Well, here we are again. This is a very delayed reaction and response to the second closure of G4, so let’s go.
First, here’s a timeline:
- April 24, 2002 - first launched
- December 31, 2014 - first closed
- July 24, 2021 - announced its relaunch
- November 16, 2021 - relaunched
- October 16, 2022 - announced its second closure
- November 18, 2022 - officially closed (again)
Reasons for its First Closure vs. Second Closure
In my first post regarding the return of G4, I listed some reasons for its first closure:
- Reached a small audience
- Not many advertisers
- Not enough content to fill 24 hours
- The growth of YouTube and Twitch for gaming content
- The focus shifted from gaming to more lifestyle content, which wasn’t very appealing to the original gaming audience
In terms of its second closure, Comcast Spectacor Chairman and CEO Dave Scott announced that G4 is closing. According to Variety, 45 employees lost their jobs, receiving the following email on October 16, 2022 from Scott:
"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"
In this email, Scott states two reasons for the closure to be “low viewership” and “lack of sustainable financial results.” Operations ceased “immediately” with no prior warnings, not allowing employees to prepare for their unemployment.
In addition to the two reasons for G4’s closure stated in the email, according to IndieWire, G4 ranked last amongst over 120 cable channels in third-quarter ratings, drawing just 1,000 average total viewers. This low number of viewers constitutes the lack of attention towards G4 compared to the hundreds of thousands of viewers it had during its original run.
According to The Washington Post, Dave Scott also said that “there was just not enough interest in G4.” In the same article, 11 former G4 employees described their experiences at the network, citing the following reasons for its closure:
- Shifting priorities
- Immediately lacking direction
- Regularly changing format
- Lack of the ability to plan
- Absent leadership
- Leadership never settled on a strategy to develop their audience
- Leadership struggled to reconcile the differences between broadcasting on linear television compared to online platforms like YouTube and Twitch
- Handsomely paying hosts and guests with robust streaming audiences, while shrinking staff size, ultimately demanding more work from off-camera employees
- Employees had to wear multiple hats, were underpaid, worked overtime, and didn’t receive benefits
There was also an incident of sexism involving “X-Play” co-host Indiana “Froskurinn” Black. Instead of standing tall and strong beside Black and defending her against backlash, G4 put its tail between its legs and didn’t submit any statements in defense of Black or showed its support for her in any way, shape, or form. According to a former female contractor, when she joined the company “the message very explicitly was, ‘We are going to be a different G4 that recognizes the sins of our past, and we are going to make sure that it doesn’t happen again in regards to diversity, inclusion and sexism.’” Based on how the situation with Black was handled, that promise was not fulfilled for G4’s female employees and hosts.
My Questions and Hopes from My First Post
Now, I want to go through the list of questions and hopes that I had from my first post and whether or not G4 ended up addressing or doing any of them with a simple “Yes”, “No” or “Neither Yes or No”.
Questions
- The inclusion of women to the network, adding female voices and opinions, catering to the female audience, and the treatment of women - No
- Diversity and inclusion amongst its employees and content, attracting a diverse audience, and creating a safe environment for its employees and viewers - No
- How G4 will operate differently to utilize YouTube, Twitch, social media, streaming platforms and how much content G4 will provide to fill up a whole 24 hours - No
- Engaging and maintaining viewers, and preventing the same mistakes that resulted in its first closure - No
Hopes
- Catering to a more inclusive audience, providing a safe work environment for its employees - No
- Not abandoning its original premise: games and tech - Neither Yes or No
- Not tolerating harassment towards viewers and employees - No
- Proper employee compensation - No
- Variety of hosts and employees on the organizational and leadership side - Neither Yes or No
- Variety of content and games - Yes
Conclusion
In addition to the reasons for G4’s second closure asserted by its former employees and Scott, G4 attempted to ride the wave of online operations during COVID while not considering the factors that would eventually lead to its demise.
There was also a reliance on nostalgia to uplift the platform to what it once was during its original run. Viewers from G4 original run in 2002-2014 are adults now and have different lives and priorities. Some loyal fans who once relied on or loved G4 no longer want or need it. Others found alternative sources of entertainment that suit their interests. The new generation of video game lovers don’t see the importance that G4 once had, and they don’t need to find out due to their interest in and reliance on other platforms. G4 should have focused its attention on offering something new and different from its current competition while also maintaining its original purpose.
I hope that in the future, if businesses attempt to revive once popular platforms and communities don’t revive the issues they had along with them, such as sexism and employee compensation and treatment, and also don’t create new problems, such as lack of leadership, planning, and direction. Chances are, no one is going to attempt to bring G4 back, and it has been laid to rest for the last time.
Sources
https://www.ranker.com/list/what-happened-to-g4-tv/melissa-brinks
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/g4tv-2021-kevin-pereira-adam-sessler-reunion
https://www.newsweek.com/g4-attack-show-x-play-revival-2021-olivia-munn-reactions-1520383
https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/g4-attack-of-the-show-x-play-return-reactions/#8
https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/nation/g4-returning-video-game-tv-channel-coming-back
https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/g4-linear-tv-launch-date-1235087025/
https://variety.com/2020/digital/news/g4-tv-teases-2021-relaunch-1234716006/
