Welcome to fletrix.com on July 10 2009.
This is an internet experiment running to monitor browsing habbits of individuals through wikipedia contents.

G4 (TV channel)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
G4
G4
Launched April 24, 2002[1]
Owned by G4 Media (Comcast)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
1080i (HDTV)
Slogan TV 4 Gamers
VideoGame TV
TV That's Plugged In
Country United States
Language English
Headquarters Los Angeles, California
Formerly called G4techTV
Tech TV
ZDTV
Sister channel(s) G4 Canada
E!
Style Network
Golf Channel
Versus
Website www.g4tv.com
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV Channel 310
Channel 1310 (VOD)
Dish Network Channel 191
Cable
Available on many cable systems Check local listings for channels
IPTV over ADSL
AT&T U-Verse 149 (SD)
1149 (HD)
Verizon FiOS 191

G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable and satellite television channel originally geared toward male viewers aged 12–28, devoted to the world of video games. More recently, the channel has diverted its focus to general interest programming that targets male viewers aged 17–36, although video games are still represented by one show on the channel. G4 launched on April 24, 2002.[1] It is headquartered in Los Angeles, California and owned by G4 Media (which, in turn, is owned primarily by Comcast). G4 is available in 62 million cable and satellite homes in the United States.[2] In the key 18-49 demographic during April 2009, G4 averaged 69,000 from 65,000 in April 2008 during prime time hours; a 6% increase. However, in April 2009 the network averaged 47,000 compared to 57,000 achieved in April 2008 (this is an 18% decrease) when calculating total day 18-49 viewers. [3]

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Early days

G4 was created by Comcast and Insight Communications and launched on April 24 2002. [4] The initial concept was to create a service similar to TechTV but "geared more toward MTV's demographics".[1] The network was launched with 13 original series, however, during the first few weeks of airing, on Comcast Digital Cable, the game Pong was shown. It featured the screen of a Pong board, with a game being played out. This was repeated until the channel's first shows premiered.

The launch shows consisted of Arena (a digital sports-highlight game show), Filter (a Top-Ten countdown voted by viewers), Blister (focused on action/adventure game news), Cinematech (described as a showcase for the best high-end digital art), Sweat (focused on sports game news). Cheat! (tips on games), Portal (focused on multiplayer online games), Pulse (news on the gaming industry), Judgment Day (currently known as Reviews on the Run, "two video-game gurus will opine on the latest entries") and G4tv.com (an interactive talk show on video games). Building on the theme of the channel, shows such as Players and Icons were added. Players focused mainly on celebrities' choices on video games, consoles, and showing off their custom personal computers. Icons focused mainly on developers, gaming publishers, and famous franchises in the industry such as Mario, Sonic the Hedgehog, Everquest, Valve Software, Shigeru Miyamoto, and Will Wright. To further reinforce the gaming culture and community, reruns of an arcade based game show from the 1980s known as Starcade were included in the daily rotation.

Previous Logo used from February 2006 to March 2007.

G4 was originally led by Charles Hirschhorn, a former president of Walt Disney Television and Television Animation. He expected video game creators themselves to eventually produce programming for the network. He envisioned that G4 could follow in the footsteps of MTV which in his opinion provided music video producers with a venue for non-traditional television programming.[5]

Hirschhorn intended G4 to become a vehicle for unconventional advertising. In 2002, G4 offered advertisers "wide latitude to place their products on G4's programs, and even allowing their commercials to appear as if they're a part of the program."[6] G4 also offered what was called a "2 minute unit" which was an advertising package played as if it were part of a G4 program that was long enough to run an entire movie trailer. G4 also offered to sell the right to have a game showcased on the show "Pulse".[6]

[edit] TechTV merger

On March 25, 2004, Vulcan Inc. (formally Vulcan Ventures) sold TechTV to G4 Media (owned primarily by Comcast), which then merged both channels to soon become G4TechTV. [7] The original TechTV production facilities located in San Francisco, CA would be closed and the new network would be located in Los Angeles, CA. Charles Hirschhorn of G4 was put in charge of the combined entity.

