Comcast lays off entire TechTV staff

manadren_it · Post by **manadren_it** » Fri May 07, 2004 3:55 am

The Laporte Report Article
cnet article (below)

TechTV lays off San Francisco staff

By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
http://news.com.com/2100-1026-5207821.html

Story last modified May 6, 2004, 6:49 PM PDT

TechTV told 285 San Francisco employees on Thursday that their jobs are being eliminated, a move that was widely feared by workers after Comcast announced in March that it would acquire the technology cable channel.

Comcast will merge TechTV, owned by Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures, with its own G4 video game network when the buyout is finalized next week. David Shone, a spokesman for G4 TV, said the company plans to hire 80 people from the San Francisco office to work at the game channel's Los Angeles headquarters. Employees were given two months notice and various severance packages, he said.

"Today we gave notice to 285 employees that they'll be impacted by the merger," Shone said. "We wanted to give employees as much notice as possible so that they can begin to make other plans."

G4 plans to maintain the San Francisco office as a production facility run by a few employees, Shone said. G4 currently employs 205 people in Los Angeles and a small sales staff in New York.

TechTV, which magazine publisher Ziff Davis Media launched as ZDTV in 1998, broadcasts technology- and Internet-related programs. Microsoft co-founder Allen acquired a majority stake in TechTV in 1999.

In March, Comcast announced it would buy the TV station for an undisclosed sum, with the aim of expanding its G4 technology and gaming channel to 44 million cable and satellite homes. G4 CEO Charles Hirschhorn will become head of the combined company.

Comcast, the nation's largest cable network, sank millions into launching G4 in 2002, in an effort to tap into the $11 billion video game market. While Comcast has made a name for itself in TV services, it also owns majority stakes in programming stations such as The Golf Channel, the Outdoor Life Network and E! Entertainment Television.

In recent months, Comcast has been looking to expand its slate of cable stations. The company in February submitted a $66 billion bid to acquire Walt Disney, but retracted the bid recently.

EchoStar Communications also will have a financial stake in the combined company, terms of which were not disclosed. EchoStar will distribute G4 on its Dish Network satellite TV service.

CNET News.com's Jim Hu contributed to this report.

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manadren_it · Post by **manadren_it** » Fri May 07, 2004 4:11 am

Well this obviously sucks. Everything is kinda up in the air now. It looks like the Screen Savers, X-Play, Fresh Gear, Anime Unleashed, and Robot Wars [at the least] will stay on and be merged in with the G4 programming, but there's no word on who will host the shows, though it is possible that some of the old staff may make the move to LA.

G4 Merger FAQ
Petition Against TechTV Layoffs and G4 Merger

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:2297, old post ID:19535

Red Squirrel · Post by **Red Squirrel** » Fri May 07, 2004 8:35 am

I never seen tech TV but I can see how this really sucks! And I'm sure it must suck for the employees too to get layed off suddently like this.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:2297, old post ID:19536

manadren_it · Post by **manadren_it** » Fri May 07, 2004 9:42 pm

Yeah, I guess they won't be getting Leo back on there now

Seriuosly, it looks as if they are just trying to push the G4 network and get it on more TVs, and arent really considering the loyal fanbase that TechTV has.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:2297, old post ID:19546

Wren · Post by **Wren** » Fri May 07, 2004 10:41 pm

I thought Leo was back. I was watching and Mother's Day was mentioned so I figured it wasn't a re-run. Leo was supposedly going on vacation, so I know we are watching "encore" shows now. Hard to figure out what's going on.

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rovingcowboy · Post by **rovingcowboy** » Sat May 08, 2004 5:05 pm

it is very stupid of comcast to do that. considering they could have pased out the shows and put theirs in slowly. that would be the smart thing as it has a better chance of keeping the loyal fans. if they did the layoff stuff then they will lose 90 % of the viewers and only those that watched their other channel will watch this one.

I seen comcast cable channels service.

how ever on the other hand. leo does a radio show in LA and Lockergnome moved to La last year. so have some of the other hosts that left tech tv. if they do move there then maybe they will be hired back??

if they have fired the hosts and kept the screensavers and call for help they when they aire for the first time with new hosts. it will be the last time tech tv fans watch the channel.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:2297, old post ID:19565

manadren_it · Post by **manadren_it** » Tue May 11, 2004 3:41 pm

Little update. It looks like G4 has finalized what shows are going to make the cut.

* Anime Unleashed
* Body Hits
* Eye Drops
* Fresh Gear
* Future Fighting Machines
* Invent This
* Nerd Nation
* Robot Wars
* The Screen Savers
* Thunderbirds
* Unscrewed
* X-Play

Everything else gets the axe I guess. Still no word on what hosts and staff [if any] are going to stick around though. The Merged network premieres May 28. And in the meantime they're trying to ease the transition by slipping in some of the opposite channel's progaming for 2 hours a day.

Archived topic from Iceteks, old topic ID:2297, old post ID:19599