G4 closes after layoffs and departures of high profile talent

While G4 struggled throughout 2022, the shutdown itself was sudden. The Washington Post viewed another email sent Sunday by G4 chief Joe Marsh to employees advising staff that the G4 facility in Los Angeles would be closed until October 18 – and that all feeds were postponed. But this e-mail did not mention the shutdown of the network. Additionally, former G4 employees who requested anonymity due to signing non-disclosure agreements told The Post that staff were barred from internal communication services like Slack and Google Drive without explanation. immediate. It came after the crew of ‘Arena’, a show produced under a crucial deal with WWE, quit last week, according to former employees.

G4 is Comcast’s attempt to revive an early 2000s network that imagined what video game television coverage and entertainment might look like years before content creators on YouTube and Twitch began amassing millions of viewers. Despite repeated attempts to bring said creators into the fold — shows such as “Name Your Price” were hosted by Twitch stars like AustinShow (who hasn’t publicly disclosed his full name) — the network has never found its way to individual influencers, who themselves were inspired by the original iteration of G4, 2002-2014.

Spending on guest talent appears to have played a part in the shutdown. According to several G4 employees interviewed by The Post, some high-profile creators demanded daily rates of $25,000 to $30,000 when asked to appear as guests on G4.

Several events presaged the demise of G4. The fall that culminated on Sunday began when then-chairman Russell Arons quit the G4 in late August. In September, G4 laid off more than 20 crew members, many of whom worked on shows like video game review and commentary flagship “X-Play.” A week later, Kotaku reported that one of the most prominent faces of the revived G4, “X-Play” host Indiana “Froskurinn” Black, was no longer with the network. Later that same month, Kevin Pereira — one of the biggest names to come out of the 2005-13 original series of geek culture variety program “Attack of the Show,” which also hosted its reboot — also left.

In Sunday’s note, Scott expressed regret.

“I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed too,” he wrote. “I want to thank you and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and commitment to the network.”