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DirecTV Drops G4

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DirecTV has abruptly pulled G4TV from its lineup, in what many insiders see as just the latest volley in a war between DirecTV and Comcast (which owns G4). DirecTV’s nineteen million subscribers now see a holding place message when trying to tune to G4.

According to the Los Angeles Times, DirecTV’s new CEO Mike White has made no secret of the fact that he intends to find ways of cutting costs by determining which channels are important and which ones can be let go. Accordingly, DirecTV claims that G4’s ratings were so low that there was no incentive for them to renew G4’s contract. G4’s response is that their deal with DirecTV, which just expired, was offered to the satellite carrier for renewal, for the same $.05-per-subscriber rate that it’s been charged for the last three years.

As a DirecTV subscriber, I’m sad to see G4 go. It wasn’t part of my daily viewing, but I always enjoyed watching their live E3 and Comic-Con coverage. I also have a hard time believing that G4 was the lowest-rated cable network carried by DirecTV. You seriously telling me that BYU-TV and The Church Channel get better ratings that G4 — not to mention all those weird auction channels?

G4 Orders Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan

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G4, the network best known for its coverage of video games, has ordered a new series that’s a sort of Cops-meets-The Hurt Locker. The reality show will take viewers behind the scenes of an American bomb squad in Afghanistan.

The show’s producers have been granted special permission to travel with and film the operations of a Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal unit. The 10-episode series is said to start with the crew undergoing training in the U.S., and then a months-long deployment in Afghanistan.

Over the last few years, G4 has been trying to branch out with its programming, to appeal to more than just the “hardcore gamer” set. Bomb Patrol: Afghanistan will be the cable network’s boldest move yet into new territory, while still appealing to the geeky viewers who just want to see stuff blow up real good.

I’m not generally high on reality shows these days, but after looking at the photos on the EOD website and seeing how hardcore these guys are (they have to be trained scuba divers, on top of everything else), I think this could actually be pretty cool.