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Comcast Signs Deal To Acquire TechTV
FPCat writes "Comcast has purchased TechTV. They plan to merge the station with G4. Maybe they'll stop showing Robot Wars and put some decent shows on instead. In either case, with Leo Laporte no longer hosting The Screen Savers, I expect big changes on the station..." (Of course, at this point they've only agreed to buy.)
G4 has posted a FAQ on the merger.
is that Comcast HATES HATES HATES DirecTV. G4 has never been on DirecTV because of that. Philadelphia Phillies games are never shown on DirecTV (at least not ones with Phillies coverage) because of their hatred of satellite.
I really hope that it doesn't cause TechTV to disappear off DirecTV. I have about 6 shows with Season passes on my TiVo from TechTV. I'll be seriously pissed.
In fact, I'm already pissed. I like TechTV just the way it is.
Joe Siegler
Webmaster - 3D Realms & Black Sabbath Online
Did you read the link in the blurb? Oh yeah this is /. The link says that Leo wanted to leave, not that he was getting dumped.
However his blog doesn't say anything about this as far as I saw in my short viewing so I don't even know if the link in the blurb has it right.
No. TechTV has long-term deals with DirecTV, Dish Network, and nearly every cable operator (other than Comccast, interestingly) that would be mighty expensive to break. Any serious changes to TechTV will have to be signed-off by these players or there'd be the risk of a breach of contract lawsuit forming.
That, and to buy TechTV, and then take it away from its existing distribution structure would be like buying a $300 million dollar toy, playing with it for a day, and then throwing it in the trash. There's not much value in taking TechTV and then making it as weak as G4 is today...
Leo is still hosting, he hosted today
This is his farewell tour as host of TSS. He'll host tonight, and four episodes next week. (Friday has been a scheduded rerun day for a while now.)
This actually is of Leo's own doing. He actually doesn't want to host TSS anymore, he'd rather be hosting Call For Help. His new work schedule, which starts the week after next, calls for him to only be at the studio two days a week, during which he'll record five episodes of Call For Help and contribute some segments to TSS. On the remaining three weekdays, he'll work from home preparing research for both his TechTV duties and also for his KFI radio show which he does live based out of a barn-turned-radio-studio on his own property.
So, this really is the end of a overbooked 7-day-workweek schedule he's been on for about the last six months. He's basically going into a semi-retirement, while also assuring that he'll still be employed even if he's no longer with TechTV.