Former TechTV Shows and Staff Dropped

Thanks to nikkisaindon for the heads up about some goings on over at G4TechTV. Apparently, Unscrewed with Martin Sargent has been cancelled, and according to Alex Albrecht's blog most of The Screen Savers staff has been let go as well (including Yoshi).

Comments

Fascinating media logic

[nekoniku]

Do the G4 suits really think they purchased the eyeballs of TechTV viewers along with TechTV itself and that TechTV viewers will watch anything on that channel now that it's a completely different channel? Very strange logic.

It really reminds me of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Oops! No more eggs!
nn

Re:it was killed a while ago

[foistboinder]

G4TechTV is unwatchable - only the imports from TechTV had any merit and now that's changing.

There's really an opportunity for someone to start a real tech channel - it could fill a now empty niche.

Ok heres the thing I want to know....

[falcon5768]

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF BUYING THEM OUT????? Was it to get more stations? Cause i know a lot of the non-comcast owned ones are dropping G4 now. Was it to get hte TechTV staff.... not likely if this is any indication. So what was it????? It just seems they spent a shit load of money for no reason. Im annoyed too, I missed TechTV when Comcast pulled it in my area and since G4/Techtv is on Digital, only one TV in my house could watch it which was annoying as sin

Re:Ok heres the thing I want to know....

[FatRatBastard]

WHAT WAS THE POINT OF BUYING THEM OUT????? Was it to get more stations?

I suspect that was it. TechTV was on DirecTV, but G4 wasn't. I'll bet that buying them also got them on Echostar and non Comcast cable systems as well. Comcast were just buying eyeballs (or, potential eyeballs).

Still Funny?

[bay43270]

So is this still funny?

Re:it was killed a while ago

[JavaLord]

G4TechTV is unwatchable - only the imports from TechTV had any merit and now that's changing.

Heh, and to me even TechTV was mostly unwatchable. A lot of the good shows from when it was ZDTV were taken off the air (Silicon Spin, and Big Thinkers come to mind) while all the helpdesk shows stayed.

Re:No shocker there

[chromaphobic]

This does seem more like a mercy killing that anything else, TSS has been pure fluff ever since the G4 merger. They went from segments reviewing new Linux distros, building custom PC's, and case mods to segments reviewing frozen dinners and electric razors. WTF?

They used to keep me glued to the set for 90 minutes, now I can barely stand to sit through 60. :(

Re:Independent 'net TV

[Lord_Dweomer]

I've actually been doing my senior project on this, although it has been using a college cooking show as an example instead of this show.

The main barrier to advertisers is that they don't have the security of the time constraints of traditional tv. What I mean by that is that they can offer special deals with a limited duration because they can decide it will only air during certain dates. Now while TiVO and VCRs have interfered with that a bit, it is nowhere near as serious an issue as it would be for internet downloaded shows.

The other issue is that they would have to make sure the ads were not long enough to piss people off enough to form groups to edit the ads out and rerelease the show ad free.

So traditional 30 second spots WILL NOT WORK unless they are incredibly entertaining, or worked into the show itself (product placement, or simply having the cast discuss the product, which would be fitting for this kind of show).

Other than that, the only thing stopping them from doing this is most likely the costs of doing it independantly, and the barrier of getting advertisers to be willing to risk money on advertising in this new medium.

Remember, mainstream media realizes that piracy happens, but they don't realize how eager people are to have all their content delivered online, so they're still nervous about doing it.

I'll miss them

[Optical Voodoo Man]

I'm really sorry to see the screen savers go away. I wasn't a fan of the original, but I enjoyed the Alex/Kevin/Sarah/Yoshi days. They presented a wide variety of topics in an entertaining way, and I haven't missed a show in over a month. They were able to inform the public about things like Firefox, Linux, an war driving that most mainstream people wouldn't be exposed to. It may not have had the eye candy of Morgan Webb or Tina Wood, but it had a soul.

I hope they don't create yet another Tommy Tallarico show (not that's he's bad, he's just on way to much). They must have looked at their ratings and said "hey, shows with sexy women really draw in viewers. Screw variety, put on X-Play 24-7"

I wish them the best of luck, the ones who got let go, and the ones who didn't but aren't long for the TV world. I hope they are able to start up something web based and independent for themselves. I know I'll watch it if they do.

TheScreenSavers was nothing more than /. on TV

[Theologian]

Let's face it, everything that was offered on TSS and TechTV can be duplicated by visiting Slashdot and a few other select websites. To start a network of all techie shows would be a waste of investment capital. The only value brought by TSS to the tech world was their reviews and tips - again, easilly published (and cheaper) on the web. You don't need a buyout by G4 to tell you that TechTV had its days numbered over time.