G4 (also known as G4TV) was an American

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

and digital network owned by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

and later

Comcast Spectacor Comcast Spectacor is an American sports and entertainment company and division of Comcast based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It owns the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League ...

that primarily focused on

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

. The network was originally owned by G4 Media, a joint venture between the NBCUniversal Cable division of

and

Dish Network DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. The company was originally establ ...

by the time of the channel's initial closure, and first launched on April 24, 2002. In late 2012, G4's final studio programming were canceled in preparation for a planned relaunch as

Esquire Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. Launched on October 1, 1998 as Style Network, a spin-off of E!, the channel initially consisted of fashion, d ...

, as part of a licensing deal with

Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation, Hearst Holdings Inc. and Hearst Communications Inc. comprise an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate owned by the Hearst family and based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan in New York ...

, owner of ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine. Esquire Network would ultimately replace Style Network instead, on September 23, 2013. G4 announced in November 2014 that it would be closing after several years of decline. The original network shut down on December 31, 2014. By August 2013, it was reported that approximately 61,217,000 American households (53.61% of households with television) were receiving the network. On July 24, 2020, a revival of the G4 brand was announced; the network relaunched on November 16, 2021. On October 16, 2022, it was announced that Comcast would soon be shutting down the network. The revived network closed on November 18, 2022.

History

2002-2014: Original

Launch

G4 was launched on April 24, 2002, under the ownership of

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

. The initial concept was to create a service similar to rival

TechTV TechTV was an American cable television channel with a focus on technology. It was launched as ZDTV on May 11, 1998, by computer magazine publisher Ziff Davis, Ziff-Davis following two short-lived technology-based programs by the company. Init ...

but targeted at 12-to-34-year-olds, an elusive demographic. The channel was soft launched with a week-long series of ''

Pong ''Pong'' is a 1972 sports video game developed and published by Atari for arcades. It is one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but B ...

'' matches. It was initially available to three million Comcast subscribers, and offered 13 half-hour programs. G4 was created and 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 channel. He envisioned that G4 could follow in the footsteps of MTV, which provided music video producers with a venue for non-traditional television programming. 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 allowed their commercials to appear as if they were a part of the program. G4 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 offered to sell the right to have a game showcased on the show ''Pulse''.

2004-2010: Merger with TechTV

On March 25, 2004, Vulcan Inc. announced that G4 Media would acquire TechTV and merge the two networks. The combined network was rebranded as G4techTV. On February 15, 2005, less than a year after the merger, the "TechTV" brand was removed from the channel's name. A Canadian version of TechTV, originally launched on September 7, 2001,Decision CRTC 2000-454
CRTC; 2000-12-14 would also be relaunched under the "G4techTV" branding and would retain the brand until 2009.Comcast: TechTV + G4 = G4TechTV
Multichannel News; 2004-05-10 In September 2005, Neal Tiles replaced Hirschhorn as the channel's president. Tiles had previously been a senior marketing executive at

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

Fox Sports Fox Sports is the brand name for a number of sports channels, broadcast divisions, programming, and other media around the world. The name originates from Fox Broadcasting Company in the United States, which in turn derives its name from Fox Fi ...

and

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

. He announced that G4 would be retooled as a male-oriented channel, stating that "guys like to play games, but not necessarily watch a bunch of shows with games on the screen". Comcast announced on October 12, 2006, that it would consolidate its west coast entertainment operations, including G4, E! and

Style Network Esquire Network was an American pay television network that was a 50/50 joint venture between NBCUniversal and the Hearst Corporation. Launched on October 1, 1998 as Style Network, a spin-off of E!, the channel initially consisted of fashion, ...

into a new group headed by Ted Harbert, who had formerly run E!. It was announced that the upper management of the G4 channel would relocate to E!'s Los Angeles office. Harbert gave his opinion at the time that the focus of the channel on "gaming has been demonstrated as being too narrow." On March 4, 2007, it was announced that the G4 Studios in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, would close on April 15. Production of G4 programs was relocated to the Comcast Entertainment Group facility, which housed E! and Style Network, in the Wilshire Courtyard complex in the Miracle Mile neighborhood of Los Angeles (G4's original facility remains in use as an E! studio and office facility and was utilized by Chelsea Lately and

After Lately ''After Lately'' is an American television comedy. The series depicts, in mockumentary style, the behind the scenes goings-on at the office of the late-night talk show '' Chelsea Lately''. The cast is made up of the actual writers and performers ...