Reaction to this news left many fans of both channels strong feelings of displeasure and hostility, seeing the removal of almost all the original shows from both G4 and predominantly TechTV, and the immediate firing of many employees (including the spontaneous termination of most/all original TechTV employees and hosts). The relocation of a technology/video gaming network away from the San Francisco area (where a large portion of game/tech development takes place; also see Silicon Valley) also seemed very foolish to many.

On February 15, 2005, less than a year after the merger, TechTV was officially dropped from the channel's name in the U.S. completely, and is now known only as G4. [8] However, on the network's affiliate in Canada, the TechTV name remained until mid 2009, when the channel was renamed G4 Canada.

[edit] Format

On September 19, 2005, it was reported by TVweek.com[9] that former DirecTV executive Neal Tiles[10] had replaced G4 founder Charles Hirschhorn as the channel's CEO. Also reported was a managerial decision to decrease G4's emphasis on video game coverage, in favor of a shift toward a male general interest programming format]. The programming format mostly consists of syndicated material.

Its website address in lieu of the slogan "Videogame TV" was introduced and gradually replaced the existing logo over the next few months.

Variety.com reported, "Now, under the aegis of Comcast and new president Neal Tiles, G4 is evolving into a lifestyle channel, peppered with videogame culture, as opposed to wall-to-wall games."

"We're going through a change. Guys like to play games, but not necessarily watch a bunch of shows with games on the screen," Tiles says. "So what we're doing now is expanding G4 from a network solely defined by videogames to one inspired by them."[11]

In addition to its programming, G4, along with Earth911 recently launched an electronic waste recycling campaign called Gcycle.[12]

In June 2008, G4 launched G4 Rewind. This block showed older episodes of X-Play, Judgment Day, Cheat, G4tv.com, Arena, Portal, G4's Training Camp and GameMakers. G4 Rewind was eventually dropped due to the inability of the dated gaming content to attract significant ratings. [13]

[edit] Consolidation

Comcast, the parent company of both G4 and E! television channels, announced on October 12, 2006, that it would consolidate its west coast entertainment operations, including G4, E! and Style into a new group headed by Ted Harbert, who had formerly run the E! Network. It was announced that the upper management of the G4 network would relocate to the E! Network's LA office. [14]

On March 4, 2007, it was announced that the G4 Studios in Santa Monica would close on April 15. Production of G4 programs was relocated to the Studios of the E! Television Network elsewhere in the Los Angeles area. As a consequence, there many G4 employees involved in production were laid off. The sets of G4's original programs were also redesigned to fit within the new smaller spaces allocated to them.

Harbert gave his opinion at the time that the focus of the channel on "gaming has been demonstrated as being too narrow." He also gave assurances that while G4 might change, it would not become extinct.[15][16][17] Design Studios Onesize and yU+Co teamed up to rebrand the G4 network as part of the transition.[18]

[edit] Layoffs and cut-backs

On February 17, 2009, it was reported that G4 intended to cut back its original content programming. X-Play would be reduced to three nights a week while Attack of the Show! would be cut to four nights a week. Consequently, a number of the staff and production crew involved in the shows would be laid off. Neal Tiles has so far announced that Layla Kayleigh's contract will not be renewed and she left G4 as of April.[19][20]

[edit] Criticism

The numerous changes to the network's programming brought on a storm of criticism from longtime TechTV/G4 fans across the internet, many claiming that the channel has strayed too far from its gaming and technology roots, and accuse the channel of solely relying on shows like X-Play and Attack of the Show! to be the only reason why the channel is still on the air. With most of the remaining G4 original shows having been severely altered, many saw this as G4's ongoing attempt to be a competitor to other male-oriented networks such as Spike,[21][22] thus losing any unique identity.[23] G4 and Spike no longer share the cable/satellite syndication rights to Star Trek: The Next Generation. The merger and the attempt at male-oriented appeal[24] caused negative reaction on the fanbase's end. There have been and still are "Anti-G4" websites, message boards, and petitions across the internet to try and repeal the changes.[25]

