(
May 28 ,
2004 –
February 15 ,
2005 ) was a
Cable and
Satellite Channel resulting from a
Merger between
Comcast -owned
G4 and
TechTV . The headquarters were based in
Los Angeles . The merger is now seen to be non-existent, as the name changed back to G4 on
February 15 ,
2005 in the
United States .
On
March 25 ,
2004 , Comcast announced its plans to purchase TechTV, a channel devoted to
Computers and
Technology . The purchase was completed on
May 10 , 2004, allowing Comcast to merge their G4 station with the newly acquired TechTV, resulting in G4techTV. G4techTV officially launched in the
United States and
Canada on
May 28 ,
2004 .
G4techTV kept shows from TechTV, such as ''
The Screen Savers '', as well as shows previously on G4, such as ''
The Electric Playground ''. The
Merger caused one of TechTV's most prominent personalities,
Leo Laporte , to leave the channel because of a contract dispute. Laporte had been the host of ''
Call For Help '', a call-in help show, which was cut after the merger. A new ''Call for Help'' series hosted by Leo Laporte began airing on
G4techTV Canada , the
Canadian Affiliate of G4techTV, on
August 16 , 2004 and continues to air in Canada. The Canadian produced version of the show was briefly air in the U.S., but this ended on
January 3 , 2006.
On
November 11 , 2004, G4techTV announced that many of its employees, including
Alex Albrecht ,
Dan Huard , and
Yoshi DeHerrera , were
Terminated . This came as a shock to many, and outrage and anger were expressed on the G4techTV
Forums . G4techTV also announced the cancellation of its late night variety show, ''
Unscrewed With Martin Sargent ''. The show's host and supporting staff were terminated.
On
February 15 , 2005, less than a year after the merger, TechTV was officially dropped from the network's name. The channel is once again called G4 with the new subtitle ''Video Game Televsion'', which was later shorted to ''Videogame TV'' (and has been dropped in February
2006 ).
G4techTV Canada is co-owned by
G4 Media ,
Rogers Media , and
Shaw Communications . Because of the co-ownership and licensing with the
CRTC as a
Technology -related channel, the rename of February 15, 2005 has not yet taken effect in
Canada .
The shows listed below reflect the schedule of G4techTV until February 15, 2005 when the network's name was reverted to G4.
