and fair and saying two individuals did not reach a financial agreement. According to Tom, no raise was asked for. He requested the same deal although he was now remote. Leo had a right not to renew but no right to lie and besmirch Tom.

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  27. You should have mentioned that after losing 6 patrons, Tom still has 5,076 left or a loss of .001% or about one per thousand patrons. Also, I just read through the first 40 of the 82 comments to Tom’s Patreon post and not one of them was critical of Tom appearing on TWiT and all of them are identified by a little rectangle that if hovered over says, “supports Tom Merritt” which I assume means they are actual patrons.

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  28. It’s about money, plain and simple… They paid him, he accepted. My guess this is a ruse to bait Tom back. Legume is getting kicked out. Leo and Lisa are not dumb, they know viewership sunk and they need to mend.

    Please recall that Leo and Lisa had an announcement to make in the coming months following TNSS. I am guessing Tom is announcing a return during his appearance.

    Leo and Lisa have learned to keep fans happy. It keeps sites like this less likely and the viewership numbers higher. Those in turn draw the ads. I can only speculate they are having to put out more fires now with the lacklustre hosts and audience disproval. Not worth the hassle of saving a few more thousand dollars paying for someone that people like and tune in for.

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  29. I don’t see the the big ambiguity is for you couch Sherlocks, Leo is documented as acting like an ass with self-contradicting comments about the whole Tom Merritt thing. I’m no fan of Tom either, but I know where the bullshit is.

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  30. On TD blog and chat, I constantly read that TWiT is on its last legs with viewers running for the exits. I see no evidence for this.

    In fact, the circumstantial evidence is to the contrary. There have never been more ads for more sponsors. Crappy, tacky sponsors to be sure, but that’s not the issue. L & L live a life of extreme luxury even as Leo has to support 2 kids and an ex-wife who is into him as per the California divorce laws.

    All this impending doom for TWiT is wishful thinking and comically absurd as Leo and Lisa (both of whom I find as obnoxious as all of you) laugh all the way to the bank.

    What is the *evidence* that TWiT is a fading enterprise? I’d be happy to hear of any, but I doubt any will be forthcoming.

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    1. because its all speculation and bullshit. there are no sources aside from random dots they try to connect from chatter on the stream.

      it is like that preacher who swore the rapture was a-comin and the world was going to end next month and then kept changing the dates as it didnt happen again and again.

      totaldrama is a false prophet.

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      1. Man, tyson, how far up your ass is Leo’s dick? Obviously, he’s bringing Tom and Sarah back to increase the shows’ views.

        Or maybe your buddy soup apologized on one knee to each?

        Which do u think is the more probable?

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    2. They are paid by download. Downloads are down on every single metric. The metrics stink but they can’t all be wrong. iTunes, Stitcher, YouTube etc. (Fact)

      The crappy little companies that do ads are not a sign of success. Successful ads are the ones you hear all over real media like Legalzoom and Ziprecruiter and carbonite. I still watch some shows and many big sponsors have left. The only new good one is Casper. (Good meaning $$$) Nature box, Audible, Squarespace etc etc are way way way down. (Leo will admit this, he could get a ton of small companies to buy ads but they are very hard to profitably manage)

      Call it speculation if you must but it’s thought out. The old TNT had three ads per show and the new one maxes out at two ads of three rotating companies. Bulk deals have been made. Combine less ads per show and lower downloads. When twit did well they could afford shows like Social Hour, and Giz. They can’t even afford to replace Gina now. They have not let Elgan make one new show. Padre was hired because Citrix wanted an enterprise show and paid for it.Citrix is gone and Padre’s shows are on because Padre is free labor. His ratings are literally off the charts besides Iyaz’s show Know-How.

      No new shows have worked since AAA a few years ago. They needed Leo to reboot Screen Savers. They have admitted twit is dead without Leo. They would make a lot more money closing the studio and keeping three people on staff to edit/produce. Maybe continue to pay Lisa an inflated salary to keep profits down to lower payments to his ex-wife.

