Coffee Talk #239: DirecTV Customers Should Rage Over G4tv

Warning: this Coffee Talk will be longer and a bit more personal than usual. As some of you know, DirecTV has dropped G4 from its lineup. Some of you are thinking that the news has me happy, but that’s not the case at all. Even though the company treated me poorly…

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Tim Lincecum making Filipino-Americans proud, the chances of Cliff Lee returning to the Rangers, or hiring Randy Moss for your kid’s birthday party, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

Warning: this Coffee Talk will be longer and a bit more personal than usual. As some of you know, DirecTV has dropped G4 from its lineup. Some of you are thinking that the news has me happy, but that’s not the case at all. Even though the company treated me poorly, cost me some friends, and cost me lots of money, I still believe in what G4tv could be…but I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s take a step back and look at DirecTV’s official word as reported by Entertainment Weekly:

At this time we are no longer negotiating and we have no plans to put G4 back up. We are constantly evaluating our lineup in a new world where programming costs continue to rise at significant rates. Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that it made sense to focus on preserving programming that is more relevant to our larger customer base.

Personally I think it’s just silly posturing. Even though G4 gets a lot of flack — deservedly so — for being more about Cops reruns than videogames these days, the network has a loyal following. I’ve been a huge fan of G4 since it started. I’ve been one of the networks staunchest defenders — years before I worked there. In September 2003 I wrote a column to try to get people in the GameSpy forums to stop hating on G4 and to support it for what it could be. Here’s a clip:

Although G4 gives all of us a new way to enjoy our favorite hobby, my favorite thing about it is that it will bring new people into the fold. Television reaches a more general audience and I’m sure there will be some people watching G4 that are only vaguely familiar with the wacky world of gaming. They’ll start out on G4. Perhaps they’ll get so into gaming that they’ll go to GameSpy to get even more. And just maybe, in a year or two they’ll be trading jabs with all y’all in the Forums. So don’t be hatin’ on G4, it’s one of the reasons gaming is getting bigger than ever… and with any luck it just might spawn your favorite Forum poster a few years down the line.

I still believe in many of the things I wrote in that column. I suppose I wanted to use today’s Coffee Talk to make sure you knew two things. First, I still believe in G4, despite the crappy way I was treated. Secondly, if you’re a DirecTV subscriber I suggest you go full-on (phone, email, snail mail) and tell the company that you want G4 as part of your lineup.

And yes, this was all kind of difficult to write because there are so many other things that I want to say. Thanks for listening!

Author: RPadTV

https://rpad.tv

78 thoughts on “Coffee Talk #239: DirecTV Customers Should Rage Over G4tv”

  1. I think the programming decisions drove away their core honestly. I'd much rather read a blog instead of watching 2-3 clowns try and be funny while only giving about 5 seconds on subject. It was pretty hard to watch.

    I think that is a big reason for only being able to get Collins College and JG Wentworth ads. The audience was shrinking or deemed dumb.

    I think the last time I watched G4 was a few years ago during the live E3 broadcast where they felt the need to air commercials during demos or trailers of games.

  2. i don't watch it as much as i used to. i only watch it for ninja warrior now. i'll try to watch aots if i see they are going to review something i'm interested in their gadget pr0n segments but if i don't catch it i'll just go to their website. there could be potential in it like Rpad says but i'm not sure if it's E! or Comcast that's messing up but someone is dropping the ball on what g4 should be.

    1. They dropped the ball when they changed from techtv to a station that wants to market to ppl on consoles all the time.

      1. oh yeah i agree. they think they know their audience when they don't. they're showing re-runs of Heroes on Monday nights, a show that imploded after season 1. why would a station pick up a show knowing this. I don't know any Heroes fan that liked anything after season 1.

  3. I stopped watching G4 a couple of years ago when I noticed their were not showing cheats or whatever it was called, but got hooked on their website (where I met some of you fine peeps). I don't have Direct Tv and I don't watch G4 but thats a shame, what would of happen if the powers that be got rid of (the old) MTV? I would protest, but again I feel like I'm not losing anything from the G4TV channel.

  4. I was never big on AotS. Call for Help was a better show in my opinion and Adam was the only reason I kept watching it after it switched from TechTV. (The last episode of Extended Play still makes me sad.)

      1. I used to love Call For Help and The Screen Savers. There were lots of excellent people on those shows.

  5. first, let me say that i cannot stand g4. That channel offers no programming which i find relevant to my lifestyle or interests

    However, if it werent for g4, i would not be aware of any of you fine people's existance, so i do have that to be thankful for

    @ray

    if you WERE to speak your mind, , whats the worst that could happen? Im sure you have your reasons, but for once, id love to see you take the gloves off–it might be cathartic

    1. I've probably already said too much. Ha! Honestly, I should let it all go, but it's hard. I'm still suffering from it financially one year later. The whole thing was pretty classless. In retrospect, I should have never taken the job in the first place. On the positive tip, I am blessed to "know" all of you through G4.

