G4 Video Game Net Flexes Ad Muscles

LOS ANGELES Comcast Corp.’s agreement to purchase Vulcan Programming’s TechTV today, and Comcast’s plan to merge it with its video game network G4, “get us in the [ad upfront] game in a much bigger way,” said Dale Hopkins, G4’s senior vice president of advertising and affiliate relations. The terms of the agreement were undisclosed.

G4 has penetrated 15 million homes since its 2002 launch, Hopkins said. The acquisition and merger effectively creates a cable network of 44 million viewers and opens the Los Angeles-based company to new advertisers who previously were deterred by G4’s relatively small reach.