Carving OUT their Niche

[Pepto-Bismol]

Looking for a recipe for dissension? Comcast has it.

Take two cable networks designed for technology enthusiasts with very different bents -- newbie G4 for young gamers and veteran TechTV for computer geeks of all ages -- and merge them. Fire the staff of TechTV, the network you bought, and be sure to drop the show that has some of the most fervent fans and a host with a cult following. For good measure, take the network's widely linked archives offline for weeks.

The reaction to the May 28 merger and creation of G4techTV continues to reverberate as gamers and tech geeks mourn the loss of their unique networks.

Source: Wired

Comcast should be soo ashamed of themselves! :|

 

[Paul]

ComedyCast

 

[cthellis42]

Not that I watched either of them, but that's still a big pile of suck.

...but I guess that I didn't watch either of them is kinda telling on why they merged, eh? :?

Ah well, who needs that when there's this vast internet in front of me?

 

[Pepto-Bismol]

Like countless others, I thought the merger would enhance production values while weaving two largely antipodal markets into the same brand -- i.e., two channels, one owner ... kind of like BBC and ESPN.

Apparently, what these rascals have done is to harvest organs from a more established entity and implant them within a practically solvent one.

 

[I.S.T.]

G4 was unique? I thought it as mostly tripe myself. Tech TV used to be good. The only things it had going for it when it died were Tech Live and Anime Unleashed. Edit: Oops, forgot X-Play. Everyonce in a while that could be funny as hell. Their christmas episode was very sarcastic. Edit2: to be fair to G4, Icons and Cinimatech both kickass.

 

[Dural]

I'm quite happy with their programming schedule since the merger. The only shows I watched, X-Play, Screen Savers, and Fresh Gear are still there and the show I least liked, Call For Help, is gone. Some of the G4 shows are also pretty good. I really wish they would just fire Leo, I can't stand him. He is such Apple's bitch it isn't funny, the constant praising of Apple by him got old fast.

 

[I.S.T.]

Yes, he needs to be fired badly.

 

[Pepto-Bismol]

You don't need a degree in combinatorics to see that a single channel format isn't going to appease two largely divergent audiences. TechTV's broader focus on technology seems to resonate with "Baby Busters" (Generation X), whereas G4's video-game inculcation has more appeal with "Echo Boomers" (Gen-Y).

And herein lies the dichotomy. Baby Busters, having entered their peak earning years, are beginning to acquire equity and an ability to pay for what is being pandered to them in the media. Echo Boomers, on the other hand, are a considerably larger -- they eclipse Baby Boomers in size -- and more diverse group of conspicuous consumers with less money to spend. :|

 

[Tagrineth]

I'm quite happy with their programming schedule since the merger. The only shows I watched, X-Play, Screen Savers, and Fresh Gear are still there and the show I least liked, Call For Help, is gone. Some of the G4 shows are also pretty good. I really wish they would just fire Leo, I can't stand him. He is such Apple's bitch it isn't funny, the constant praising of Apple by him got old fast.

I think they should either replace Tommy or Victor... or both... or at least hire a third reviewer for Judgment Day. It's entertaining, but the actual reviewing sucks - T and V are horrifyingly biased. For example, _neither_ of them likes RPG's.