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      1. sounds like pretty wild speculation combined with wishful thinking. doubt we will ever know the truth but unless twit has secret investors it looks like business is fine.

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      3. Interesting, for sure. Are you saying iTunes displays how many times a show has been downloaded? I don’t have iTunes or go to Sticher. I thought the Podtrac numbers were a closely held proprietary secret. I didn’t think TWiT cared about YT downloads. I guess you could infer from YT activity how the rest of the downloads were doing. What is the percentage drop-off of all downloads to the extent that you can see them?

        I heard Leo say Padre was “very expensive,” but that Padre’s money was sent directly to the Jesuits. Was that a lie?

        Leo has said for years that his shows and TTG subsidize the rest of the network and he’d be richer if he just did his original shows, SN, WW, MBW, TWiT, and put the money in his personal bank account. But other times, he says TWiT is a profitable enterprise that’s worth the million dollar studio and 20+ employees. Kind of confusing. In that interview he did for Kevin Rose’s show on entrepreneurs, Leo seemed to be saying that with the technologies and apps of the last few years the TWiT plan of a big aggregator of shows might not be viable anymore, because talented people didn’t need a TWiT as a middleman to reach their audience. But then he still seems to expect a big payday at some point when he’ll be able to sell TWiT for millions. Obviously, I have no clue as to where the truth lies.

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        2. The man can not tell the truth.
          Please tell me you do not believe Padre is one of his most expensive hosts.

          Itunes and Stitcher have charts that are based on a combination of DL numbers and trends. YT views are meaningless to TWiT monetarily, they are just on YT to attract viewers, However, they are all metrics and all dropping and that is why we “speculate.”

          The old TNT produced the most revenue. However Leos ego attributed the salaries of 3 people to that one show. Leo attributed all costs to others and all revenue to himself. Leo and the CEO were not able to comprehend that any show breaking even was a huge coup for TWiT.

          If he produced 30 shows breaking even they would all feed new viewers to twit. That is why TWiT used to grow before 2014.

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          1. Yes, Richard Yes!

            Hearing Leo/Lisa talk about the accounting of shows on various Inside TWiTs or chatroom rants was so weird.

            Look at the old TNT. It was daily and had 4 full time employees: Tom, Sarah, Iyaz, and Jason.

            Leo “lost money” on this show because of all the salaries.

            Never mind the fact that he said on multiple occasions that full time talent were required to host/produce a number of shows (I don’t remember the exact number).

            Tom had TNT, Frame Rate, Current Geek, Four Cast, and Triangulation.

            Sarah had TNT, TN2, iPad Today, iFive for the iPhone, The Social Hour, and RedditUP.

            Iyaz had TNT, Know How, and ION.

            Jason had TNT, AAA, Android App Arena — not to mention his duties as producer/TD/editor for other network shows, not just TNT.

            In addition, the entire TNT staff did other things around the Brickhouse, filling in for Leo and other hosts when a vacation or illness came up.

            Yet, their value was allotted solely to TNT, which makes it seem like the show wasn’t making money. Divide Sarah’s salary by the number of shows she did per week (5 TNTs, 1 IPT, 1 iFive, 1 TSH = 8 shows) and you’ll find that her “drain” on TNT isn’t as substantial as it seems. Sure, TNT may require the most work and certainly was the bulk of her salary and definitely produced more revenue than the others. But you can’t say that someone doing 4 different shows per week — all but 1 of which (TSH) Leo always claimed was very successful — should only be categorized as hosting one show for financial purposes.

            But really, that’s not even the point. Richard Yes hits it on the head — small shows that lose a little bit of money, but target niche audiences and make them aware of the larger, successful, general tech shows like TWiT are worth it because they make those niche audiences aware of the network and drive them to the moneymaker shows.

            Leo used to know this! In the early days, when they rapidly launched several shows, this was his whole strategy — target small, niche audiences with podcasts about science and photography and linux and green tech so people interested in those topics will become aware of the show and its affiliation to TWiT.

