I had tempered hopes for G4TV when it was announced that it was coming back in the form of a YouTube channel. As much as I missed the gaming/tech channel, I knew the age we lived in would likely force it to be another carrier of “the message.”
Sure enough, I was right.
One day, viewers were subjected to a feminist rant from one of the channel’s hosts. Indiana “Frosk” Black proceeded to demonize the channel’s own viewers and gamers everywhere for being sexist, claiming she was the victim of sexism from people who were even watching at that very moment. The rant ended with her declaring that if they don’t like her then they should maybe tune out.
And guess what? They did. Viewers began bleeding off heavily as the network was lambasted relentlessly for Frosk’s bad faith attack.
(READ: Get Woke, Go Broke: G4TV Collapsing After Woke Rant Demonizes Gamers as Sexist)
The network attempted to recover by resorting to putting on a booba streamer known as “Amouranth,” but by that time, the damage had been done and no amount of shallow appeals to the audience was going to bring them back.
As Bounding Into Comics noted, the network’s president Russell Arons abandoned the position after less than a year on the job:
Following in the footsteps of former-G4 TV Senior BP Blair Herter , Arons’ departure comes just several short months after G4 host Indiana “Frosk” Black went on her aforementioned rant against viewers critical of her apparent lack of knowledge regarding the topics she was covering, an action which in turn led to massive drop-off in viewership for the network’s efforts to revive itself.
Now, we’re seeing massive layoffs at the network (20-30 people). According to TheGamer, cast and crew members were hit with these layoffs with talent coming in for a day of filming only to be taken to HR individually and laid off. This move comes after Comcast Spectator CEO Joe Marsh, who now runs G4, began looking for ways to cut the budget.
While it’s terrible that many of these people lost their jobs because of the off-base rant of one of its hosts who thinks of herself more as an activist than a host, G4 is making sure that its decline continues with one single decision.
Apparently, among the layoffs that occurred, Frosk wasn’t one of them. Moreover, she took to Twitter to gloat about the fact that she kept her job as others have lost theirs thanks to her actions.
If G4TV wanted to recover, it would have rid itself of the activist in its midst that is poisoning the network with her very presence. It was her rant that caused potential viewers and fans to turn away from the network and will likely keep them away so long as she’s there.
Case in point, the reaction to Frosk’s tweet shows the divisiveness she brings to the network. As of this writing, the tweet above is getting ratioed into oblivion with the vast majority of responses condemning her selfish attitude.
If they truly want to save G4 then it will require a fresh start, and maybe even an apology for one of their hosts attacking them while others applauded her. It will require a return to the fun nature it once had with a strong focus on gaming, tech, and humor. The one thing it definitely needs to get rid of is the activists in its midst who have damaged, and continue to damage its brand.
If it refuses to do that, then G4TV deserves to fail.