There isn’t a lot of love around these parts for G4 one way or the other, but this news came as a particular surprise: G4 is planning to rebrand and restructure itself yet again in the coming year to meet a “new, modern male,” demographic that “goes beyond the dorm room or messy bachelor pad,” apparently. What that means really is unclear, although it likely spells the end for the 12-hour long Cops and Cheaters fests that G4 was known for, although I’ll miss seeing Ninja Warrior (appropriately known as Sasuke in Japan), although I’m sure it’s torrentable.
While we had always held out some hope that G4 would come to its senses and eventually incorporate more of TechTV’s angle and approach in its programming, after so many years it became apparent that the new ownership had neither the intelligence or inclination to do so, so it’s no surprise that even some of their stalwart employees who stayed on to do what they loved even as everything changed around them – namely Adam Sessler and Kevin Pereira, jumped ship before it went down. I think at this point, Morgan Webb as the only “original” G4 employee, much less former TechTV host to still be there.
SlashFilm broke the news, and as usual, G4 execs and spokespeople were too ashamed, too inept, or too busy hiding from the news to comment on the issue. You can read more at the link below.
“Less Geek, More GQ,” was their take on the rebranding – which is ironic, because there’s exceptionally little geeky about G4 remaining, and nothing respectable at all, frankly. SlashFilm expresses a little dismay that a network that at least in principle was dedicated to pop culture, gaming, and technology is going away, but I say good riddance – not because of the TechTV story (which is mentioned dozens of times in the comments, so people still remember clearly) but because the internet is a far better source for all of the programming and content that G4 tried to produce, what little good content G4 had, and much much better alternative content for people interested in science, technology, gaming, pop culture, and all things geek.
[ Slashfilm :: G4 Is No More; Will Be Rebranded in 2013 as Less Geek, More GQ ]