until their October 2012 move to

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

). As a consequence, many G4 employees involved in production were terminated. The sets of G4's original programs were also redesigned to fit within the new smaller spaces allocated to them. In April 2007, G4, in association with Earth911, launched an electronic-waste-recycling campaign called Gcycle. On February 17, 2009, it was reported that G4 intended to cut back its original 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. Layla Kayleigh also left G4 in April 2009 after Neal Tiles announced that her contract would not be renewed. It was announced during Comic-Con 2010 that G4 would be the exclusive

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n broadcaster of '' Marvel Anime'', which made its television debut in 2011. During the week of July 26-August 1, 2010, G4 temporarily changed its logo to 4G as a promotion for

Sprint Nextel Sprint Corporation was an American telecommunications company. Before being Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US, acquired by T-Mobile US on April 1, 2020, it was the fourth-largest mobile network operator in the United States, serving 5 ...

's next generation wireless internet service.

2010-2012: DirecTV carriage dispute and proposed buyouts by UFC and WWE

On November 1, 2010, DirecTV announced that it had removed G4 from its channel lineup, citing low interest among their subscriber base and low Nielsen ratings as the primary reason for the satellite service removing the channel. DirecTV commented that it was "...unable to reach an agreement to continue carrying the G4 channel and it has been removed from the DirecTV channel lineup." It was reported that the UFC and

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

were in separate talks to buy G4 in 2011. The UFC eventually partnered with Fox, while WWE launched its own network on February 24, 2014.

2012-2014: Post-NBCUniversal/Comcast merger, decline and closure

On January 5, 2012, Neal Tiles resigned as CEO. He was replaced by former NBCUniversal marketing chief Adam Stotsky. Long-time employees Adam Sessler and Kevin Pereira both departed the network during the first half of 2012. On October 26, 2012, it was announced that ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!'' would be cancelled by the end of the year. This would end all of G4's studio programming, leaving it only airing acquired and syndicated programming. Reports of G4 rebranding itself in 2013 into an upscale men's channel appeared previous to the recent programming changes. ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!'' aired their final original episodes (taped a month earlier) on January 23, 2013. In December 2012,

signed a

brand licensing Brand licensing means renting or leasing of an intangible asset. It is a process of creating and managing contracts between the owner of a brand and a company or individual who wants to use the brand in association with a product, for an agreed ...

deal with the

, owner of ''

'' magazine, to relaunch G4 into

which would air shows aimed at a

metrosexual Metrosexual (a portmanteau of '' metropolitan'' and '' heterosexual'') is a term for a man who is especially meticulous about his personal style, grooming and appearance. It is often used to refer to heterosexual men who are perceived to be 'ef ...

audience about travel, cooking, fashion and non-sports related male programming, including the addition of acquired and archive NBCU content such as '' Party Down'', '' Parks and Recreation'', and week-delayed episodes of ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

''. The rebranding was scheduled to take place on April 22, 2013, but was moved to an unspecified date in the summer on April 15, 2013. Network general manager Adam Stotsky stated the rebranding was pushed back in order to have a broader original series slate to launch with than would have been available for the April launch. Stotsky confirmed that a new season of ''

American Ninja Warrior ''American Ninja Warrior'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''ANW'') is an American sports entertainment reality show based on the Japanese television reality show ''Sasuke (TV series), Sasuke,'' which also serves as a successor of ''American Ninja C ...

'' would air on the network in the summer. In May 2013, the launch date was pushed to September 23, 2013, with its first program being an 80th anniversary special for ''Esquire''. On September 9, 2013, it was announced that NBCUniversal would instead replace the Style Network with Esquire Network, leaving G4 "as is for the foreseeable future, though it's highly unlikely the company will invest in more original programming". The last active production of the network, G4 Media's ''American Ninja Warrior'', became a full production of its existing production companies and

NBCUniversal Television Distribution NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV (stylized as NBCUniversal SYNDICATION STUDIOS) is t ...

with its sixth season, leaving G4 Media solely as a dormant division of Comcast maintaining the G4 and TechTV program archives and the remaining operations of the G4 network.

Slow closure and carriage removals

Upon the rebranding of Style Network to Esquire Network on September 23, 2013, G4 was removed from several cable providers.

Time Warner Cable Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, o ...