  7. I just gave a half hour presentation on GameStop. I did so well the other group doing GameStop asked to change days.

    I'm getting a beer at lunch.

  8. Dang I miss TechTV now that y'all brought it up. I have been watching channel 52 for forever now. Lately I haven't watched it as much as I would like. I try to watch AOTS each day but only for the first 20 minutes and then I come back when it is about to go off. Then I'll watch X-Play but it is generally a re-run.

  9. I had DirectTV, but they screwed me and mine over. So I switched to Dish. The programming on G4 I feel has alot to be desired, but what i always thought was the best thing was that ticker on the bottom that showed news I cared about. That led me to most of you people and lets be honest, if it were not for G4, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation here today.

    @ another rant

    I updated my 360 dash when I got home yesterday. Now, I may be the only person here with a current use for the Family Settings because I have kids that are old enough to play (real) games with me and operate the system by themselves and I'm not particular to PS3.

    So, I'll give a thorough review of the Family Settings options they added to the 360…

    They are worthless crap.

    I set my son's up to block M rated games thinking I could make exceptions for some titles. Went to my profile, and fond that all the base settings were the same as I set for my son. So I go to the profile settings… and it didn't make a difference at all. I pop in Fallout New Vegas (a game he wants to play but I won't let him… because if you've been playing the game and have gone to the Gomorrah casino… you know why) and made the exception thinking it would only effect my profile. I then went back to my son's profile, and the game started right up using the same exception.

    I then turned off the Family settings and concluded that they were useless and monitoring your children's activity is still the tried and true method of making sure they don't grow up too fast.

    Aside from that… I don't really like the update. Too much white. ESPN has potential… if I can watch those lumberjack competitions or World's Strongest Man on it I'll be happy. Other than that… more of the same.

    1. That is disappointing to hear about the family settings. I was always under the impression that they were pretty good and worked well. They didn't seem too bad when I looked at them before, but then again I don't use them because I am not planning on having a reason to use them for several more years!

      1. They actually have alot of potential… they just suck and except games for everyone instead of just one profile.

        I think whoever set them up didn't realize that times have changed and parents now game with their kids.

        It really doesn't seem like they would be that hard to configure correctly based on the code they already have. But NOOOO. MS says "If you can play GTA… so can your 8 year old son".

    2. That sucks about the family settings. I don't use them since I don't have any kids, although I plan to sometime in the near future with God willing. If it makes you feel any better, I don't like the new look, either. I posted something about it in the article where Mr. Padilla asks about what we think of the new XBL update.

      If I may ask; In what way did DirecTV screw you over and why did you decide to go with Dish network?

      -M

      1. You may ask.

        Well, the bills started getting outrageous and they kept throwing more money on for literally no reason.

        The thing that really pissed me off, was the fact that I bought an HD receiver from Best Buy… I still have a receipt for it. A buddy of mine owed me a favor, had a spare HD Dish, and was a contracted installer for DirectTv. So he gave me the Dish and installed it.

        When we canceled our service with DirectTV… they DEMANDED for us to ship them the HD receiver I BOUGHT (not rented or leased for I didn't sign anything) from Best Buy. I flipped out. They said if I didn't send it, they would charge me over $400 for it. I was pissed. I spoke with the supervisor's supervisor and still they demanded it.

        Sooner or later I just said "F**k It" and sent it to them. I really had no use for it anymore anyway.

        Dish was the only other reliable company in my area and they are also about half as expensive as Direct was.

      3. I was just too mad and wanted nothing more to do with them.

        They kept trying to tell me I "leased" it from Best Buy… but I didn't sign a leasing agreement… I got a receipt.

        I thought it was illegal too, but fighting it would have cost more than they wanted for the box and I didn't have the money at the time to do either. If it would have happened yesterday, I would have fought it strictly on ethics. But it happened a few years ago.

        I also had no idea what the consumerist was back then, and it may be too late to make a difference now.

  10. I think this is one of the big reasons why I don't like G4 anymore. It has so much potential, but it just feels wasted. 5 years ago I loved watching G4. My roommate and I almost always had that channel on in our dorm room, and even then they showed way too much Cops and Cheaters. It just got progressively worse, and I moved on to the forums and was fortunate enough to make my way here after only a short time.

    The idea of G4 is so great, a channel all about gaming, tech, gadgets, hot hosts (I'm only thinking of Layla Kayleigh here). But they waste all of their potential on rednecks and white trash cheating on each other and running from the police.

