The Box Plus Network announces biggest refresh in its 24-year history

19 May 2016

• New channels Box Hits and Box Upfront will launch in addition to dedicated digital channel BeBox
• The new changes come into effect on 25th May 2016

The UK’s largest music television network, The Box Plus Network has today announced the biggest strategic move in its 24-year history with the introduction of two new linear TV channels; Box Hits and Box Upfront, and a new bespoke social-first digital channel, BeBox. These updates to the iconic music brand have been designed to address the changing dynamic in youth media consumption, consolidating the linear TV proposition in the ever popular chart and pop genre and opening up new audiences with the new digital offer, BeBox. The Box and international channel Box Africa will also undergo a refresh, uniting the brands in the new channel line-up whilst preserving our genre offers from Kiss, Magic and Kerrang! and our Freeview music and entertainment channel 4Music.

Box Upfront will be a platform for new and emerging artist talent alongside fresh tunes from our favourite music stars whilst Box Hits will celebrate the most popular hits of the last few years. With Box Upfront focusing on brand new music, our flagship channel, The Box, will switch to cover a broad chart mix alongside our usual pop-culture dose of bespoke music productions and features.

The brand new digital channel BeBox will serve a mix of mainstream music and pop culture content across multiple digital platforms, led by social media and specifically designed for The Box Plus Network’s core target audience of mainstream 16 – 24 year olds. BeBox will leverage Box’s access to talent and in-house production, offering our take on the world of music and celebrity through video, GIFs, memes, lists, quizzes and in-depth features.

Flagship programmes for the new look network include the ‘UK HOTLIST Top 20 & 40’ (The Box), ‘UK Music Video Chart’ (Box Upfront) and ‘Official UK Airplay: Top 20’ (Box Hits). A full programme list is available upon request.

Matt Rennie, Managing Director at The Box Plus Network commented: “We’ve been spending a lot of time speaking to our audience and the introduction of our new linear channels; Box Upfront and Box Hits, as well as our new digital channel BeBox, are a direct result of this feedback. The way our audience consume media may be changing, but what remains constant is their love for music and pop-culture. We love it too and our new channel line-up is designed to deliver this passion for great content across all of their favourite platforms. We’re super excited to be able to finally unveil our plans.”

For more information please contact:

Clive Drew - clive.drew@dawbell.com
Maria Barham - maria.barham@dawbell.com

 

Notes to editors

About The Box Plus Network

The Box Plus Network is the UK’s most-watched music video network. A joint venture between Channel 4 and Bauer Media, it broadcasts eight inimitable music television channels; The Box, Box Upfront, Box Hits, Box Africa (international only) 4Music, Kiss, Kerrang! and Magic, attracting a monthly average audience of over 16 million viewers in 2015 and a total of 4.1 billion individual music video views.*

The channels broadcast through all major TV platforms (Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media, Talk Talk, YouView and Freesat) and are also hosted through dedicated simulcast players on www.boxplus.com and are available on the free Box+ mobile app, available to download from the App Store and Google Play, allowing viewers to watch the channels wherever, whenever they want. BeBox is the latest digital addition, available across social media and at www.beboxmusic.com.

The Box Plus Network is dedicated and passionate about driving creative and innovative programming formats to ensure viewers get the ultimate experience.

*Source: Barb/Techedge 2015, Whole Day