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...
Ken Edwards, a 26-year-old database specialist at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, has been watching since ZDTV launched. He claims to own every current game console but only watched one show on the old G4. He tracks some of the backlash to the cancellation of Call for Help and the uncertainty over Laporte's future. Edwards and others are bemused but pleased that Laporte's show has been picked up by G4techTV Canada and may eventually reach the United States through syndication...
Source: WIRED News
I was interviewed for this article on Tuesday. Not only that but my rant referenced in the article was linked! I had a great phone conversation with Staci Kramer and found out just how many other folks out there are really ticked.
Thank you WIRED, and welcome new readers! The stats don't lie! It now looks like Candy Apple Red is winning out in my current poll.
I would have had this up in the AM but I have been very busy at work lately. Both Jake and Neil beat me even.
But thats what happens when you are going back to college, managing a newspaper network and doing freelance web design, the blog sometimes waits till the last minute before I go to bed. I'll live with that, I am passing my classes, and everything is going great right now :)
Article comments
1 - Ms. Tek
Good job! =)
2 - TDavid
Good job, Ken!
The entries on our blog I did on G4TechTV merger have generated more comments than any other post made to date. There are some really, really pissed off fans out there.
3 - Tom Johnson
Any chance the reaction might return TechTV to what it used to be? This can't be a good thing for G4, to have an almost universally negative opinion of everything they've done since the change.
I am simply stunned they got rid of Call For Help - did they not do any research on which shows people actually liked and watched before giving things the ax? This whole thing is just bizarre, and a perfect example of how NOT to do things.