    I can't say I'm too surprised that G4 was dropped like this, or that they were slipping in the Nielson ratings…why would they do well when they are disloyal to their core audience? Would E! News keep up the high ratings if they stopped talking about celebrity gossip?? Would Food Network keep their audience if they only started talking about fast food on their shows?? Or how about Comedy Central if they stopped showing stand up comedians or the Daily Show and Colbert Report?? No they would not, because their core audience would revolt and they would lose their ratings. It's a shame what is happening, and what has happened, at G4, but they have no one to blame but themselves.

  11. I have DirecTV and I used to watch G4. I haven't lately, mainly because I really can't watch stuff with a lot of profanity or violence with my son around (even with the bleeps, there's plenty you can say on TV that a 3 year old shouldn't learn), and by the time he goes to bed I tend to go online and game. Even still, this is just one more reason I'm probably dropping DirecTV when my service contract runs out.

    1. In the meantime, I just looked at their programming packages and G4 was the only channel that was keeping me from switching to a cheaper package. I guess there's a silver lining there…..

  12. Side note….

    I just did a bunch of Christmas shopping on Amazon using the links.

    I recommend that other people follow suit.

    1. I've got birthday shopping to do first! But I am planning on trying to see what I can get on Amazon.

    3. I bought 3 games for the little guy, I still don't know what to get my wife (she's pretty hard to shop for sometimes), and I have yet to really buy stuff for my daughter.

      So… I'm far from done.

    4. Thanks for putting on the pressure N8R, only problem with me is that I do all my online purchases with my girl friends credit card haha.

    1. Yes vote yes on Prop 19! Even if you don't smoke the ganja do it, would you like it if you couldn't drink?

    2. I'm actually torn on Prop 19.

      On one hand, I like the idea of the tax revenue, sticking one to the Mexican cartels, and all that.

      On the other hand, the reason I started smoking pot in the first place was because when I was a kid, it was easier to get than beer. There was always somebody hustling in the school. If it's regulated better (which I feel ALL drugs should be legalized and regulated) it will be harder for kids to get.

      This sounds like a good thing at first, but they will find an outlawed substance to get anyway. Whether it be cocaine, meth, heroine, you name it. They will sell that in schools instead.

      So I question… would I rather have our youth smoking pot… or crack?

      And you see my dilemma.

      My mom was SHOCKED when I told her I was torn about this.

      1. Good logic actually. I think the tax revenue angle so many people push is overblown. I don't see people picking up a pack of joints at the store as easily as cigarettes. Prop 19 might not even allow that either, I don't know. I think it is ridiculous to make it illegal to do in your own home. Almost as ridiculous as it being a felony to possess steroids or HGH.

        disclosure: I don't smoke pot but I do work out a bunch; don't take roids.

      2. They won't sell it in regular stores, but smoke shops (maybe) and dispensaries yes. And people will be able to grow it themselves.

        It's a tricky subject. The DEA says that even if it passes, they will still bust people here. I quit smoking a while ago and am no longer in the medicinal industry, so I really have no bias except for the objective view I mentioned.

        I've been thinking about this all day and have half a mind to leave that checkbox blank because I really don't know what to think.

      3. There's no reason your mom should be shocked about this. After all, you are now a father and have kids of your own. That's pretty understandable.

        -M

      4. No… she's shocked because I was at one point the biggest pothead anyone had ever met and was the Director of Operations for a Medicinal Marijuana dispensary for 4 years.

        She's shocked that I'm not all for it.

      3. Another good reason. I don't have the body type to live in a cold place, although I really like those areas a lot. Wisconsin was a great place to live. I would still love to live out on the West coast regardless though, I just don't know exactly where I would work (not that I really know that for Chicago either, but it is at least closer to family there).

      4. No if i move back to cali it would be because of my family and i found a better job, oh and that i got over my paranoia of the big one happening while im there. I can gdt easily here having prop 19 would just allow me to toke up on the road worry free.

  14. Since we are on the subject of politics, here is something that concerns us all:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/03/us/03scotus.htm…

    Of course, it has to be California that takes this to the Supreme Court. I find it ironic that the state that is arguably the epicenter of the video game industry is also spawning an attorney general that is wasting taxpayer's money by taking this farce all the way up to the highest court in the land.

    Doesn't the SC have better cases to listen to other than video game violence and kids?

    Best quote: "“You think Mortal Kombat is prohibited by this statute?” she asked Mr. Morazzini. It is, she added, “an iconic game which I am sure half the clerks who work for us spent considerable time in their adolescence playing.”

    That's a +1 in my book for Elena Kagan.

    -M

    1. It's funny that Rush Limbaugh is on the videogame side. He, quite reasonably, sees it as a free speech issue and understands that free speech is important to what he does for a living.

