On Sunday, Deadline broke the news regarding Comcast chairman Dave Scott sending a memo that announces the company pulling the plug on G4TV. This after an initial round of layoffs last month had targeted stabilizing the channel versus costs.
The video game-centric network was a resurgence of the early 2000s touchstone of the industry. It relaunched in the midst of the global pandemic bringing back its flagship shows Attack Of The Show and X-Play along with creating new gaming focused shows such as Arena.
Many reports from those close to operations at G4TV are posting stories from behind the scenes. We’ll hear more about everything that led to Comcast’s decision in the coming weeks. For now, many of the talent involved are continuing their previous independent streaming careers or wrestling in the case of Austin Creed AkA WWE’s Xavier Woods. Dozens of crew and contract employees have been displaced due to the move.
Dave Scott’s full memo posted on Deadline
Team:
As you know, G4 was re-introduced last year to tap into the popularity of
gaming. We invested to create the new G4 as an online and TV destination for fans
to be entertained, be inspired, and connect with gaming content.
Over the past several months, we worked hard to generate that interest in G4, but
viewership is low and the network has not achieved sustainable financial
results. This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the
very difficult decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effective immediately.
I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too. I want to thank you
and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and commitment to the network.
Our human resources team is reaching out to you to provide you with support,
discuss other opportunities that may be available, and answer any questions you
may have.
Thank you again for all of your hard work for G4.
Sincerely,
Dave Scott
Chairman and CEO
Comcast Spectacor
G4TV’s original mission took the PC-focused Tech TV channel and opened it to the emerging world of gaming in the early 2000s. It was a network that was ahead of its time for a quick moment when most of the national media was just learning about the power of the pop culture audience. Providing among the first extensive coverage of events such as San Diego Comic-Con and E3 brought the network notoriety and other outlets began to copy the model. The emergence of the YouTube and Twitch culture took what little time gamers weren’t spending on their hobby away from G4TV and the channel never quite found its place in that landscape before going dark. When it was relaunched, it brought back many of the things the original audience loved. Still, as Comcast’s CEO would explain, it never generated the viewership the parent company was seeking. Likely because it was competing in more spaces than just television, areas many have filled in G4TV’s absence such as Achievement Hunters and Kinda Funny.