            This was his whole marketing strategy. This is why he doesn’t like to advertise. He’s always said the word of mouth is best. But word of mouth works best in niche communities, hence FLOSS Weekly, etc.

            Sorry to ramble.

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      1. Yup. And I have to visit the vomitorium every time I see Lisa.

        I just wonder what secret info. Leo has on all these people to make them come back to TWiT. Or, are they just a bunch of attention-whores that need the exposure to feed their fragile egos?

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      3. I don’t remember Leo ever talking about listener growth, it’s just that there is more advertising for the taking these days. If people like Padre are Leo’s triple-A offering, then he’s able to keep costs rock-bottom.

        TWIT’s format was outmoded a long time ago. A lot of top itunes podcasts are long dead and still enjoy their ranking by sheer momentum.

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  31. I think it’s fairly important that someone contacts Tom and tells him what a spectacular dumbass Helloworld is.

    Readers should also be aware that this blog blocks users and deletes comments … especially if you comment on Helloworld.

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  35. Tom, Tom, Tom. Why you wanna go back on TWiT? Are thing really that bad financially for you?

    First Calacanis came back. And now Merritt? How long before JRY & Shwood show up?

    It’s obvious TWiT viewership is down because it’s a rarity to have an x2 overflow chatroom anymore on TWiT.

    I am very ‘disappoint’ Mr. Merritt.

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  36. Leo wants a DIgg to sell. He just needs one show to hit, that’s all he needs and it’s not happening. Lisa will always sell ads but as we see, the quality and relevance has fallen into the shit house.

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  37. Leo I know you read these comments

    You sir are a slim-ball, going to Tom’s Patreon account on air not to promote it but to see how good or bad Tom’s doing, you sir a manipulating asshole, not sure why Tom decided to come to bail out your “tanking” TWIT” show today but we know it wasn’t because you paid him.
    and to say on air you don’t know what took you so long to allow him to come back is an insult to Tom.
    I’m pretty sure Tom wasn’t kicking down the “ShitHouse” door to do a show for Leo, instead Leo and his CEOHO figured it would draw in a huge crowd of viewers number wise so you can bullshit/ swindle new or old sponsors into thinking you have 10,000’s of viewers and all is OK.

    For all those Leo lovers that can’t see through his bullshit and continue to support him by buying the crap products he peddles , Leo doesn’t give a fuck about you …. Wake Up!!!

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    1. Not to worry kids, Tom starts working as News Anchor for TWiT TV doing TNT in the morning and then doing his own show DTNS at lunch time.

      Elgum has proved after 18 months that all his promises he gave Leo while sucking his cock has never come to fruition and TNT has been the same old clusterfuck that it was on day one.

      Heaven knows many gave him a chance including myself but he turned out to the be the same old incompetent, story stealing hack that he has always been.

      They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, but in the tech and tv production world 18 months is a multitude of centuries. If you can’t get it right after 18 months you ain’t gonna get it right ever.

      Now that the TWiT ratings are in the toilet he’s been desperately mending fences with many that he attacked for no reason or to cover his hatred.

      I expected the return to TWiT of Tom Merritt back when Leo suddenly decided to mend fences with Jason Calicanis, even though Mr Calicanis chose to take the high road and say he was as much to blame when it was really all in Leo’s court when he got upset over nothing.

      Leo has realized that many of these people he had shit upon have a following.

      I bet that you will find Brian Brushwood will show up in a few weeks or months. In fact you know that the fence mending has already started as you previously reported Brian & Co shunned anything critical of Leo not too many weeks ago.

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  39. Yeah, this is precisely why I stopped checking out this blog. There was a drop of hope in digging out some of the truth behind some not so ethical decisions but that seems to be long gone. Y’all have become part of the problem, not the investigators of the information. And seem to just stew in growing vileness that you, much that made me leave TWiT behind, lost your way.

