DirecTV Pulls Plug On G4

Yes, Fox might have kissed and made up with Cablevision and Dish Network over the weekend, but there is still unrest in the world of carriage fees, as DirecTV has recently pulled the plug on Comcast-owned cable channel G4.

DirecTV stopped broadcasting G4, whose main thrust is the gaming industry and which has had some mainstream success with Attack of the Show (and of course, that show’s co-host Olivia Munn), on Sunday and says it has no plans on turning the switch back on.

“At this time we are no longer negotiating and we have no plans to put G4 back up,” a DirecTV rep said in an e-mail to Entertainment Weekly. “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.”

And G4 says in its statement, “We have been trying to engage DirecTV in fair and reasonable discussions to continue to carry G4. G4 offered DirecTV the same basic deal we have had for the past three years. However they still plan to drop the network and deny G4 fans the only network that focuses on the popular gaming lifestyle.”

DirecTV drops G4 [EW.com]

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