A piece of UK music television history will come to an end as the plug is finally pulled on five music channels.
- 4Music, The Box, Kerrang, Kiss and Magic TV channels will cease broadcasting within weeks.
- Channel 4 is reducing the number of traditional broadcast channels as part of shift towards streaming.
Channel 4 first announced its intention to close its music channel business back in January. At the time, the broadcaster wasn’t able to disclose an exact date, but confirmed it would happen this year.
Following recent online reports and videos speculating on their closure, triggered after an eagle-eyed viewer spotted a reference to Magic TV’s closure, Channel 4 has now named the date.
A spokesperson for Channel 4 confirmed to RXTV on Friday that the music channels 4Music, Kerrang, Kiss, Magic and The Box will no longer be available from Monday 1st July 2024.
At this point, the services will be delisted from Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media.
Ahead of its closure, The Box will spend June digging in to its archive to bring viewers the best music videos from its 32 year history.
The channel closure is part of a wider move by Channel 4 away from traditional linear broadcasting towards streaming. For example, so far this year, it’s started to debut episodes of its soap Hollyoaks on streaming first. It’s also announced it will make full coverage of the Paralympics available on YouTube.
Channel 4’s spokesperson told RXTV:
…We will be closing our Box network of channels from 1st July across all platforms – as they are no longer of sufficient scale to deliver meaningful return on investment. Our strategy reflects the generational shift in TV viewing and involves reducing costs – particularly in linear activities – to allow us to invest in digital priorities and stay competitive in a world of global entertainment conglomerates and social media giants.”
End comes as no surprise
The channels had been neglected for some time. Despite the growing importance of online viewing, Channel 4 never integrated the channels into its main streaming service. Additionally, the former Box Plus Network mobile app was also discontinued.
In 2018, 4Music relaunched as a destination for Gen Z viewers, introducing a wider range of entertainment shows. But in 2022, 4Music was downgraded, left Freeview and lost its entertainment programming.
Online streams of the channels ended last autumn. Social media feeds linked to the Box Plus Network channels had gone dormant before then.
The channels have continued on Sky, Freesat and Virgin Media, although their inclusion on Freesat wasn’t widely publicised by the broadcaster, certainly not on the Box Plus Network website.
Kerrang, Kiss and Magic TV channels continued under an agreement with brand owner Bauer Media, which has in the past year removed its own services from digital TV platforms.
A brief history of Channel 4’s music channels
The oldest channel, The Box, started life in 1992 as a regionalised cable TV service, long before Channel 4 became involved. The channel acted as a jukebox containing all the latest hits. Viewers could call to request what was played.
Publishing business Emap took over shares in Box Television in the late 1990s, when the arrival of digital satellite television enabled the channel to reach a wider UK audience. The satellite platform also facilitated the launch of numerous sister channels. These included Kerrang, Kiss and Magic, which were TV spin-offs of existing Emap-owned brands. The relaunch of digital terrestrial television under the ‘Freeview’ brand in 2002 following the collapse of ITV Digital facilitated the launch of a further music channel: The Hits.
Emap sold its broadcasting business to Bauer Media in 2007, joining forces with Channel 4 to create a joint venture. In time, the network became collectively known as ‘The Box Plus Network’.
After Channel 4 took a 50% share in Box Television, 4Music was launched in 2008, replacing The Hits. Channel 4 had previously dabbled with a music television concept in the mid 2000s in the form of E4 Music. E4 Music took over E4 every day until about 2pm. The format was phased out after the arrival of 4Music.
In 2019, the Box Plus Network was fully taken over by Channel 4.
Over time, the amount of time devoted to music on 4Music declined, as entertainment programmes took over. That was reversed in 2022 when 4Music lost its Freeview slot to E4 Extra. 4Music was reinvented as a pure music channel, but only on satellite and cable.
The closure of the Box Plus Network is set to leave Freesat without any music channels from July.
By: Marc Thornham | Images: RXTV composite. Logos © Channel 4/Bauer