GIGA was the brand name of a digital TV channel (also known as GIGA Digital or GIGA TV) and several German television shows. The channel ceased operations in 2009, the brand itself is still used as a website until today.

History

Early days

The first GIGA show was broadcast on 30 November 1998. The show

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

GIGA was first shown on the television channel

NBC Europe NBC Europe (formerly Super Channel, and later NBC Channel) was a satellite television network based in the United Kingdom that broadcast across Europe, and it was picked up by various European cable television, cable systems where available. Th ...

. The show ran for five hours, from 3 pm until 8 pm.

Broadcasts on own channel

In March 2005, the show was renamed from NBC GIGA to GIGA Green, airing on its own digital channel starting in September. Also, in September 2005, the original show was renamed a second time, now to the simple name GIGA, which caused some confusion because the television channel on which it was broadcast was also named GIGA. The show had been shortened from five hours to three hours, Monday through Friday, and was now being broadcast on the television channel GIGA as well as on the television channel Das Vierte ("The Fourth"). GIGA real

Then, in March 2006, the show GIGA – the original NBC GIGA – was cancelled. The most popular shows still running at this point were GIGA\\Games, GIGA

eSports Esports (), short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, played individually or as teams. ...

, and PLAY. Beginning on 1 January 2008, GIGA Digital Television GmbH in Cologne was operated by

Premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

(now Sky Deutschland).

Shutdown

On 13 February 2009, the managing director of GIGA, Stephan Borg, announced that Premiere decided to shut down the channel and release all staff. Reasons mentioned included the lack of financial success and bad outlook on the advertising market; in general, Premiere wanted to concentrate on its core channels. Thus, the channel space initially created by NBC Europe's predecessor Super Channel in 1987 subsequently folded and ceased to exist.GIGA TV stops all operations, mymym.com
The American gaming and entertainment network

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

Entertainment, which is owned by Fox Interactive Media, announced on 20 April 2009 the acquisition of the gaming community site GIGA.de - the online arm of the GIGA television channel. The two companies have shared content since August 2008, and IGN took the opportunity to penetrate the German market. Current plans are to maintain the GIGA.DE trademark and structure.

New beginning

In September 2011, the ECONA Internet AG, the new owner of GIGA, announced that they want to revive GIGA as a TV show. GIGA will first be available only as Web-TV including the Entertainment and Digital Lifestyle Site GIGA.DE. GIGA will begin broadcasting in October 2011. In 2014, Econa sold the brand to

Ströer Ströer SE & Co. KGaA is a German out-of-home advertising, online advertising, billboards and street furniture company with headquarters in Cologne. Markets Ströer SE & Co. KGaA is a Outdoor advertising, online advertising, billboards and stree ...

, which continues to run it with the former founders.

References

External links

Official homepage of the brand GIGA

GIGAPedia - fan page with news and stories of the GIGA TV channel

GIGA TV trade mark information
{{Television in Germany Defunct television channels in Germany Television shows about video games Esports television Television channels and stations established in 1998 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2009 1998 establishments in Germany 2009 disestablishments in Germany