Following the closure of the majority of the UK’s music television channels, a new generation of music TV is emerging, with more choice and quality than before.
- Music television isn’t dead – it’s migrated to new TV platforms
- Up to 16 music channels available to smart TV owners.
- Channels formerly available on Sky now available without a Sky receiver and in HD.
30th June 2024: Channel 4 finally called time on its five music channels, with the longest-running channel The Box coming to an end after more than three decades. The closure came just over six months after the lesser-known Trace Music ended its broadcasts on Sky. At the end of 2025, MTV followed and in February, That’s TV.
Channel 4 justified the closure with a shift in focus on streaming services. It saw no future for music television, certainly not in a streaming environment. Channel 4 had opted against embedding its former music channels into its streaming service.
Roll forward two years and music television is booming – not on Sky or Freeview, but on a new generation of streaming TV platforms, available on almost every smart TV in the UK.
Here you’ll find all of your favourite tunes and artists, often in much better picture and sound quality than on traditional broadcast music channels.
Where can I find music channels now?
You no longer need Sky or Virgin to access music television channels. Instead, linear music channels are available to everyone via your smart TV.
If you have an LG or Samsung TV, you’ll be able to find music channels via the respective device’s streaming TV service. On LG TVs, this is called LG Channels. On Samsung TVs and selected mobiles, this is Samsung TV Plus.
More broadly, most smart TVs, streaming devices and dongles also have access to Pluto TV or Rakuten TV. Both contain a range of music channels.
The apps are fully legitimate. Pluto TV is in fact owned by Paramount – the company behind the UK’s channel 5 and CBS in the USA.
Who has made the switch to streaming?
Trace Music, which took over the former Sony Pictures Television in the 2010s, was first to drop traditional Sky broadcasts and go streaming only. NOW Music, the last remaining music channels on Sky, are now widely available to every internet connected household via a range of streaming TV platforms.
They are joined by new entrants including: Vevo – perhaps best known for dominating YouTube music videos for over a decade, XITE (pronounced excite) and Stingray.
For fans of nostalgia, That’s TV currently operates four music streaming channels on Pluto TV and Rakuten TV. It’s also present on LG Channels.
What type of music channels are available?
Music genres include pop, rock, R&B, K-POP, urban music and music from the decades. See a full list of channels below:
List of music channels available on streaming
<> Swipe sideways to view the full table on a small screen device
| Samsung TV Plus | LG Channels | Rakuten TV | Pluto TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vevo Pop | That’s 90s00s | Metal Rocks | That’s 70s |
| Vevo 70s and 80s | That’s 80s | Stingray Greatest Hits | That’s Rock |
| Vevo 90s and 00s | Now 70s | Stingray Remember the 80s | That’s 80s |
| Vevo Hip Hop and R&B | That’s Rock | Qello Concerts by Stingray | That’s 90s00s |
| XITE Hits | Qwest TV | That’s 70s | |
| Now 70s | XITE Hits | That’s 80s | |
| Now 80s | Trace Urban | That’s Rock | |
| Now 90s and 00s | @K-MUSIC | That’s 90s00s | |
| Trace UK | YG TV | Vevo Hip Hop and R&B | |
| Trace Urban | Stingray Hit List | Vevo Pop | |
| Cool Summer | Stingray Greatest Hits | ||
| New KPOP | Stingray Pop Adult | ||
| K-POP by CJ ENM | Stingray Rock Alternative | ||
| SMTOWN | Stingray Easy Listening | ||
| DefJam | Stingray Nothin’ but 90s | ||
| SBS Inkigayo |
Better picture quality
Most streaming music channels are broadcast in full HD, or are upscaled when showing older music videos. That’s unlike Sky or Virgin, where most channels were in lower quality standard defintion. Depending on the streaming platform, you may find the audio quality is higher than on traditional broadcast platforms.
How have these music channels managed to survive?
There’s been a decline in younger viewers watching music on TV and indeed watching on traditional TV platforms. That means that the economics of running a music channel on traditional TV platform doesn’t work out. Traditional music channels often ended up filling more of their schedules with reality and entertainment programmes to keep viewing numbers and ad revenues up to cover carriage fees.
Known in the industry as free ad-supported television (FAST) channels, streaming channels have lower distribution costs.
Streaming platforms typically don’t charge carriage fees, but take a share of ad revenue. But ad revenue can be boosted because adverts can be personalised or at least customised based on a user’s location, making it more attractive to advertisers.
Importantly, streaming channels can be accessed not just on TV sets, increasing reach.
As a result, even with fewer overall viewers than the music channels of the 1990s and 2000s, the economics still stack up.
By: Marc Thornham | Image: Vevo/Rakuten TV