Not everything benefits from a reboot or revival and, unfortunately, the 2000s gaming gem G4 TV is one of them. Following key layoffs, the channel is shutting down a mere year after its relaunch.
As reported by Deadline, staff were informed of the shutdown via an email from Comcast Spectator CEO David Scott. “As you know, G4 was re-introduced last year to tap into the popularity of gaming,” he wrote. “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.”
Scott blamed low viewership and a lack of sustainable funds for the reason behind its failed second chance. “This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effectively immediately,” Scott continued. “I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too.”
Hey! This tweet is how I found out how I lost my job! How neat!October 16, 2022
The sudden announcement is said to have affected a few dozen employees, some of whom weren’t even aware of the network’s closure until tweets began circulating. The Completionist’s Jirard Khalil replied to Wario64’s announcement tweet saying: “Hey! This tweet is how I found out I lost my job! How neat!”
According to Washington Post journalist Nathan Grayson, other employees found themselves abruptly locked out of their Slack and Google Drive accounts “with little explanation” following Scott’s email. Grayson added that, allegedly, some major content creators featured on the channel were charging day rates of around $25,000 to $30,000 dollars, a pretty wild amount.
G4 was originally launched in 2002, bringing game-centric news and competition shows to network television. It was somewhat swept away by the rough tides of online streaming and YouTube, changing hands multiple times before pulling the plug in 2014. Its relaunch was teased back in mid-2020, before relaunching in November 2021. It’s a shame to see G4 fumble its second chance, but it was always going to struggle in a market dominated by far easier ways to access gaming streams, news and more.