, and Bright House Networks (Bright House carriage contracts are negotiated by Time Warner Cable) were the first to remove G4, citing the network's low viewership as "(not a) good value for our customers". Verizon FiOS discontinued the channel on October 1, 2013, and

Cablevision Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...

did so on October 10, 2013, pursuant to a filing with the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control (that state's utility service regulator) a month prior, that NBCUniversal had plans to discontinue G4's operations as of the October 10 date, though only the discontinuation of carriage by Cablevision occurred. Late in October 2013, Charter Communications, which was one of the charter carriers of TechTV when it was a sister of that network under the ownership of Vulcan Ventures, announced its intention to remove G4 on December 17; sister network Cloo replaced G4 on its systems. On November 1, 2013, Dish Network removed it from the lineup with Esquire Network replacing G4, ending all carriage of the network from

direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...

services. Cox discontinued carriage of G4 in all markets on December 31, 2013. NBCUniversal's parent company, Comcast, removed G4 from its Xfinity systems nationwide on January 6, 2014. Comcast did not state outright that the network would shut down on that date. G4 continued to be carried on other cable systems nationwide despite being largely absent from the top 10 media markets (Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, or Comcast, or some combination thereof, is the dominant cable operator in all of the top 10 Nielsen DMAs). G4 still appeared on NBCU's corporate website, but it was no longer present on NBCU's "Media Village" press site. With G4 slowly decaying, syndication rights to '' Heroes'' and '' Lost'' expired at the end of August 2014, along with the rights to '' COPS'', which went to Cloo, leaving G4 to only air repeats of their original series beginning on September 1, 2014. Certain cable operators reported that the network would close on November 30, 2014, and the aforementioned providers continued airing the network until the alleged closure date (or when their contracts with G4 were fully exhausted), ending all carriage of the network from cable providers and

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...

services. Some providers kept the channel on before its closure, but later replaced with a gray screen with G4's audio feed still being heard before removing G4 from their lineup completely. AT&T U-verse and newly formed television provider Google Fiber were among the last services to carry G4, and continued to broadcast the channel until its closure. G4's last program was the first episode of ''X-Play'' at 11:30 p.m. ET on December 31, 2014. A note on the G4 website's program schedule was added to that particular episode saying "Thanks for watching G4." The network then closed after that episode with a game of

on the screen (referencing the network's launch) gradually getting smaller and smaller before becoming just a small dot. A man's voice shouting "I'm at Comic-Con!" was then heard, followed by a "game over" sound from the Atari 2600 version of the game ''Donkey Kong'' and the

Game Boy The is a handheld game console developed by Nintendo, launched in the Japanese home market on April 21, 1989, followed by North America later that year and other territories from 1990 onwards. Following the success of the Game & Watch single-ga ...

boot-up chime playing over an effect of an analog-era TV turning off, following this, the screen went black before pay TV services that carried the channel at the time of it closure displayed a message informing consumers that it had shut down.

2020-2022: Revival

Pre-launch and ''B4G4''

On July 24, 2020, the

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

accounts of G4, '' Attack of the Show!'' and '' X-Play'' were reactivated to post a teaser video announcing a revival of the network slated for 2021. The teaser was released during "Comic-Con@Home", a virtual streaming edition of

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. G4's website was reopened with a playable game of ''Pong'' which, if won, redirected to a mailing list to sign up for updates and a free shirt promo code. The campaign was in-reference to the network's original launch in 2002 and their shutdown in 2014. Comcast would transfer operations of G4 from NBCUniversal to its Spectacor division (former owners of the now-defunct PRISM regional premium cable television channel). On August 12, 2020,

Olivia Munn Lisa Olivia Munn (born July 3, 1980) is an American actress. After an internship at a news station in Tulsa, she moved to Los Angeles where she began her professional career as a television host for the gaming network G4, and on the series '' ...

, the former co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'', was reportedly in final talks for a multi-year deal with G4. On September 4, 2020, the official G4

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel uploaded a video featuring former ''X-Play'' host Adam Sessler as one of his fictional characters, Crazy Adam, asking for fans to submit applications to become a G4 host or simply nominate their favorite personalities with the

hashtag A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...