[edit] Weekly averages

Week of: Viewers (000): Total Day Average[26] Viewers (000): Prime Time Average[27]
January 5-11, 2009 64 72
January 12-18, 2009 78 92
January 19-25, 2009 91 122
January 26-February 1, 2009 67 79
February 2-8, 2009 64 78
February 9-15, 2009 89 113
February 16-22, 2009 92 96
February 23-March 1, 2009 91 121
March 2-8, 2009 116 177
March 9-15, 2009 134 240
February 16-22, 2009 92 96
March 16-22, 2009 122 200
March 23-29, 2009 95 137
March 30-April 5, 2009 80 126
April 6-12, 2009 83 123
April 13-19, 2009 77 131
April 20-26, 2009 90 145
April 27-May 3, 2009 91 135
May 4-10, 2009 83 126
May 11-17, 2009 80 106
May 18-24, 2009 78 125
May 25-31, 2009 120 178
June 1-7, 2009 115 142
June 8-14, 2009 88 128

[edit] G4 HD

 Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (March 2009)
This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)
This section may need to be updated. Please update this section to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information. (April 2009)

G4 HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of G4 that launched on December 8, 2008. Currently, no original shows are shot in full 16:9 HD, they are instead upconverted and presented in 4:3 aspect ratio. However, G4 President Neal Tiles recently said on his official site Open Source that some shows will be shot in native HD by the end of 2009. [28]

The AT&T U-verse system carries the channel in HD. [29] Cablevision began carrying the channel on June 29, 2009.[30]

It is currently unavailable on satellite television providers DirecTV and Dish Network, giving the HD version cable and IPTV exclusitivity.

[edit] G4 hosts

[edit] G4 Canada

Main article: G4 Canada

G4 Canada is co-owned by G4 Media and Rogers Media. Due to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations, as the channel is licensed as technology-related television channel, G4 Canada differs from its American counterpart. This has met with positive reaction from fans,[citation needed] as the station is closer to what both Tech TV and G4 used to be pre-merger.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c G4 Aims Originals at Video Game Fans - 4/15/2002 - Multichannel News
  2. ^ G4 - About
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Richey, Joshua. The Rise and Fall of G4 (Part 1). 411mania.com: October 17, 2006.
  6. ^ a b [3]
  7. ^ [4]
  8. ^ [5]
  9. ^ TVWeek - Special Reports - Print Edition
  10. ^ G4 - About - Management - Neal Tiles - President
  11. ^ Cablers make play for gamer demos - Entertainment News, The Games Issue, Media - Variety
  12. ^ Earth Day Roundup: Not Lame, We Promise
  13. ^ [6]
  14. ^ [7]
  15. ^ E! pwns G4 - Boing Boing
  16. ^ News - TVWeek
  17. ^ G4 Not Getting Axed - Voodoo Extreme
  18. ^ Design Studios Onesize and yU+Co Team Up To Rebrand G4 Network, Broadcast Newsroom, June 20, 2007
  19. ^ G4's "OpenSource", March 2, 2009
  20. ^ G4's "X-Play", "Attack of the Show" Cut Back, Variety.com, February 17, 2009
  21. ^ McDuffee, Keith (2005–09–27). "Coming to G4: The Man Show? Update June 1, 2008. G4 TV will be re-showing classic G4 shows such as Portal and other on their schedule starting June 2, 2008". TV Squad. http://www.tvsquad.com/2005/09/27/coming-to-g4-the-man-show/. Retrieved on 2007–08–08. 
  22. ^ Richey, Joshua. The Rise and Fall of G4 (Part 3). 411mania.com. November 2, 2006.
  23. ^ Richey, Joshua. The Rise and Fall of G4 (Part 4). 411mania.com. November 8, 2006.
  24. ^ G4 network tries a new game plan to get more guys
  25. ^ The End of Gamer TV. PTD Magazine. August 20, 2007.
  26. ^ [8]
  27. ^ [9]
  28. ^ G4TV Open Source - Q & A for Neal Tiles
  29. ^ U-verse channel lineup
  30. ^ "HDTV channels". http://optimum.com/io/hdtv/hdtv_channels.jsp. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G4_(TV_channel)"
Personal tools
Visit joltnews for the latest headlines
Visit bloit.com for company information
Geed Media does computer consulting on long island.
This page viewed times. See Logs