G4 (Hopeland)

G4 Hopeland (often simply known as G4) was the Hopelandian version of the Sierran geek and gamer network G4. Set up by Cablevision (the present-day Echo), the channel started up as the local version of ZDTV (later TechTV). Unlike other countries, the merger led to the creation of a separate Tech TV channel that eventually shut down, causing the main channel to become G4.
The channel was subsequently sold a number of times before being acquired by UBS in 2007.
==History==
In April 1998, Cablevision was given a license by the HCC to operate a cable channel under license from Ziff-Davis Hopeland, ZDTV (the channel was, at the time, yet to launch in the United States). The channel eventually launched on June 1, 1998, less than a month after its Sierran counterpart. In October, the channel was sold to Ziff-Davis Hopeland and started broadcasting on the Astro satellite platform nationwide.
As the ownership structure in the United States was changing, ZDTV was still owned by Ziff-Davis Hopeland, even after the channel was sold off entirely in its native country. Webquest bought the channel in April 2000 and subsequently bought out the license to carry the ZDTV - later TechTV - brand and programming. The rebrand took place on the same day as its Sierran counterpart, September 18, 2000.
The number of local programming as TechTV grew considerably and in 2001, a local version of G4 was launched under the same ownership as the then-main channel. G4 Hopeland launched on June 1, 2002, on the day of the fourth anniversary of TechTV. Technically broadcasts started on May 31 with a non-stop broadcast of Pong before launching at 6am the following day. Most of the programs on G4, like TechTV, were imported from the Sierran channel.
Unlike G4 in the United States, the channel was reliant on commercial advertising - in order to keep up with the key demographic, most of the ads seen had anything to do with video games. This was because G4 had a wider coverage area than its Sierran counterpart, yet the audience was still limited. There were exceptions for the rule, including the live broadcast of E3 coverage. G4 added an anime programming block in September 2002.
In October 2004, TechTV shut down. While the Sierran channel was known as G4TechTV, in Hopeland the launch brand was still used on G4 in readiness for a possible rebrand following the Sierran channel. The rebrand took place on March 1, 2005. The channel was now broadcasting from new headquarters at Launceston Park in Albany. Local programming was improved considerably.
It was announced in January 2013 that G4 Hopeland's original programming would terminate production by June due to declining costs and viewership and its main programming source, the Sierran G4, ran out of programming. During the channel's last year, it aired reruns of local programming, mostly from prior phases of the channel. There were plans to replace G4 by the Esquire Network like in the United States but replacing its carrier would be problematic according to ownets UBS Comcast.
G4 shut down for good at 10pm Albany time after a repeat of the last edition of the local version of X-Play, shown in July 2013. The channel simply went to black afterwards.
In August 2020, UBS announced that it would restart G4 in Hopeland, simultaneously with the Sierran channel, as a hybrid linear service, aiming to become a terrestrial network. A rename to UBS G4 is likely on the cards. UBS executives believe that a relaunch under such circumstances is likely to aid cord-cutters. The content will also be available on ubiQ, UBS's streaming service.
==Programming==
==Website==