Beginning April 22, G4, the cable network known for its technology and gaming-centric programming, will be rebranded as Esquire Network. According to Adam Stotsky, G4’s general manager, the goal is to broaden viewership by tailoring programming to suit the tastes of “a vastly underserved audience in cable TV — today’s modern man.” This shift away from G4’s current base comes on the tail of last October’s decision to cancel X-Play and Attack of the Show, two of G4’s most popular and longest running shows.
Stotsky is partnering with Esquire magazine editor-in-chief David Granger to redesign programming. Already on deck to fill out the new line up is reality cooking show Knife Fight executively produced by Drew Barrymore along with the next of Anthony Bourdain’s travel shows The Getaway. These new shows, along with a mix of G4’s current hits and other popular series like Parks and Recreation, will make up the first round of Esquire Network programming.
Say goodbye to this.
This redesign allows NBCUniversal, the owner of G4, the opportunity to cash in on advertising opportunities for higher-end male consumers. Linda Yaccarino, president of ad sales at NBCU said, “We are already in talks with key clients and developing fully integrated opportunities for them to align their brands with this elusive, hard to reach demo.”
Whether or not there’s any fear of losing the current G4 audience is unknown, but NBCU is willing to take that risk. With ratings averaging about 130,000 viewers during prime time, G4 has never attracted a major audience. Reportedly, several other second-tier cable networks belonging to NBCU are also being scrutinized due to similarly low performances. A possible cause for NBCU’s current course of action, Time Warner Cable executive Glenn Britt recently revealed that the cable provider is examining low performing networks to control escalating programming costs. It’s likely that Time Warner and other providers would look more favorably on a freshly rebranded network than it would on an underperforming one.
The “modern man” in my household watches Raising Hope and Psych on Netflix and plays Xbox. He’s pretty much set.
A slight correction, it’s been years since G4 was, “known for its technology and gaming-centric programming.” A while back it turned into a slightly geekier Spike TV, mixing episodes of Cops and Cheaters with Star Trek reruns and late-night anime.
When G4’s general manager says that he feels the modern man is an audience “underserved in cable tv” he likely means that he figures the kind of man who reads Esquire doesn’t watch a lot of television. If this is true, the existence of an “Esquire Network” is unlikely to change this. It’s likely just a matter of time before its owner, Comcast, changes the network’s identity again or puts it of its misery entirely.
I can’t say I’m entirely sorry to see G4 go considering what it’s become, but the truth is that while I liked the idea behind G4 I never watched it much even when it was still about gaming. If I wanna watch TV I’ll watch TV, If I wanna game I’ll game. TV about gaming is not something I think anyone ever asked for or particularly wanted.