| G4 | |
|---|---|
| Launched | April 24, 2002 |
| Owned by | NBCUniversal |
| Picture format | 480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV) |
| Slogan | TV That's Plugged In |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Formerly called | G4techTV |
| Replaced | TechTV ZDTV |
| Sister channel(s) | E! Style Network Golf Channel Versus Comcast SportsNet |
| Website | http://www.g4tv.com |
| Availability | |
| Satellite | |
| Dish Network | Channel 191 (SD/HD) |
| Cable | |
| Available on many cable systems | Check local listings for channel numbers |
| IPTV | |
| Verizon FiOS | 191 |
| AT&T U-Verse | 149 (SD) 1149 (HD) |
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games. Currently the channel has a male oriented focus, although video games are still represented by the channel.
Launched on April 24, 2002,[1] G4 is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States, and owned by G4 Media, which is owned by NBCUniversal, whom Comcast acquired 51% of in early 2011.
Contents |
G4 was initially created by Comcast.[2] The initial concept was to create a service similar to TechTV but "geared more toward MTV's demographics". The network was launched with thirteen original series.
The launch shows consisted of:[3]
G4 was created and originally led by Charles Hirschhorn, a former president of Walt Disney Television and Television Animation.[4] He expected video game creators themselves to eventually produce programming for the network. He envisioned that G4 could follow in the footsteps of MTV which in his opinion provided music video producers with a venue for non-traditional television programming.[5] Hirschhorn intended G4 to become a vehicle for unconventional advertising. In 2002, G4 offered advertisers wide latitude to place their products on G4's programs, and even allowing their commercials to appear as if they're a part of the program.[6] G4 also offered what was called a "2 minute unit" which was an advertising package played as if it were part of a G4 program that was long enough to run an entire movie trailer. G4 also offered to sell the right to have a game showcased on the show Pulse.[6]
As early as 2002, Comcast, the parent company of G4 dropped TechTV from its channel lineups, giving preference to its G4 network and reducing the value of TechTV in the hopes of a possible merger of the two networks. On March 25, 2004, Vulcan Inc. confirmed that they sold TechTV to G4 Media which merged both channels to become G4techTV.[7] Days before the announced sale, Comcast made plans to close the original TechTV production facilities and workforce located in San Francisco, and offered new network headquarters in Los Angeles with openings for 80-100 of the TechTV employees available if they were willing to relocate. Hirschhorn headed the combined entity. Networks carrying both channels shut down the TechTV channel post-merger, while G4 enjoyed expansion onto systems carrying only TechTV and not G4 as a result of the merger.
On February 15, 2005, less than a year after the merger, the letters, "TechTV", were officially dropped from the channel's name in the U.S. and the channel became known again as G4.[8] However, on the network's affiliate in Canada, the "TechTV" letters remained a part of the name until mid-2009, when the channel was renamed G4 Canada. The only remaining TechTV originated show on G4 is X-Play, which also features Adam Sessler, who has been a part of TechTV since its creation in 1998 as ZDTV.
In September 2005, Neal Tiles replaced Hirschhorn as the channel's president.[9] Tiles had previously been a senior marketing executive at DirecTV, Fox Sports and ESPN.[10]
On May 6, 2006, Variety, the entertainment-trade magazine, reported,
"Now, under the aegis of Comcast and new president Neal Tiles, G4 is evolving into a lifestyle channel, peppered with videogame culture, as opposed to wall-to-wall games." 'We're going through a change. Guys like to play games, but not necessarily watch a bunch of shows with games on the screen,' Tiles says. 'So what we're doing now is expanding G4 from a network solely defined by videogames to one inspired by them.'"[11]
In 2007, G4, in association with Earth911,[12] launched an electronic- waste-recycling campaign called Gcycle.[13] As Comcast acquired NBCUniversal in 2011 (thus making G4 a part of NBCUniversal), Gcycle is one of NBC's Green is Universal's initiatives.
