G4 TV Shuts Down, Two Years After Comcast Tried to Revive Gaming Network, Resulting in Layoff of 45 Employees

variety.com:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor G4 is shutting down — again. Comcast Spectacor, the cable and entertainment giant’s sports and esports division, told G4 TV employees Sunday that the gaming network was shutting down effective immediately.

The decision has resulted in 45 staff members of G4 TV losing their jobs. In a memo, obtained by Variety, Comcast Spectacor chairman and CEO Dave Scott cited low viewership and said the network had not achieved “sustainable financial results.” “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,” Scott wrote. “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.” the gaming TV network that NBCUniversal shut down in 2013, is coming back to cable.

Russell Arons, the former Warner Bros., Machinima, EA and Mattel exec who joined G4 as president in September 2021, left the company in August.

G4 is the content studio and network that unites creators and fandoms to celebrate comedy, gaming and popular culture. Authentic to its legendary roots, G4 returned with classic shows and brand-new original content driven by a passion to entertain, unite and inspire gaming’s enthusiastic and diverse communities.