, #G4NeedsTalent. On November 16, 2020, G4 announced ''A Very Special G4 Holiday Reunion Special'', a scripted special hosted by Ron Funches featuring interviews with Kevin Pereira, Olivia Munn, Adam Sessler, Morgan Webb, Kristin Adams, and Blair Herter. The special premiered on November 24 on Twitch and

; Syfy would also air the special on November 27. At the special's end, wrestler Xavier "King" Woods / Austin Creed would be the first newly announced host for G4's relaunch, after beginning a campaign on Twitter to become a G4 personality in August 2020. On the same day of the special's premiere, G4 launched ''Gravython'', a charity drive that would be raising funds for a variety of community partners. On January 28, 2021, G4 announced that both ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''X-Play'' would be revived due to high demand from fans. They also gave a tentative date of mid-2021 for the network's relaunch. The following day, the company launched the ''B4G4'' brand, featuring short-form experimental content on YouTube and Twitter created to gain feedback from audiences that would help determine the shows for G4's relaunch. On February 12, 2021, the B4G4 iterations of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''X-Play'' began, with Kevin Pereira and Adam Sessler returning to host their respective series; these involved humorous sketches for ''AOTS'' and

Let's Play A Let's Play (LP) is a video (or screenshots accompanied by text) documenting the playthrough of a video game, often including commentary and (in some cases) a camera view of the gamer's face. A Let's Play differs from a video game walkthrough ...

s with other gaming-based streamers and YouTubers alongside Sessler for ''X-Play''. On the same day, it was announced that Esports shoutcasters Indiana "Froskurinn" Black and Ovilee May would be the network's new hosts, along with the series ''The Bleep Esports Show,'' a satirical program focusing on current gaming-related news. In March, the network also began livestreaming on both Twitch and YouTube, where its hosts interact with the audience and do watch-alongs to new B4G4 videos. On April 2, 2021, G4 uploaded a video on their YouTube channel revealing the return of "Epic April", a month dedicated to new announcements. On April 5, G4 revealed the development of a new competitive series hosted by Xavier "King" Woods / Austin Creed in partnership with

to air in the fall. On April 11, Esports shoutcaster, '' The Titan Games'' commentator and former AEW commentator Alex "Goldenboy" Mendez was announced to be joining the network as a new host. On April 14, 2021, G4 announced that ''

Ninja Warrior ''Sasuke'' (, pronounced sahskay) is a Japanese sports entertainment reality television show, airing since 1997, in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four-stage obstacle course. Falling at any point during the course or running out ...

'', an English-dubbed version of the Japanese show '' SASUKE'' (itself the original Japanese version of ''American Ninja Warrior''), would be returning to the network with 3 new tournaments and a total of 167 episodes. On April 19, comedian and

YouTuber A YouTuber is a content creator and social media influencer who uploads or creates videos on the online video-sharing website YouTube, typically posting to their personal YouTube channel. The term was first used in the English language in 2006 ...

Kassem G was announced to be joining the network as a new host. On April 28, Adam Sessler and Kassem G revealed during a livestream that cosplayer Jefferson "Jeffersawrus" Carvey was the network's first #G4NeedsTalent hire. Its final "Epic April" announcement was made on the 30th, where

Virtual YouTuber A or is an online entertainer who uses a virtual Avatar (computing), avatar generated using computer graphics. Real-time motion capture software or technology are often—but not always—used to capture movement. The digital trend originated i ...

and livestreamer character CodeMiko, along with her creator known only as "The Technician", would be joining as a new host. On May 5, 2021, G4 was announced to be the official broadcaster of ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

Live'', airing on July 16 and 17. On May 14, YouTuber and podcaster Gina Darling was revealed during a livestream with Adam Sessler and Kassem G to be joining as a new host.

Relaunch

On October 12, 2021, it was announced that G4's cable network would officially relaunch on November 16, 2021. In November 2021, it was announced that airings of select episodes of the

web series A web series (also known as webseries, short-form series, and web show) is a series of short scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet (i.e. World Wide Web), which first emerged in the late 1 ...

Scott the Woz ''Scott the Woz'' (stylized as ''Scott The Woz'') is a gaming comedy review web series created by American YouTuber Scott Wozniak. The series, starring Wozniak, covers video games and gaming history. Episodes are written and directed by Wozni ...

'' would air on G4 in one-hour blocks. The show was scheduled to debut on December 7, 2021, at 6:30 pm EST but due to technical difficulties involving

Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...

, it did not air in that timeslot. The show would officially debut at 10:30 pm EST. The network officially relaunched on November 16 at 6 a.m. EST, with a marathon of the original ''

'', occasionally featuring reruns of the ''Very Special G4 Holiday Reunion Special'' from the previous year. The ''Catastrophic Launch Special'' was broadcast on the network's Twitch and

channels that same evening, before airing on the cable network on the next day. On March 7, 2022, G4 launched a FAST channel on

Pluto TV Pluto TV is an American free ad-supported streaming television service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Founded by Tom Ryan (business executive), Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in ...

called G4 Select, which carried most of G4's regular programming. As part of an exclusive partnership, the channel would also feature new content catered to free, linear streaming audiences. The channel was later added to Vizio's WatchFree platform on June 16, 2022.

