If you're a DirecTV subscriber, you may have noticed a change in your channel line-up today. Although, as you'll see in a moment, maybe you didn't notice anything at all. The satellite content provider has announced that it has stopped carrying the G4 network, the video game-centric cable channel owned by Comcast. This came after negotiations between the two companies ended on Sunday with no agreement.

In an email sent to Entertainment Weekly, a spokesperson cited the channel's poor ratings for the decision, saying that as programming costs are on the rise, they have a responsibility to constantly evaluate its lineup. From the email: "Since G4 is among the lowest rated networks based on the latest Nielsen data, we decided that it made sense to focus on preserving programming that is more relevant to our larger customer base.". Or, if I may translate from business-to-English, "No one was watching it."

G4 responded to DirecTV's decision, and in a statement issued to Joystiq said, "We have been trying to engage DirecTV in fair and reasonable discussions to continue to carry G4. G4 offered DirecTV the same basic deal we have had for the past three years. However they still plan to drop the network and deny G4 fans the only network that focuses on the popular gaming lifestyle."

Although G4 may be the lone network soley dedicated to gaming (and reruns of Cheaters, Campus PD, and Web Soup), I'm not sure that it can truly be said that DirecTV is denying its 18 million subscribers anything they necessarily want. If G4 was generating larger ratings, it would be an obvious decision on the part of DirecTV to renew the contract. However, DirecTV's own internal calculations show that they stand to gain more than they lose by dropping the network. A backlash from DirecTV viewers, while a longshot, seems like the only way to get G4 back on the provider.