Comcast has officially shut down G4 TV for its second time in history of the gaming-centric network.
A lot of major network and broadcast companies like Warner Bros. Discovery have had a bunch of slashing cuts on projects due to stated financial reasons. The cable and entertainment in charge of a big part of sports and esports, Comcast Spectacor, officially announced on Sunday, October 17, 2022, that G4 TV would be shutting down at once. This decision has resulted in 45 employees losing their jobs.
Deadline and Variety were quick to obtain the memo from the Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO, Dave Scott, who noted the network had low viewership and was not returning “sustainable financial results.” It all spiralled when one former employee tweeted from their account, Wario64, about the memo.
There were already some layoffs which occurred around the mid-year point of 2022. The first sign that G4 TV was doomed was when the then-president of G4, Russell Arons left G4 around the end of August. Then, in September, G4 laid off more than 20 crew members who worked on video game review and commentary productions such as “X-Play.”
A week later, the iconic X-Play host, Indiana “Froskurinn” Black was reported to not be with the network anymore. Within the same month, one of the biggest names to return to G4 TV’s original 2005-2013 run of the network geek culture variety program, Attack of the Show, Kevin Pereira, was reported to have left too—after his return to the reboot.
“Over the past several months, we worked hard to generate…interest in G4, but viewership is low, and the network has not achieved sustainable financial results,” Scott wrote. “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.”
The Washington Post also examined another email from G4 head, Joe Marsh, which informed the staff that G4 TV’s Los Angeles studio would be closed until October 18—and all streams were postponed. That email did not explain that the network was dropped though. Some employees who signed an NDA for anonymity stated how the staff were locked out of internal communication services such as Slack and Google Drive without any initial explanation.
The original reboot of G4 TV was spontaneously announced to return in July 202 by Comcast Spectacor. Many G4 employees interviewed by The Post talked about how some high-profile creators demanded day rates of $25,000-$30,000 when they appeared as guests on the network.
The main roster of talent at G4 TV included many special personalities: returning G4 hosts Kevin Pereira and Adam Sessler; esports personalities Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez (host of NBC’s The Titan Games), Ovilee May and Froskurinn; WWE Superstar Xavier Woods (aka Austin Creed); YouTube personalities Kassem G, Jirard “The Completionist” Khalil and Gina Darling; Twitch streamers Fiona Nova and Will Neff; live-streamer CodeMiko; and a “degenerate rat-puppet” named Ratty.
I enjoyed watching G4 TV as a kid growing up with video games and gaming becoming more competitively popular. It was a great channel before the days of YouTube and Twitch. Perhaps, TV channels are becoming a dying breed or form of consuming content, despite the amazing talent being on the channel. Many fans, ex-employees and supporters expressed their sympathies for those who lost their jobs.
Here is the email that Scott sent to the G4 staff:
October 16, 2022
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
Dave Scott, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Spectacor