    I hope those of you persuaded by this article do follow that link and rescind your pledge. If you pledged to DTNS to spite Leo, I’m confused what you hoped that would accomplish. And if you believe you know more of the story that should prevent Tom, founder of DTNS, and Leo, founder of TWiT, to not act like adults and brew in the same bile you guys are in a fever dream about, the please, don’t act on that impulse on behalf of anyone but yourselves.

    This, the situation, the world, the mistakes, the missteps, the everything, is not as nihilistic as you believe they are. And the story as it appears here now in TotalDrama has become an elaborate work of fiction to create its own drama. The watchers need someone to watch them (#drama) because drama can’t tell what is real anymore.

    Ce la vie.

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    1. They are anti-fans here.

      It’s like those guys that scream about how much they hate Twilight but have read all the books and watched all the movies but… you know… ironically so they can mock it.

      Not that this comment will ever read the page.

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  41. I’m not a TWIT.tv watcher but my husband watches a couple of the shows, so I watch by proxy.
    I don’t really like or dislike Leo, TWIT, or the other hosts but I’m always fascinated by what TD catches leo doing.
    That said….

    I saw TWIT last night.
    Leo twice (before the show started–late again) asked Tom if he would do the ‘week ahead’ segment. (jokingly, but not)
    so in the middle of the show, he springs it on Tom again, and Tom just does it, brilliantly. Better than Elgin ever does.
    I was also really impressed with Tom’s ‘performance’ TWIT in general.
    He was as ever, witty, spontaneous, well-informed.
    Sadly, it just showed just how dry Elgin really is.

    And at the end of the show — Leo’s going on vacation for 3 weeks (who does this?) and announced his 3 guest hosts for the coming shows…
    Jason Calacanis , Kevin Rose, and someone else that I should remember (but I forgot.)
    I can’t wait to see how Kevin Rose does it. Leo said that he moved to NYC. Does that mean that he will skype in? Or are they going to pay to fly him in to do one show?
    Isn’t there someone in house that could do this?
    (that’s a rhetorical question…I already know the answer.)

    And lastly, I don’t like the new website. Links don’t work. All bright and shiny but it doesn’t really do anything. It’s certainly not very informative.

    just an opinion from the sidelines.

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    1. Mike Elgan is a writer by trade, but he deservedly gets a lot of flack as a broadcaster because he was ultimately Tom Merritt’s replacement propped up by many disingenuous accolades and promises from Leo.

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  43. Look, Tom knows Leo is a dick, and Tom knows what Leo said about his departure.

    But if Tom is OK with appearing on TWiT once, maybe we can accept that because he’s made peace with it?

    I would love for Tom’s popularity to reach a point where Leo REALLY can’t afford him, rather than just being too cheap to reduce his own million dollar salary by $100K for Tom.

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  45. You show up on TWiT when invited, because it has an enormous audience and you still need to build your own audience up. You’d be a fool not to take the opportunity to expose yourself to more potential viewers who might follow you afterward.

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    1. I’m still a supporter of Tom’s but he had to have seen this backlash coming. Maybe he didn’t but he has to know that a large portion of his Patreon base are supporting him because of what happened with TWiT/Leo/Lisa. If he had just left TWiT on his own I don’t think he’d be pulling in $16,000+ per month.

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  48. Poor Sarah looks terrible in that picture. Is it the plastic surgery? Maybe. Perhaps she’s lost all her self esteem after being fired by Lisa. Or it could just be the look of an otherwise barely talented news reader.
    She used to have hundreds of fans when she worked at twit but now that she burning the coal with the Hodge twins no one can’t stand watcher her. She’s hard to even listen to after gargling all that ropey cum all night. Maybe it’s time for job somewhere out of the public eye.

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    1. I can’t believe you would be so racist. Just because she likes black dick doesn’t mean she’s not smart or pretty. Her twat is pretty stretched out though. You disgust me.

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  49. Hi,

    I thought I would mention that it looks like the word “desparate” is spelled incorrectly on your website. I’ve seen some tools to help with problems like this such as SpellAlert.com or WebsiteChecker.com. I just thought you should know!

    -Frank

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