May 6, 2004 6:49 PM PDT
TechTV lays off San Francisco staff
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Comcast to acquire TechTV
March 25, 2004
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 Shane, 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," Shane 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, Shane 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 network 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 networks 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 networks. 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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idea is it to merge the only network fully dedicated to
Technology with a Game channel? Lame!
Yeah, that's brilliant. Stupid.
Why cant there be two technology based channels? We have 2-4 Discovery channel off-shoots, there is MTV and MTV2 etc.. Why not have TechTV and G4 co-exists without killing off the staff of Tech-TV, move X-Play to G4 and focus on more gaming and move some of the other tech shows to TTV. Nope cant do that, it would require forward thinking from halfass backwards American CEOs. I wouldn?t be shocked if I heard that Comcast trying a new add campaign where their logos can appear on football helmets. Nothing is sacred to Corporate America, pray and worship the mighty $ for it is our GOD.
I don?t watch much television however, I watch Tech TV religiously and now I really don?t have any reason to watch television anymore. Thanks Comcast you?re a bunch of freaking morons.