Comcast Pulls The Plug On G4 TV Network For Gamers Less Than A Year After Relaunch

The return of the iconic G4 TV network proves to be a short-lived venture, as Comcast's Spectacor division decides to pull the plug. G4 TV could not seem to regain a foothold since its return, in a market that has seen a lot of changes since its inception in the early 2000's.

Spectacor CEO Dave Scott sent all employees a memo sharing the news of G4 TV's demise. He explained that the company's investment and efforts were simply not able to gain any traction. The decision is said to affect a few dozen employees as well as contract workers. The company did say that it will try and help those affected by offering assistance with outplacement and may offer some another position within the company.

G4 was originally owned by G4 Media, which was a joint business venture between the NBCUniversal Cable division and Dish Network. It made its first appearance on April 24, 2002, and quickly became a favorite among gamers. Several notable people made appearances as hosts in the early days, such as Olivia Munn, Chris Hardwick, Grace Helbig, and Kevin Pereira.

The network met its first demise in 2014 when it was announced that G4 would cease all operations. Then on July 24, 2020, the announcement was made that the beloved network would be making a comeback. The Twitter accounts for G4, Attack of the Show and X-Play were reactivated on the same day. The company spent the next year hyping the return of the network, announcing new hosts and shows. Part of the hype included Ninja Warrior, an English-dubbed version of the Japanese show SASUKE, would be coming with 3 new tournaments and a total of 167 episodes.

The move could have been an attempt at trying to capture the boom the gaming market was seeing during the early days of the pandemic, and take advantage of the nostalgia many gamers had for G4. It seems that the boom in the industry and nostalgia were simply not enough to recapture the hearts and attention of those who once loved the network.