      1. He's an entertainer first and foremost. As long as you remember that then it all makes sense.

        I'm in league with Scalia this time though, why can't the parents just decide?

    2. The way it is is just fine.

      The only regulation I could wish for is that MS would make the damn Family Settings on the Xbox worth a shit. That way I could put an Xbox in his room and not have to keep checking up on him.

      Even then, all that would do is make it easier on me, and I'm still regulating my kids' playing habits… which is how it should be.

  15. @ topic (finally);

    I started watching G4 a few years ago when I was still living with my parents. They had DirecTV and subscribed to the package that has almost all the channels. I had a box in my room and watched G4 fairly regularly. Mostly for AOTS, X-Play and Nija Warrior. I, like most people here, figured that G4 had the most potential to be a great geek/tech/games/movies channel.

    Unfortunately it has squandered that potential and what little credibility it had in the wake of showing so many episodes of Cheaters and Cops. I still subscribe to G4 simply because now I live in my own place and I have Internet and TV through Comcast. Their basic HD package (which I have) includes G4. I only Tivo X-play to see reviews and the previews for upcoming games. I really can't watch AOTS for very long since I've kind of grown tired of that show. If I could pay a cheaper price per month and give up G4TV, I'd do it in a heartbeat, though.

    If you really want to save G4TV, here is what you have to do:

    1) Drop Cheaters and Cops. We've already seen all of them… multiple times. In fact, if people wanted to watch these shows, they would still be popular and, therefore, too expensive to air on that channel.

    2) Fill the empty TV show space with cheap, but original programming. Look at Talk Soup on E! or Tosh.0 on Comedy Central. Both are very entertaining shows and are super cheap clip shows with a funny host. Do something like that for games/tech/movies. It doesn’t even have to be a clip show, but G4TV does need a lot more original programming.

    3) Team up with CNet.com to beef up the channel's tech credentials. CNet always has interesting articles and videos about the latest and greatest stuff out there. They are very passionate and educated about not only all things tech, but how to communicate it properly to it's audience.

    4) Form alliances! File this one under "Swallow Your Pride!". G4TV needs to start thinking of itself as a "hub world" for all things gaming and not just another game-related media outlet. In doing so, they need to have respected gaming sites from all over the internet to host their own shows about games and give them air time to do anything they want to do. IGN, GameSpot, Game Informer and PC Gaming should all be contacted to see if they would like to do a show (in whatever format they want) on G4TV. This will turn G4 into the glue that binds the gaming world together and reach out to other creative outlets and invite them (and their ideas) to help make TV's ONLY gaming channel the best it can possibly be.

    5) In that same vein, get Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo to do “company PR shows” about their consoles and games. Think about it, Major Nelson can have his own show to promote Xbox, Kevin Butler can have his own show promoting the PS3, and Reggie Fils-Amie can have his own show wrestling Chuck Norris with just his chin.

    I have some other ideas, but this should be enough to bring G4TV to grateness for now. I didn't say it would be easy or cheap, I'm just saying what needs to be done to get their ratings up.

    … Damn, I should get paid for this kind of stuff…

    -M

      1. I agree. I've mentioned points #1, 5, and 6 to my fiance on several occasions while on a rant about how far G4 has fallen. Those are some very good ideas though because they not only promote the G4 brand, but the MS, PS, and big N's brand as well. Alliances could work very much in their advantage if a real change is to be made.

  16. I just got a DSi finally!! It came in the mail today before I left for classes. And I have a used copy of HeartGold with it as well. Dumbass before me has a Shiny Red Gyrados that he used as an HM whore…I'm a little pissed about that, but whatever. I'm just looking through the game to see what types of goodies I might be able to get from it.

      1. I will probably be ready to get some trades sometime at the beginning of next week. I am working on finding some dittos with the pokeradar so I can try to start breeding. This weekend my fiance will be here for my birthday, so I'm not sure how much time I will have to play. But my pokedex is looking pretty bad right now, so I have a ways to go. I also have to do some work on LeafGreen so I can get a couple pokemon from there to migrate up and add to my pokedex, and use another DS this weekend at my parents house to transfer a bunch of pokemon from the used HeartGold cartridge I got to my Diamond for a couple of the legendaries that are on it.

    1. It makes sense they need him after Kenny Britt went down with an undetermined hamstring injury. Also, they're on a bye week and gives him time to know the playbook somewhat along with getting to know young & collins.

      1. Of course it is. Jeff Fisher is a real coach, while Brad Childress looks like (and is respected about as much) "that guy" they get to fill in on police lineups. Seriously, slap a wife beater on that guy and he looks like an episode of Cops waiting to happen.

    1. I saw something about that a couple days ago on bulbapedia. Sad story, I don't think he was that old and it was a sudden death.

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