G4 Media, LLC is an in-name only unit of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming which maintains the programming of G4, a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel dedicated to video games, along with its former competitor, TechTV/ZDTV. NBCUniversal holds a controlling interest in G4 Media, with Dish Network holding a minority interest of approximately 12% because its former parent company held a minority interest in TechTV and owned Dish Network. Prior to the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger, Comcast owned the network, previously named G4 Media, Inc.
In early 2004, G4 Media (at the time owned entirely by Comcast) announced the purchase of a controlling interest in TechTV. On May 28, 2004, G4 and TechTV merged into a hybrid network called G4techTV. EchoStar (which held a minority interest in TechTV and owned Dish Network) retained partial ownership of the combined entity.
The new network leaned more toward the gaming programming that was featured on G4 than the technology side that was featured on TechTV, prompting petitions and complaints from disaffected TechTV fans. On February 15, 2005, TechTV was officially dropped from the network name in the United States, leaving only three TechTV shows, X-Play , Anime Unleashed (removed indefinitely as of March 2006) and The Screen Savers (later rebranded as Attack of the Show! ). The channel's programming direction eventually was directed towards men with mostly acquired programs mixed with several original productions.
G4 Media used to hold a 33.3% minority interest in G4's Canadian counterpart.
On October 13, 2006, Comcast announced that it will consolidate G4, bringing it, E!, and the Style Network into a new combined entity later known as the Comcast Entertainment Group. G4's executive staff moved into E!'s Los Angeles offices and layoffs occurred. [1] E! likewise began using G4's former facility to produce their own content, including the early seasons of Chelsea Lately .
There had been reports of G4TV rebranding itself in Summer 2013 into an upscale men's channel previous to the recent programming changes. [2] [3] It was announced on December 7, 2012, that G4 will in fact be rebranded as the Esquire Network (previously Esquire Channel) after NBCUniversal closed a deal with Hearst Corporation (the owner of Esquire ). [4] Any and all in-house productions for the G4 network have ended as of January 23, with the exception of American Ninja Warrior in the summer of 2013 after the pushback of the Esquire Network launch to September 23, 2013. Due to its DirecTV coverage, the Style Network was chosen as the slot for Esquire Network. G4 Media, and its main network are expected to "remain as is for the foreseeable future, though it's highly unlikely the company will invest in more original programming." [5]
Dish Network, which was a part owner of G4 Media, dropped the network from its lineup on November 1, 2013.
After the fifth season of American Ninja Warrior was completed, control of production for the series for future seasons shifted from G4 Media to NBCUniversal Television, leaving G4 Media as a defunct production company maintaining the archives of TechTV and G4 within the Comcast organization and licensing the G4 trademark to their Canadian counterpart.
According to a statement sent by NBCUniversal Cable to the remaining providers carrying the network, G4 would end all operations on November 30, 2014,. [6] [7] [8] On December 31, 2014, at 11:59 pm EST, G4 ceased broadcasting.
On July 24, 2020, the Twitter accounts of G4TV and G4's Attack of the Show! and X-Play, reactivated to post a teaser video of a G4 revival in some form, slated for 2021. The teasers were timed for Comic-Con@Home, the first virtual streaming edition of the annual fan convention, San Diego Comic-Con International (which was one of many events that were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic). Consequently, G4's website reopened as a playable game of Pong (which if won, redirects to a mailing list sign up for updates), once again reflecting back to the network's original launch in 2002 and their shutdown in 2014. [9] [10]
On November 16, 2020, the G4 channel space was reactivated, and G4 announced that the revival will be starting off with a special named A Very Special G4 Holiday Reunion Special. Hosted by Ron Funches, the special will reunite cast members of the original G4 and reminisce the memories they had with the network. The special aired on November 24 via Twitch and YouTube. SYFY also aired the special three days later, on November 27. [11] The network officially relaunched nearly a year later on November 16, 2021, with the channel now operating under Comcast Spectacor, only for it to close again on November 18, 2022.
TechTV was a 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming. At the height of its six-year run, TechTV was broadcast in 70 countries, reached 43 million households, and claimed 1.9 million unique visitors monthly to its website. A focus on personality-driven product reviews and technical support made it a cultural hub for technology information worldwide, still existing today online through its former hosts' webcasts, most notably the TWiT Network.
Comcast Corporation, incorporated and headquartered in Philadelphia, is an American multinational telecommunications and media conglomerate. The corporation is the second-largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue. It is the third-largest pay-TV company, the second-largest cable TV company by subscribers, and the largest home Internet service provider in the United States. In 2023, the company was ranked 51st in the Forbes Global 2000. Comcast is additionally the nation's third-largest home telephone service provider. It provides services to U.S. residential and commercial customers in 40 states and the District of Columbia. As the owner of the international media company NBCUniversal since 2011, Comcast is also a high-volume producer of feature films for theatrical exhibition and television programming, and a theme park operator. It is the world's third-largest telecommunications company by revenue.
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable television network. It is owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. The channel focuses primarily on pop culture, celebrity based reality shows and movies.
Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. Launched on October 1, 1998 as Style Network, a spin-off of E!, the channel initially consisted of fashion, design, and urban lifestyle-themed programming. In 2008, Style shifted its programming towards personality-centric reality shows. The network was relaunched as Esquire Network on September 23, 2013; said rebrand was supposed to be on G4, but that was given to Style due to G4's low ratings. As Esquire Network, the channel focused on travel, cooking, sports and fashion, and also aired reruns of popular sitcoms and dramas.
Adam Sessler is an American video game journalist, television personality and consultant. He is best known as the host for the video game review series Xplay and the editor-in-chief for G4's video game section. Upon his departure from G4 in April 2012, Sessler was its longest-tenured television personality, having originally been hired by its predecessor ZDTV in 1998.
G4 was an American pay television and digital network owned by NBCUniversal and later Comcast Spectacor that primarily focused on video games.
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G4techTV was an American cable and satellite channel resulting from a merger between Comcast-owned G4 and TechTV. The network officially launched on May 28, 2004.
NBCUniversal Media Group is the television and streaming arm of NBCUniversal, and the direct descendant and successor of the former division NBCUniversal Television Group, which existed from 2004 to 2019.
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G4 was a Canadian English-language specialty television channel owned by Rogers Media. The name was licensed from NBCUniversal, whose parent company Comcast formerly owned a minority stake in the channel. Based on the U.S subscription networks TechTV and G4, the channel was originally focused on technology-themed programming.
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