The game-focused television network was revived last year but has seemingly struggled to deliver "sustainable financial results."
Comcast is shutting down game-focused television network G4 TV one year after it was relaunched.
Deadline broke the news after obtaining an internal memo announcing the closure penned by Dave Scott, the CEO of Comcast's Spectacor division.
In the memo, which was due to be sent out to G4 TV employees, Scott said that G4 TV has struggled to gain traction and failed to achieve "sustainable financial results."
"This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the very difficult decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effective immediately. I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too. I want to thank you and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and commitment to the network," wrote Scott.
"Our human resources team is reaching out to you to provide you with support, discuss other opportunities that may be available, and answer any questions you may have."
Deadline states the closure will affect "a few dozen employees and contract workers," but that Comcast intends to "assist them with outplacement and consider some for internal opportunities."
The news comes a few months after G4 president Russell Arons departed the company.
As highlighted by Kotaku, some G4 staff explained the leaked memo was how they learned about the situation, while The Washington Post said the decision to axe the network was made so suddenly that workers were locked out of internal systems like Slack and Google Drive without warning or explantation.
The full memo sent to employees can be read below:
Team:
As you know, G4 was re-introduced last year to tap into the popularity of
gaming. We invested to create the new G4 as an online and TV destination for fans
to be entertained, be inspired, and connect with gaming content.
Over the past several months, we worked hard to generate that interest in G4, but
viewership is low and the network has not achieved sustainable financial
results. This is certainly not what we hoped for, and, as a result, we have made the
very difficult decision to discontinue G4’s operations, effective immediately.
I know this is disappointing news, and I’m disappointed, too. I want to thank you
and everyone on the G4 team for the hard work and commitment to the network.
Our human resources team is reaching out to you to provide you with support,
discuss other opportunities that may be available, and answer any questions you
may have.
Thank you again for all of your hard work for G4.
Sincerely,
Dave Scott
Chairman and CEO
Comcast Spectacor
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