Box Upfront was a British music video television channel owned by
The Box Plus Network
The Box Plus Network (formerly Video Jukebox Network International Ltd and Box Television Ltd) was a British television company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation, it specialised in music programming.
On 2 April 2013, all The Box Pl ...
. It launched on 3 July 2012 as Heat and was originally based on the
magazine of the same name. The channel replaced
Q.
The channel featured daily celebrity gossip show ''Heat's Huge News'', as well as a 60-minute programme rounding up weeks stories, titled ''Heat's Huge Week of News'', which was produced by
ITN. In addition, ITN Productions co-produced celebrity documentary series ''Real Stories'' with Box Television. Heat also featured ''The Heat-Ometer'', its pick of the 20 biggest music videos narrated by Heat editor,
Lucie Cave
Lucie Cave is the Editor in Chief of ''Heat'' magazine and the Heat brand (spanning heat radio, heatworld.com and heat TV). She graduated with a 2:1 in English Literature from the University of Sheffield in 1995, where she was the editor of the ...
.
Box Upfront broadcast current and future mainstream pop music videos 24/7.
On 2 April 2013, all Box Television channels went
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
on satellite, apart from
4Music
4Music is a British music television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. The original incarnation was launched on 15 August 2008, and until 29 June 2022, showed a mix of music and entertainment programming. It ...
which went
free-to-view
Free-to-view (FTV) is a term used for audiovisual transmissions that are provided free without any form of continual subscription . It differs from free-to-air (FTA) in that the program is encrypted.
Free-to-view vs. free-to-air
The free-to-view ...
. As a result, the channels were removed from the Sky EPG in Ireland. However, Heat launched on
Freesat
Freesat is a British free-to-air satellite television service, first formed as a joint venture between the BBC and ITV plc and now owned by Digital UK. The service was formed as a memorandum in 2007 and has been marketed since 6 May 2008. Free ...
on 29 April 2013, alongside
Magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
, following the addition of four other Box Television channels on 15 April.
On 25 May 2016, the channel was rebranded as Box Upfront.
On 1 November 2019, the channel temporarily rebranded as a Christmas music channel called BoXmas, a role also occupied by sister channel
Magic
Magic or Magick most commonly refers to:
* Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces
* Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic
* Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...
(albeit not temporarily rebranded). As the impending shutdown was announced during the rebrand, the channel kept the BoXmas branding, but shifted to a playlist similar to
Box Hits
Box Hits (formerly Smash Hits) was a British commercial television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel broadcast general pop music in shows such as Chartbusters, which was recent music and Pop Domination, which sh ...
on 26 December. Box Upfront ceased to broadcast on 9 January 2020, signing off with a block of departure-themed songs; "
Goodbyes" by
Post Malone
Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...
featuring
Young Thug
Jeffery Lamar Williams (born August 16, 1991), known professionally as Young Thug, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is considered to be an influential figure of his generation, with his music impacting the modern sound of hip ...
, "
Bye Bye Bye
"Bye Bye Bye" is a song by the American boy band NSYNC. It was released on January 17, 2000, as the lead single from their third studio album '' No Strings Attached''. The song was written and produced by Kristian Lundin and Jake Schulze, with a ...
" by
NSYNC
NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to European ...
, and "
Goodbye
Goodbye, Good bye, or Good-bye is a parting phrase and may refer to:
Film
* ''Goodbye'' (1918 film), a British drama directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Goodbye'' (1995 film) (''Tot Ziens!''), a Dutch film directed by Heddy Honigmann
* ''Goodbye'' ...
" by
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls are a British girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Melanie Brown, also known as Mel B ("Scary Spice"); Melanie Chisholm, or Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"); Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"); Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"); and Vict ...
were the last videos played before it ended operations. The channel space then transitioned to a slide stating that BoXmas was "taking a break" and would be back for the next holiday season (though obviously on a different channel), and redirecting viewers to its sister channels.
The End of Box Upfront (9 January 2020)- YouTube
/ref> In October 2020, The Box temporarily rebranded as BoXmas, thus making that channel the new home of BoXmas.
See also
*Heat (magazine)
''Heat'' is an English entertainment magazine published by Bauer Media Group. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip, beauty advice and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in other women's magazines. It also features m ...
*Heat Radio
Heat Radio is a British digital radio station, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Kiss Network. It broadcasts online to the UK and on Digital Radio in Inverness.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 456,000 list ...
References
External links
*
Defunct British television channels
Channel 4 television channels
Music video networks in the United Kingdom
Television channels and stations established in 2012
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2020
2012 establishments in the United Kingdom
2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
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