4Music repositions as UK music and entertainment destination for Gen-Z

27 March 2018

• 4Music move to the entertainment section on Sky 139

• New focus on comedy, cult drama, teen fantasy and outrageous reality

• Launches 1 May 2018 

The Box Plus Network, the UK’s largest and most-watched music television network, today reveals exciting new plans to become the leading youth music and entertainment network, taking 4Music into the entertainment EPG on Sky, next to Channel 4’s digital channels. Box will leverage its decades of youth insight, ninja production capabilities and acquisitions nous to reach and engage more of the UK’s youth audiences with a raft of entertainment and pop-culture shows.  

4Music will be repositioned to target a mainstream 16-22 year old Gen-Z audience with the channel becoming the ultimate pop culture mix of comedy, cult drama, teen fantasy, outrageous reality, freshest charts and the biggest trending stories. It will be a welcome escape from the volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of everyday life.

4Music mornings will still provide a soundtrack to kick start the day with chart hits and fresh new music and talent brought to the fore, providing an access point for artist takeovers, performances and other music productions. There will also be key prime time slots for music as it retains a core part of the channel offer. Afternoon’s will host 4Music’s flagship daily live entertainment show Trending Live, a shop window for the complete 4Music offer: live, topical and off the cuff; the only Gen-Z targeted live show on TV featuring guests from the worlds of music and pop-culture, opinion and bite-size previews of content both on and off the network Mon – Thurs 16:00 – 17:30.

The entertainment line-up ranges from the sensational Love & Hip Hop (exclusive to 4Music), several series in the popular Kardashians franchise and Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents to teen fantasy hits such as Charmed and Xena: Warrior Princess. Additionally, viewers will be treated to a smattering of laughs from 8 Out of 10 Cats, Rude Tube and cult drama Sex and the City, with more titles to be announced. The shows are stripped Mon - Thurs to offer up a real mix of genres across the channel from 17:30 with stacks at the weekend.

Matt Rennie, MD at The Box Plus Network said:

“We’re extremely excited to expand our offer beyond music and for the opportunity to entertain our audience in even more ways. Over the last four years we have become the stand-out leader in music television, so to build on that into entertainment is a momentous time for the network. But don’t worry, even though we’ll only have six of our seven channels dedicated to music, we’ll still be the biggest and best music television network in the UK!”

The marketing campaign will run across TV, Radio and digital from 17 April with the EPG change from 1 May.

ENDS 

Notes to Editors

 

Press Office contact:

Melissa Fretwell: 07540 000 211

mfretwell@boxplus.com

 

About The Box Plus Network:

The Box Plus Network is the UK’s no.1 music video network.  With 9 unique channel brands; BeBox (digital only), The Box, Box Upfront, Box Hits, Box Africa (international only) 4Music, Kiss, Magic, Kerrang! and the Box Plus app, that’s more music than you can shake a stick at.  We collaborate with artists, labels, brands, fans and followers to create and distribute amazing content which genuinely connects.  We’re passionate about trying out new stuff, cutting through the noise to play back what really matters in music and pop culture.  

The Box Plus app has all the good stuff in one easy place.  Watch live TV wherever you are from The Box, Box Upfront, Box Hits, 4Music, Kiss, Magic and Kerrang!.  Get the hottest music and entertainment shows on demand as well as viral vids from our renegade digital channel BeBox. 

The TV channels get a whopping audience of over 13.2 million viewers each month (2018) and 4Music reaches 9.7m.* Check out the channels on all major platforms; Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, YouView, Now TV, Amazon Fire, EE TV, iOS and Android.  

The Box Plus Network is a joint venture between Channel 4 and Bauer Media. 

*Source: Barb/Techedge Jan, Feb, 2018, Whole Day