G4TV To Be Rebranded As The Esquire Channel

G4TV will soon be no more. A report from The Hollywood Reporter says that the network’s owner, NBCUniversal, has closed a deal to rebrand G4 as the Esquire Channel.

The fate of cable network G4TV, originally founded as a network for gamers, was put into question several months ago when it was announced that its gamer-focused programming, namely X-Play and Attack of the Show, were being canceled.

Following that news, a source told Joystiq that G4TV.com’s editorial staff had been laid off, and that their final week working on The Feed would be the week before Thanksgiving.

G4’s programming will be replaced by shows oriented around genres such as cooking, travel, and fashion, The Hollywood Reporter says. Esquire’s programming is said to already be in production, and the transition is slated to happen around the first half of 2013.

The Hollywood Reporter reports:

“In exploring potential partners, NBCU had conversations with Hearst rival Conde Nast as well. For their part, NBC and Hearst Corp. have a history, having served as co-owners of A&E Networks as recently as this summer, when the former sold its 15.8 percent stake for $3.03 billion. Hearst maintains an ownership stake in the cable group, which includes Lifetime, A&E, History and Bio.”

X-Play, the network’s longest-running show, began in 2003 when the network was still known as TechTV. After being rebranded as G4, the network launched Attack of the Show in 2005 as a replacement for The Screen Savers, one of TechTV’s biggest programs.

Both shows will air their final episode by the end of the year.