American gaming and esports network G4 TV has been shut down by parent company Comcast Spectacor just one year after it re-launched.
The news, first reported by Deadline, came via an email to employees from Spectacor CEO David Scott explaining that the company’s efforts to revive G4 from its early 2000s heyday “didn’t gain traction.”
G4 TV becomes the latest gaming content outlet to close down amid unfavourable global economic conditions. The end of the company will affect a few dozen employees and contract workers who will be assisted with finding new careers or re-purposed throughout Spectacor’s ongoing network.
Employees were reportedly released suddenly on Sunday evening, with employees locked out of communication services like Slack and Google Drive. At least one key personality learned of his departure through Twitter.
The news follows a number of key layoffs and departures from the network. Most notably this included Russell Arons, an experienced digital media executive who was G4’s President since its 2021 re-launch. Key personalities also left over the summer, including Indiana ‘Froskurinn’ Black and Kevin Pereira, a mainstay of the original G4 TV channel.
The leaked internal email also notes low viewership as a reason for G4’s demise. The network’s Twitch channel recently sits at an average of 1,529 viewers over the past month, according to TwitchTracker.
Channel viewers were buoyed by the network’s decision to run concurrent coverage with esports events such as the League of Legends World Championship, but were unable to find viewership success for key G4 properties like ‘Xplay’ and ‘The Feedback.’
Esports organisations, like other smaller companies affected by the current global economic crisis, are likely feeling the impact of more hawkish investors and budgetary cutbacks.
G4’s downfall is not an outlier in esports today. 100 Thieves laid off members of its content team in July, and Inven Global announced a clearout of editorial staff the same month. VENN: a similar content company billed as the ‘MTV of video games’ has also gone bust.
