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NBCUniversal is scrapping the decade-0ld G4 network catering to videogames, extreme sports, COPS reruns, and young men in favor of programming targeting a more upscale older male-targeted audience.
The Esquire Network will launch April 22 in partnership with Esquire magazine.
G4 has never attracted a mainstream audience. Its ratings average around 130,000 viewers during primetime, making it one of the lesser-watched basic cable networks.
NBCUniversal is reportedly examining the performance of its second-tier cable networks which include G4, Cloo, Style, Sprout, TV One, and Chiller. Low-rated cable networks are at an increasing risk of being dumped by cable operators looking for cost savings. Most of these lesser-watched networks made it to the cable dial as part of broader agreements to carry NBC local affiliates or more popular cable networks including Bravo and USA.
The Esquire Network will rely heavily on inexpensive original reality shows including Knife Fight — a cooking competition — and travel shows created for the network by personalities from the Travel Channel.
Only American Ninja Warrier will survive the transition from G4 to Esquire Network for certain. Most of the rest of the network lineup will include reruns of shows like Parks & Recreation or off-premium cable shows like Starz’ Party Down.
Cable operators like Time Warner Cable are likely to take a second look at the network on news it will relaunch under new branding and a new format. Time Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt said in December the company is closely examining low-rated cable networks to control escalating programming costs and the rate increases that result.
“The Esquire Network will rely heavily on inexpensive original reality shows including Knife Fight – a cooking competition — and travel shows created for the network by personalities from the Travel Channel” And this ladies and gentlemen is why cable TV is dying and HAS BEEN DEAD for years. Making another channel filled with reality TV IS NOT GOING TO MAKE THE RATINGS GO UP! If anything, this will make even more people cut the cord (unless the subscribers are sports freaks). Now as for G4, since 2008, the channel has really deteriorated into a network where all they play… Read more »
The “facts” stated about G4 are horribly untrue. It has an audience and it does get viewers. It’s not as low rated as maybe have been said. Who can actually get accurate numbers anyway on ratings?
The process to “debrand” G4 is horrible. Deletion of the Facebook account, making G4 videos on Youtube private (it’s not like it was costing anything to host videos on Youtube).
In short, they p!ssed off G4’s userbase and left a taste of feces behind.
Just another example of why we need the ability to purchase channels via ala carte, if a channel did have low viewers but had high quality programming that customers valued, their channel’s monthly cost could be raised and viewers could support it if they wanted to keep it on the air. The alternative is exactly what happened here, G4 was getting paid $.xx cents per viewer, management wasn’t happy about it being too narrow in viewership with slightly higher programming costs due to staffing and writing, so they took the cheap option of syndicating cheap low cost COPS and Cheaters… Read more »