Inside TechTV/G4 404
An anonymous reader writes "Former G4TechTV employee, Dan Huard, blows the whistle on G4. In the last half of his article, he states that TSS manufactured questions and used 'ringers' to ask their questions on the show."
Is that really of significance? (Score:5, Insightful)
TechTV was once a very good TV station, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
This is media. It's pretty much all this way. (Score:4, Insightful)
Viewers do not want reality. They get enough of it from work, raising children, the tax man, and the world in general. They want to associate, identify, and forget the crummy world they had to endure most of the day. The masses want Disney, okay?
You should always remember a media business truism: "The public are morons". Media types will never say this out where you can hear them, but I have sat through enough conference room discussions to know where these folks land. The reason for this is simple. In the great statistical average of the world, it's true. As much as you would have it otherwise.
It is said that only one person out of thirty creates art, literature, science, or policy. Skip media. Hang around those folks instead. Become one of them. We need all we can get.
Yes, I consider the Internet to be media now...
For what it's worth... (Score:5, Insightful)
As a moderately geeky business major, I see this as a management failure, so having this story helps me understand how not to screw up something good. If some geeky broadcast majors read this article, maybe they can help prevent some other geeky goodness from failing later.
Just my two cents worth.
Re:Not surprised. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Is that really of significance? (Score:5, Insightful)
I haven't watched TechTV since it became G4TechTV (god damn what a terrible name). It is a shame Comcast has essentially dissolved TechTV, the end result of this merger was G4 getting a few new people and some new shows (many of which are now gone!).
Re:basic questions (Score:4, Insightful)
They were merged with TechTV to take advantage of the greater audience
availability that channel had gained.
TSS is an acronym for The ScreenSavers. An end-user oriented Tech News,
commentary, tips, call-in and variety show that was the flagship program
for the defunct network.
We cared because back in the day, while TSS did reflect much of the Windows-centric
viewpoint of much of the computer industry, they were also a positive and active source
of news and information about OSS, Linux, Windows Alternatives, Windows Security and
functional issues; and keeping an open mind about users choices in use (and abuse)
of technology.
Fake question (Score:0, Insightful)
A slashdot story (from michael the censorware killer, no less) complaining about journalistic integrity! Oh the irony.
Re:Not surprised. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:techtv (Score:3, Insightful)
Before they bought out TechTV and it was doing so well they kept bumping it up to only be included on the more expensive plans. One day I changed to tech TV and all I got was "not authorized" until I agreed to pay more money. I only fell for for that once and then the next time I told them to screw it.
After they killed TechTV by buying it up and merging it with their crap clone G4 they left in on the more expensive plan expecting people would still want it that much. WRONG!
Re:Unfortunately (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:G4, the MTV of tech (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:G4, the MTV of tech (Score:3, Insightful)
If you don't, someone else will. (Score:4, Insightful)
But you won't be there forever. When you move on, the next person will most likely pillage your audience for the maximum profit/lowest cost.
I think that's what was shown in the original article. While the show was under control of TechTV, it was good. After the buyout/merger, it sucked.
At one time... (Score:5, Insightful)
I once loved watching the show but now I can't. The new hosts are all about gaming, gaming, gaming.
Even X-Play Sucks (Score:3, Insightful)
At least Morgan was still hot... but that's just not enough anymore, so I tuned out forever.
Well done Comcast...
Re:Is there a name .... (Score:3, Insightful)
See, we're talking about two different things here. Two different persons. One is the nerd and the other is the image of a nerd. Actually being a nerd might not be cool, but being a "nerd" is, just like it's cool to be "green" and so on. Reading Slashdot and watching gaming programmes is a part of the image.
A lot of people don't understand this, but... (Score:5, Insightful)
Furthermore, I think it's cleat that Comcast has intentionally alienated hardcore TechTV viewers.
I have had people who work in TV tell me that nobody tries to alienate any viewers, but I think it is more than clear that G4 wants TechTV viewers out and replace them with an MTV crowd.
Want evidence of this? Look at the commercials. Gone are the cadillac commercials. Insert the goofy video game commercials, and some really stupid (dumbed down) computer hardware commercials. I saw an nViDiA commercial that actually explained what a GPU was!
I figured such a commercial was more non-tech channel worthy, but when you consider G4 is driving out tech-oriented viewers for MTV gamers, these "dumb" commericals are quite appropo.
Re:For what it's worth... (Score:5, Insightful)
I would respectfully suggest that if your performance indicators and performance bonuses are encouraging behaviors that result in your show going off the air, or losing your core audience without creating a similarly robust replacement, then you are using the wrong indicators. So, maybe the management failure is not in the control booth. Maybe it's in the front office, or in the corporate headquarters.
If the financial requirements cause you to degrade the quality of your product, then either your product is not ready for the market (or vice versa) or you have not been sufficiently creative in your market planning. Bringing the business side and the 'entertainment' side together is the job of management.
At least, that's the way the schools I attend teach it. Anyway, thanks for listening.
Re:Since when is this news? (Score:3, Insightful)
In reading Dan's article, I was actually surprised to learn that the calls were ever pseudo-live at all. I started watching TechTV back when it was still ZDTV and The Screen Savers was a 90 minute show. Even back then I assumed the live calls were spoon fed. To me it always seemed natural that it would have to be that way. The only way you could take a live call of the cuff would be to just have someone call in and chime in with a 20 second opinion about something like they do on Talk Radio.