Second closure

On October 16, 2022, it was announced that G4 would be shutting down after relaunching the previous year. Several factors that led to G4's discontinuation ranged from low viewership, a lack of audience strategy, ever-changing and absent leadership, competition with streaming content creators on

and Twitch,

cord-cutting In broadcast television, cord-cutting refers to the pattern of viewers, referred to as cord-cutters, cancelling their subscriptions to multichannel television services available over cable or satellite, dropping pay television channels or reducing ...

, underpromotion, and high expenditures. G4 Select would be removed from Pluto TV on October 19, 2022, during an episode of ''Attack of the Show: Vibe Check'', the network fully shutting down on October 21, ending two minutes into '' Smosh''; G4 Select would later close on Vizio. G4 in itself left

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

YouTube TV YouTube TV is an American Pay television, subscription Over-the-top media service, over-the-top streaming television service operated by YouTube, a subsidiary of Google, which in turn is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., who announced YouTube TV ...

Xfinity Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of the Comcast Corporation. It is used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless servic ...

, and Cox prior to the shutdown, with Fios being the last to carry the network until its discontinuation on November 18, 2022, two days after the first anniversary of the relaunch. A screen reading "THANK YOU FOR WATCHING!" appeared after midnight, however Fios ended their signal if the network just seconds prior to midnight, cutting off in the middle of the sign-off.

Programming

In addition to

video game culture Video game culture or gaming culture a worldwide subculture formed by video game enthusiasts. As video games have grown more sophisticated, accessible, and popular over time, they have significantly influenced popular culture, particularly among a ...

, G4's programming encompassed

geek The word ''geek'' is a slang term originally used to describe Eccentricity (behavior), eccentric or non-mainstream people; in current use, the word typically connotes an expert or enthusiast obsessed with a hobby or intellectual pursuit. In th ...

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

, and general audience shows aimed at young adults. The network primarily livestreamed its original programming on their Twitch and

channels. These livestreams are edited to air on the linear television channel and

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

platforms the next day. The television channel's programming featured reruns of older G4 shows, as well as other acquired programs. ''Pulse'' was a prerecorded weekly news show that focused on the gaming industry that aired on G4. In November 2004, along with other G4techTV programs, the show was cancelled. News segments were merged with revamped version of ''

The Screen Savers ''The Screen Savers'' is an American TV show that aired on TechTV from 1998 to 2005. The show launched concurrently with the channel ZDTV (later known as TechTV) on May 11, 1998. ''The Screen Savers'' originally centered on computers, new techn ...

'' (later '' Attack of the Show''), though eventually those duties were taken over by the editorial staff of '' X-Play''. G4's website previously featured game trailers and reviews, select video clips of its original shows, and web original programming. The website continued providing entertainment-related news articles until May 31, 2013, with the last article posted on G4's website as a replacement for the site's schedule section, was a notice stating that "NBCUniversal has discontinued all operations for G4" seven days after the network left the air. The website was relaunched on July 24, 2020, coinciding with the announcement of the network's revival.

Hosts/correspondents

Original run (2002–2013)

* Kristin Adams, host of ''Cheat!'' (2005–2009) and correspondent for ''X-Play'' (2008–12) * Alex Albrecht, correspondent for ''Attack of the Show!'' (2012) and host of ''The Screen Savers'' (2004) * Candace Bailey, co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' * Blair Butler,

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

correspondent for "Fresh Ink" on ''Attack of the Show!'' *

Jessica Chobot Jessica Chobot (born Jessica Lynn Horn; July 7, 1977) is an American on-camera host and writer. She has hosted the IGN shows ''IGN Strategize'' and ''Weekly Wood'', which also runs on Xbox Live; she previously worked as presenter of the ''IGN D ...

, correspondent for ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!'', co-host of ''

Proving Ground A proving ground is an installation or reservation in which technology such as weapons, military tactics and automobile prototypes are experimented with or tested. Proving grounds can be operated by government bodies or civilian industries. The ...

'' * Ryan Dunn, co-host of ''Proving Ground'' * Laura Foy, co-host of ''g4tv.com'' *

Chris Gore Christopher Patrick Gore (born September 5, 1965) is an American speaker and writer on the topic of independent film. He founded, edited and wrote for Film Threat magazine and website and other film sites. He was producer, writer or host for seve ...

