G4TV Is Making A Return After 6 Years

Load up on Mountain Dew and call Westwood College, as tech and gaming channel G4TV is teasing a return to the airwaves after 6 long years. The gaming-focused cable channel, which originally began airing in 2002, went through several iterations throughout the years. Its beginnings were earnest, with shows like reviews-focused Judgment Day and cheat code dispensary Cheat! acting as precursors to a lot of gaming coverage currently streaming on YouTube. As the years went on, the network chased ratings in sometimes confusing ways, such as airing Star Trek reruns surrounded by a stock ticker or the endless Cheaters and Cops reruns that largely defined its final years.

However, two shows that came to define the network came from outside its walls. When fans think of classic G4, they likely recall X-Play and/or Attack of the Show! The first, hosted by Adam Sessler and, eventually, Morgan Webb, originated as Extended Play on precursor channel TechTV. The second was a G4 creation modeled after a panel discussion show called The Screen Savers, which was also acquired when buying TechTV. The network merged with TechTV in order to expand its reach in 2004, rebranding as G4techTV for less than a year before fully consuming the older brand and reemerging as G4TV. These two refugees would carry the network’s original legacy until it was shut down at the end of 2014.

Earlier today, G4TV sprung back to life with a video tweeted out by the channel’s long-dormant official account, as well as by X-Play, Attack of the Show!, and IGN. The video pans through an abandoned warehouse full of gaming paraphernalia before settling on a game of Pong with a ridiculously high score. This references the last programming the network ever aired, which was footage of the famous table tennis game slowly shrinking down into a tiny dot before popping out of existence amid various retro Game Over sound effects. The phrase, “We never stopped playing,” accompanies the video, very heavily hinting at an imminent return of the long-defunct channel.

So, what does this mean? Will G4 end up on basic cable yet again? It’s possible, but not likely. Comcast, the original owners of the station, acquired the NBCUniversal conglomerate in the intervening years, and that division just launched streaming service Peacock. That platform has a linear TV replacement similar to ViacomCBS’s Pluto TV. Viewers can already find several gaming-focused channels on Pluto, including one that features streaming video from IGN. It’s possible that G4 could be revived as a digital service of this type, streaming older episodes of the programming to a nostalgia-fueled audience, perhaps even reviving versions of the two shows teased in these initial tweets.

Despite the sometimes embarrassing window classic G4 provides into gaming’s past, it’s clear that video content focusing on the industry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Amazon’s Twitch is a juggernaut that just outlasted one of its only comparable streaming rivals, and YouTube makes millions off of people posting Let’s Plays and gaming discussions. Any media company worth its salt that owns a television brand known for gaming would be a fool not to use it, especially since the network revival model has already proved successful on Pluto with other long-lost television properties like Spike and CourtTV.

Source: G4TV

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