Re:For what it's worth... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Is that really of significance? (Score:5, Insightful)
Bingo. The part I find "funny" though is all the geek elitists think that just because a person puts on a smile and speaks fluently in a way that normal people can comprehend that the TV Show and/or person is "clueless" or whatever.
I really liked watching Leo and Patrick. I thought they had a nice balance of TV presence and intelligence. I hate all the slashbots that would bash ZDTV/TechTV as being a show for morons. Get over yourselves.
How interesting would it be to watch a completely introverted super nerd with a squeaky voice stumble and stutter every word while he's standing there on live TV staring at his shoe laces because he's too withdrawn to look at the camera.
I liked the format of ZDTV/TechTV
I don't like what the network has become. G4TechTV or whatever. I believe they are actually just calling it G4TV now because they don't want anything to do with Tech. But I don't hate the network because I'm so full of myself that I can't enjoy watching a "remedial" television show. I hate the network because they have completely gotten rid of everything tech related.
But have you seen the programming lately? It's ALL games. One or two shows about games is cool
Re:Even X-Play Sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
of the theme episodes they occasionally did even
when it was on TechTV.
X-Play is one of the few things that seems to
have improved (with opinions and critisism intact) since the merger.
Re:Hypocrisy. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:New channel idea? (Score:3, Insightful)
Guess what, that type of TV station doesn't make money now, its not what the majority want. Personally I never thought very highly of TechTV ever anyway and I don't see how you can call it in depth coverage, it was a glossing over of everything just as much as the evening news is and I don't understand what everyones love affair with the cast members is but format failed and went where it has for the same reason Discovery plays that god awful monster garage and National Geographic has reality shows, that format makes far more money then appealing to a small segment of the population.
So who hired that producer? (Score:3, Insightful)
who is really calling the shots at G4?
why is such incompetence allowed to continue?
why is it the same at every big company I've worked for?
why can't anyone in management actually effectively manage?
sadly, it seems that power corrupts, and the corrupt are crappy in power
Re:Even X-Play Sucks (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Depressing... (Score:5, Insightful)
I was never a big TechTV fan, but TSS was a fairly good view while eating lunch and safe viewing material for people like my parents who might not understand everything on the show, but got a fair education into subjects they wouldn't have before... Now I'm back to telling people to avoid the whole channel, it's rather sad...
Re:Boo for G4 (Score:3, Insightful)
then scifi cancelled farscape.
then those fucks at g4 destroyed techtv.
so I cancelled cable. when they asked why, i told them - scifi and techtv had gone to shit.
why pay $40/mo on cable when you can buy an entire season of episodes for $40, commercial free, on dvd, and watch them when you want and not when the networks dictate you should watch them? (yes i know you can dvr your channels, but buying dvd box sets is still cheaper, and better quality.)
And...SO?? (Score:4, Insightful)
I remember religously watching Computer Chronicles with Stewart Cheifet when I was younger. I also used to watch TSS regularly; I even upgraded my cable package to one that included ZDTV just for the show. It was (although at times a bit basic) funny, informative, etc.
I lost track of the show when they moved to L.A. and got rid of Pat and Leo. I turned it on a week or so ago just to see what was going on these days...just in time for an insightful discussion about the word "scrotum", complete with snorting and giggling from the new adolescent "hosts"...and a new set that looks like something that a 7 year old would come up with if you asked them to imagine their dream playroom.
Thanks, Comcast...thanks for not only failing to recognize quality TV, but apparently actively setting out to flush it down the toilet.
Re:A lot of people don't understand this, but... (Score:2, Insightful)
So they bought TechTV for roundabout $300 million and got the satellite feeds they said they had to have to survive.
The whole G4-TechTV combo name thing was for two purposes. Most of the satellite services have contracts that allow them to drop a channel if it changes in a significant way. Going all gaming would have triggered the contract and allowed Dish and DirecTV to pull the plug. After spending $300M, Comcast was not about to let that happen.
Dish and DirecTV bitched and complained anyway. Neither one was happy about this. Dish owns some of the TechTV stock, and DirecTV was onboard with ZDTV when it launched because THEY believed in it. It hurt them so see Comcast come in but
The other trick was keeping the viewers from both channels and getting them to watch the combo channel. They've pretty much blown it there which is why the ratings suck ass.
Hint: shows about drifting are not going to fix it.
Re:Staged Calls on G4's TSS Leo and Kevin fraud (Score:2, Insightful)
Think of it this way, you work for company A, Huge company B buys Company A, you not liking what you are seeing about Company B leave. That Company then fires pretty much everyone that was associated with Company A. Company B is then shown to be a bunch of liars and thieves. Does that make you a liar too, when you were never part of Company B?
Now onto the kevin situation. From all that I read Kevin wants to get out of G4, but he is bound by a contract. Several times he has posted things that are not flattering about G4 on his blog, which have strangely disappeared later (guess who ordered that one). I get the feeling that Kevin wants out, he even gave up hosting the show (or he was pressured, no way of knowing for sure).
So in short you have an argument that G4 has done shady things, hell I would agree with you. But as of this point you have no proof at all that TechTV did anything shady, all you have is unsubstantiated conjecture.
Re:Staged Calls on G4's TSS Leo and Kevin frauds (Score:2, Insightful)
I think on of your last sentence is probably the closes thing to being right. TechTV, and the people that worked for it (while not perfect or a saint) did try to do the right thing. G4 seems to go out of their way to be underhanded.