G4 shuts down after layoffs, high-profile talent departures



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After wide layoffs less than a 12 months aft its return, Comcast’s video game-centric tv and on-line web G4 is shutting down, according to a study from Deadline bringing up an interior physics message from Comcast Spectacor CEO Dave Scott.

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“Over the past respective months, we worked hard to make … involvement successful G4, nevertheless viewership is debased and the web has nary longer finished sustainable fiscal effects,” Scott wrote. “This is perfectly not what we was hoping for, and, arsenic a extremity result, we've got made the precise pugnacious prime to discontinue G4’s operations, effectual immediately.”

While G4 has struggled passim 2022, the shutdown itself became surprising. viewed different physics message sent Sunday from G4 caput Joe Marsh to unit that knowledgeable unit that G4′s Los Angeles installation mightiness beryllium closed until Oct. 18 — and that each 1 streams were postponed. But that email did nary longer constituent retired the network’s shutdown. Additionally, erstwhile G4 employees who requested anonymity due to the fact that of the sing of nondisclosure agreements advised The Post that squad of workers had been locked retired of interior connection offerings similar Slack and Google Drive with retired contiguous clarification. This got present aft radical from “Arena,” a amusement produced arsenic portion of a important code the WWE, springiness up last week, according to ex-personnel.

G4 is Comcast’s effort astatine reviving a assemblage from the aboriginal 2000s that imagined what televised online crippled sum and enjoyment ought to look similar years earlier contented creators connected YouTube and Twitch started retired gathering millions of visitors. Despite repeated tries astatine bringing said creators into the fold — indicates inclusive of “Name Your Price” person been hosted by Twitch stars similar AustinShow (who has present not publically divulged his implicit name) — the assemblage successful nary mode located its footing portion competing successful absorption to idiosyncratic influencers, who themselves had been stimulated via G4′s original, 2002-2014 iteration.

Expenditures for visitant skills look to person performed a relation wrong the closure. According to much than 1 G4 unit interviewed by means of The Post, immoderate high-profile creators demanded time charges of $25,000-$30,000 erstwhile invited to look arsenic visitors connected G4.

Several events presaged G4′s dying. The nosedive that culminated Sunday began portion then-president Russell Arons exited G4 connected the halt of August. In September, G4 laid disconnected other than 20 unit contributors, galore of whom labored connected shows similar video crippled overview and remark flagship “X-Play.” A week later, Kotaku said that 1 of the revived G4′s maximum distinguished faces, “X-Play” big Indiana “Froskurinn” Black, go present not with the community. Later that aforesaid month, Kevin Pereira — surely 1 of the astir important names to travel retired of the archetypal 2005-13 tally of geek civilization scope bundle “Attack of the Show,” who besides hosted its reboot — additionally departed.

In Sunday’s memo, Scott expressed his regrets.

“I recognise this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too,” helium wrote. “I request to acknowledgment and each of america connected the G4 unit for the pugnacious enactment and dedication to the community.”