G4 Will Become Esquire Network This April

In just a few short months, G4 will cease to exist. The former video game-oriented cable channel will become the Esquire Network this April.

NBC Universal will officially announce the partnership with Esquire magazine owner Hearst Magazines today. According to Gamespot, the new network will be oriented towards guys. NBC executives have reportedly described it as an “upscale Bravo for men.”

Instead of focusing on video games and gaming-oriented entertainment, NBC said the network will be more in tune with what Esquire covers in its magazine. The New York Times reports that guys can expect to find programming related to cars, politics, world affairs, travel, fashion, and cooking on the channel.

Esquire editor in chief David Granger said that the network wouldn’t be an exact duplication of what readers can find in the magazine. However, Granger stated that shows offered on the channel would be in the same “wheelhouse” as the content found in publication.

NBC executive Bonnie Hammer explained:

“Realistically, guys who are into gaming are not necessarily watching television. If this was going to come under my portfolio, I’m a little brand crazy, so I said, let’s create a real brand, define a space, understand who we are programming for.”

According to IGN, the network has two series in the works for the channel. In addition to the Anthony Bourdain-produced travel show The Getaway, NBC will unveil Knife Fight on the Esquire Network. The press release describes the latter as an “underground, after-hours cooking competition where talented chefs go head to head in front of a rowdy crowd of celebrities, critics and die-hard foodies.”

Executives said they currently don’t have any plans for video game-oriented programming at this time.

G4 will officially become the Esquire Network on April 22. Are you disappointed that the video game channel will no longer exist?