G4 Still Exists; Esquire Replacing Style Network

[2D2Will]

*UPDATE 9/9/2013*
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nbcu-switch-up-esquire-network-624127

NBC changed their minds. Esquire is now replacing Style Network on September 23rd and is taking ANW with them. That means G4 has truly become the COPS repeat network.

Original Post:

www.slashfilm.com/g4-is-no-more-will-be-rebranded-in-2013-as-less-geek-more-gq/

Looks like Adam and Kevin were jumping off a sinking ship.

In 2013, NBC Universal will be re-branding G4 in order to appeal to a larger male audience. No word what the channel will be renamed or what the fate of their current shows will be.

I'm not completely surprised, to be honest. G4 has had terrible ratings for a long time and a tech channel, unfortunately, doesn't have enough appeal to bring in those viewers.

[RiderLeangle]

Not surprised really, kinda shocking in a way too...
I.E. I hope that some of the current programming survived... Mainly NW and ANW... I mean as much as they f**k up, they do help with the survival, I'm not sure Sasuke would have made it this far without the licensing considering how ratings have been in Japan recently... :/

[jfeathe]

The last time I watched G4 was for the most recent ANW, and before then... I can't even remember.

I'm not surprised at all. I'm not a TV executive or anything close, but G4 did nothing to save themself.

G4's attempts at original series were never more than half-hearted (save for ANW) and they cancelled them at the slightest drop in ratings.

If G4 wanted any hope of survival, they needed to go all out with a massive plan to rebrand and give people a reason to watch.

[TCM]

You know, something tells me the re-branding will get worse ratings.

At the same time, I think being a video game/tech channel shouldn't have killed them if they didn't try to re-brand as a "manlier" network in the first place. Say that worked long-term; when you cancel shows with a decent premise because ratings dipped (have no clue how Campus PD lasted) and consider COPS and Cheaters your fall back shows, you deserve the sinking ship.

[RedHerring]

If anything happens to ANW I will break down in tears. I turn 21 in a few years. It can last a little longer right?... Right?....

[arsenette]

I'm surprised it's taken this long. Once Comcast got NBC I was counting the days until NBC changed what G4 looks like. The channel itself will never go away. It's a Comcast channel and by default it stays since it's not beholden to ratings to survive (i.e. it's not self sufficient .. just like NBC which is government supported like the 2 other major networks ABC and CBS - FOX is a for profit entity with no government ties so not part of this equation). Especially during ANW it was clear they didn't like the connection to G4. In fact they usually had separate pressers.. only the press made the connection that they were both Comcast entities now. As far as anything that used to be tied to Tech TV.. those are long gone. Kevin wasn't a part of Tech TV. When Sessler left that was the last connection for me to G4 that was severed. All the others jumped ship long before that. What's funny is that they want to appear unique (the "new network") but all they are doing is re-branding to match the current norm therefore making them stand out less. They have an uphill climb to shed their image and an even harder climb to get out of last place to attract advertisers. Who would want to advertise somewhere with less than a 0.1 rating as a norm? ANW was an anomaly.. that was the highest rated show of all time in G4.. ever.. and that didn't even break top 100 in cable in raw numbers. They have a looooooong way to go. As for what this means for ANW that's the bigger issue. I'm sure TBS is looking hard at this especially with the plans to change the format of Sasuke for the future.

[Philip]

I'd say move Ninja Warrior/ANW to NBC Sports.

[arsenette]

NBC won't touch NW.. ANW however.. that's their "property".

[Deleted]

"The plans to change the format of Sasuke"? Er, that sounds rather ominous. Please tell me they're not going to do what they did with Kunoichi. The competitors, especially the All-Stars, would hate that, since that would have them competing against each other.

[arsenette]

No. They plan to make it into more of a sport with each country doing regionals for a world Sasuke. That's still being tossed around.. but yeah.. I don't like it either. Takes away the "fun" out of wildcards in Sasuke as we know it and change the formula to a full-on sports show. That's still about a year or so out if it happens at all. We'll see what happens with the re-branding what will happen to ANW and it's involvement with Sasuke. I don't however want to turn this into a what will happen to Sasuke in that format thread. It's all rumor and planning atm and frankly so much can happen by the time we get there IF we get there.

[Deleted]

Gotcha. Thanks.

[thatoneuser]

I do wonder why NBC Sports wouldn't want Ninja Warrior. Seems like a perfect show for them, especially considering VIKING did so well on ESPN2 (it did well, right? it was on all the time in 2006)

[lhii789]

I'm not really surprised.
After all, G4 is the worst rated TV station in the whole galaxy. (IMO)

[thebobmaster]

Sept 7, 2012 17:17:31 GMT -5 lhii789 said:

I'm not really surprised.
After all, G4 is the worst rated TV station in the whole galaxy. (IMO)

I don't know. That Klaatu Barada Nikto Station is pretty terrible.

[lhii789]

Sept 7, 2012 17:55:47 GMT -5 thebobmaster said:

Sept 7, 2012 17:17:31 GMT -5 lhii789 said:

I'm not really surprised.
After all, G4 is the worst rated TV station in the whole galaxy. (IMO)

I don't know. That Klaatu Barada Nikto Station is pretty terrible.

What?

[arsenette]

Sept 7, 2012 14:58:13 GMT -5 thatoneuser said:

I do wonder why NBC Sports wouldn't want Ninja Warrior. Seems like a perfect show for them, especially considering VIKING did so well on ESPN2 (it did well, right? it was on all the time in 2006)

Viking was on in the middle of the night and to my knowledge they didn't renew it. I remember someone posting that they knew the contract was up and wasn't sure if they were going to take it. That was 2 years ago. I would assume the contract with Fuji for Viking is expired by now. People keep forgetting that Viking was Fuji and not TBS.

[lostinube]

Yes, I'm sure a show called Ninja Warrior would fit in sooo well with Deer and Deer Hunting TV, Fly Fish TV with Kelly Galloup and Colonial Athletic Association football.

While ESPN2 (and early 80s ESPN) may have been fun in a stoner "hey dude, can you believe what's on TV at 3 in the morning" kind of way they tend not to air that kind of stuff anymore now that have sports that go beyond niche audiences. If NBC is serious about being a sports network, they will probably end up dropping lots of the VERSUS/Outdoor Network holdover stuff as soon as they can.

[FoppyOmega]

Sept 8, 2012 2:03:59 GMT -5 lostinube said:

Yes, I'm sure a show called Ninja Warrior would fit in sooo well with Deer and Deer Hunting TV, Fly Fish TV with Kelly Galloup and Colonial Athletic Association football.

They should rename it anyway. It should be about achieving success and accomplishing goals, rather than cool flips and ninjas IMO. But that's a discussion for another day I suppose.

[RiderLeangle]

Sept 8, 2012 13:58:04 GMT -5 FoppyOmega said:

Sept 8, 2012 2:03:59 GMT -5 lostinube said:

Yes, I'm sure a show called Ninja Warrior would fit in sooo well with Deer and Deer Hunting TV, Fly Fish TV with Kelly Galloup and Colonial Athletic Association football.

They should rename it anyway. It should be about achieving success and accomplishing goals, rather than cool flips and ninjas IMO. But that's a discussion for another day I suppose.

I don't see the problem with the name... the Japanese name is adapted from the fictional Ninja Sarutobi Sasuke, that reference would probably be lost in america so the name they gave it gives the same message really...

[m4tt3r0x]

All I gotta say