Update: Since this entry has been posted, G4 has decided to change its schedule again. Click here to read more.
In spite of the shakeups regarding the G4 offices and potential layoffs, programming initiatives seem to be moving ahead as usual as G4 has decided to bring back import shows Brainiac and Ninja Warrior for all new seasons, the latter for a whopping total of 16 (seasons, that is)! The large amount can be attributed to the fact that the Ninja Warrior competiton has been running for several years now in Japan so there’s quite the amount of backlog episodes not shown in the US. According to G4 Press Releases, the new seasons of both shows will premiere on March 19th, 2007, with Ninja Warrior running weekdays at 6:30pm ET with a same day repeat at 10:30pm ET, while new episodes of Brainiac will premiere during its former time slot of Mondays at Midnight (Tuesday mornings at 12am ET) during the Midnight Spank late-night block. According to G4’s schedule, reruns of the previous seasons of Brainiac will continue to air weekdays at 9am ET. Also, Ninja Warrior will continue to air Tuesdays at Midnight (Wednesdays at 12am ET) during Midnight Spank.
In the past, acquired G4 shows were always initially handled by the Acquisitions department. With the recent layoffs of said department in December 2006, you can’t help but wonder how it’s being done now (and it’s not likely that these are the last shows G4 is going to acquire in 2007).
Schedule Changes
And of course, with any programming changes comes revamped schedules. Here’s a quick rundown of time slots that will be affected with the new seasons of Brainiac and Ninja Warrior (this does not include already listed time slots) :
Something else that comes to a bit of a surprise is a recent TVWeek.com article on Ninja Warrior stating that the show has risen to become G4’s most popular show in its demographic, males ages 18 to 34 years old. While it’s not too sure if they meant it as one of the network’s most popular shows instead of “the network’s most popular show”, this is big news as it has been figured that either X-Play or Attack of the Show has been topping the charts for G4.
– NEW: The double airings of Cops from 6 to 7 and 10 to 11 are now at 5:30 and 6pm ET and a full hour at 9pm ET. Cheaters will continue at 5pm ET.
– NEW: Star Trek: The Next Generation will now air weeknights at 1am ET, giving up its former 9pm time slot (something which it had held since January 2006) to Cops. The Man Show will move from weeknights at 1am to 3am ET, while Cheaters and X-Play will continue at 2am and 4am ET, respectively.
-Attack of the Show will be repeated the same day at 11pm ET, replacing the 11pm variety shows (a mix up of various G4 shows such as Brainiac, Cinematech: NE, Cheaters etc.) and the primetime airing of Arrested Development at 11:30pm ET (you can continue to watch AD weekdays at 2:30pm ET). This move does not seem to be caused by the new seasons, but more of a general programming decision. NEW: Arrested Development will now also air weeknights at 10pm ET.
-The Block, which was airing Mondays at Midnight, has wrapped up its season and will continue to air on weekends.
– NEW: Star Trek: The Original Series has been put on a short break from its Sundays/Saturdays 3 and 4am time slots. It will return to the schedule soon with the 2.0 interactivity.
– NEW: G4’s Video Game Mash-Up block, which consists of X-Play reruns and Cheat! reruns and premieres (aka new episodes), will now air once again from 3 to 5pm ET.
And to ease the pain of this huge text wall, check out the video below for a preview of the new season of Ninja Warrior:
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(This post originally posted by former G4 Rewind contributor “proscribed”)