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

correspondent for "DVDuesday" on ''Attack of the Show!'' * Alison Haislip, correspondent/co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''American Ninja Warrior'' *

Chris Hardwick Christopher Ryan Hardwick (born November 23, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, television and podcast host, writer, and producer. He hosted '' Talking Dead'', an hourlong aftershow on AMC affiliated with the network's zombie drama series '' ...

, host of ''Web Soup'' * Grace Helbig, correspondent for ''Attack of the Show!'' * Blair Herter, co-host of ''X-Play'' and correspondent for ''Attack of the Show!'' *

Matt Iseman Matt Iseman (born January 22, 1971) is an American comedian, actor, and television host, who began his career as a physician. He is best known for his role as the play-by-play announcer and the moderator of ''American Ninja Warrior''. He was the ...

, co-host of ''

'' *

Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley ( ; born ) is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter, best known for his role as the host of several video game industry conferences and presentations. He is the executive producer and host of the Game Awards s ...

, co-host of ''g4tv.com'' * Sarah Lane, co-host of ''The Screen Savers''/''Attack of the Show!'' * Chi-Lan Lieu, co-host of ''The Screen Savers'' until 2005 * Michael Louden, co-host of ''Arena'' until 2003 * Victor Lucas, host of ''Judgment Day'' * Matt Mira, correspondent for "Gadget Pr0n" on ''Attack of the Show!'' * Diane Mizota, host of "Filter" until 2005 * Brendan Moran, co-host of ''The Screen Savers'', correspondent for ''Attack of the Show!'' * Jonny Moseley, co-host of ''American Ninja Warrior'' *

, co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' (2005–10) * Kevin Pereira, co-host of ''The Screen Savers''/''Attack of the Show!'' (2005–12) and ''Arena'' *

Kevin Rose Robert Kevin Rose (born 1977) is an American entrepreneur, Internet entrepreneur who co-founded Revision3, Digg, Pownce, and Milk. He also served as production assistant and co-host at TechTV's ''The Screen Savers''. From 2012 to 2015, he was ...

, co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''The Screen Savers'' * Lee Reherman, co-host of ''Arena'' * Zach Selwyn, correspondent for ''Attack of the Show!'' * Adam Sessler, co-host of ''X-Play'' (1998–2012) and regular appearances on ''Attack of the Show!'' * Tiffany Smith, correspondent for ''X-Play'' and ''Attack of the Show!'' * Angela Sun, correspondent for ''American Ninja Warrior'' * Tommy Tallarico, co-host of ''Judgment Day'' and video game composer * Sara Underwood, anchor of "The Feed" on ''Attack of the Show!'' * Morgan Webb, co-host of ''X-Play'', guest co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and host of '' G4 Underground'' *

Wil Wheaton Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', ...

, co-host of ''Arena'' until 2003 * Tina Wood, host of ''g4tv.com'' * William Frederick Knight, voice actor in anime and video games who was on ''Attack of the Show!'' often, most notably as Bill, co-host of the segment ''At the Bootys''

Second run (2021–2022)

* Kevin Pereira - co-host of '' Attack of the Show!'' * Adam Sessler - co-host of '' Xplay'' * Austin Creed - co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''WWE x G4's Arena'' * Indiana "Froskurinn" Black - co-host of ''Boosted, Xplay'', and ''G4 Gameday LCS'' * Kassem "Kassem G" Gharaibeh - co-host of ''Attack of the Show!''and ''Fresh Ink!'' * CodeMiko / The Technician - ''Attack of The Show!'' * Gina Darling - co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''WWE x G4's Arena'' * Jirard "Dragonrider / The Completionist" Khalil - Co-host of ''Xplay'' * Will Neff - co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'' and ''Name Your Price,'' Host of ''Hey, Donna!'' * Fiona Nova - co-host of ''Attack of the Show!'', anchor of ''The Feedback'' * Kitboga - greenlit show based on his livestreams on Twitch (never materialized) * AustinShow - co-host of ''Name Your Price'' * Sam "Kobe" Hartman-Kenzler - co-host of ''G4 Gameday LCS''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:G4 (Tv Channel) 2002 establishments in the United States 2014 disestablishments in the United States 2021 establishments in the United States 2022 disestablishments in the United States Comcast Companies based in Los Angeles Defunct television networks in the United States G4 Media NBCUniversal networks NBCUniversal Television channels and stations established in 2002 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2014 Television channels and stations established in 2021 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2022 Video game culture X-Play Re-established companies