In June 2008, G4 launched G4 Rewind. This block showed older episodes of X-Play, Judgment Day, Cheat, G4tv.com, Arena, Portal, G4's Training Camp and GameMakers. G4 Rewind left the schedule when the summer was over and returned for Daytime reruns for older episodes of X-Play in June 2009 until January 2010. In May 2009, G4's website was completely redesigned with a more prominent role of gaming as the intended purpose.[14] Since the redesign of the website, G4's blog, TheFeed, has been overhauled as well.[15] On July 31 a new web video game discussion series, TheFeed: Nightcap debuted.[16] On August 28, 2009 TheFeed Nightcap was renamed Feedback.[17] It was announced during Comic-Con 2010 that G4 would be the exclusive broadcaster of Marvel Anime which is scheduled to air in 2011.[18] During the week of July 26, 2010 - August 1, 2010 G4 changed its logo to 4G as a promotion for Sprint Nextel's next generation wireless internet service.[19] On the week of April 17-23, 2011; as G4 is now part of the NBCUniversal family of networks, G4 has recolored its logo to solid green for the company's "Green is Universal" initiative, and will switch to their green logo for future "Green is Universal" weeks in November and the coming years.
Comcast, the parent company of both G4 and E! television channels, announced on October 12, 2006, that it would consolidate its west coast entertainment operations, including G4, E! and Style into a new group headed by Ted Harbert, who had formerly run the E! channel. It was announced that the upper management of the G4 channel would relocate to the E! channel's Los Angeles office.[20] On March 4, 2007, it was announced that the G4 Studios in Santa Monica, California, would close on April 15. Production of G4 programs was relocated to the studios of the E! channel elsewhere in the Los Angeles area (G4's original facility remains in use as an E! studio and office facility, mainly for that network's Chelsea Lately). As a consequence, many G4 employees involved in production were terminated. The sets of G4's original programs were also redesigned to fit within the new smaller spaces allocated to them.
Harbert gave his opinion at the time that the focus of the channel on "gaming has been demonstrated as being too narrow." He also gave assurances that while G4 might change, it would not become extinct.[21][22] Design Studios Onesize and yU+Co teamed up to rebrand the G4 network as part of the transition.[23]
On February 17, 2009, it was reported that G4 intended to cut back its original content programming. X-Play would be reduced to three nights a week while Attack of the Show! would be cut to four nights a week. Consequently, a number of the staff and production crew involved in the shows would be laid off. Neal Tiles announced that Layla Kayleigh's contract will not be renewed and in April, she left G4.[24][25]
The numerous changes to the network's programming brought on a storm of criticism from TechTV/G4 fans. Many claim that the channel has strayed too far from its gaming and technology roots, and have accused the channel of solely relying on shows like X-Play and Attack of the Show!. With most of the remaining G4 original shows having been severely altered, many saw this as G4's ongoing attempt to be a competitor to other male-oriented networks such as Spike, thus losing any unique identity.[26] The merger and the attempt at male-oriented appeal caused negative reaction on the fanbase's end.[27]
DirecTV announced that they were removing G4 from its channel lineup on November 1, 2010.[28] DirecTV cites low interest in their subscriber base and Nielsen ratings as the primary reason for dropping of the channel.[29][30] DirecTV commented that they were "...unable to reach an agreement to continue carrying the G4 channel and it has been removed from the DirecTV channel lineup."[31]
On October 30, 2010, Attack of the Show! host Kevin Pereira echoed Comcast's sentiments about the decision, "G4 has tried to make this same deal for over 3 years but DirecTV has rejected this [time], claiming that they do not see the value in G4."
It was reported that the UFC and WWE were in separate talks to buy G4.[32] However, there have been no further reports on this since then.
G4 HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of G4 that launched on December 8, 2008. It is carried nationally on Dish Network and regionally on AT&T U-verse,[33] Cablevision,[34] among other providers in select areas.