Box Hits (formerly Smash Hits) was a British commercial

television channel A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

owned by

Channel Four Television Corporation Channel Four Television Corporation is a British state-owned media company headquartered in London. Its original and principal activity is the British national television network Channel 4. The company was founded in 1982 as the Channel Four T ...

. The channel broadcast general

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

in shows such as Chartbusters, which was recent music and Pop Domination, which showcased new and old music. It also shows other programmes such as themed countdowns and charts such as Top 50 Boy Bands. The channel also had hours dedicated to a particular artist or band such as Pussycat Dolls: Ultimate 10. It was originally based on the former ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' magazine, which was owned by

EMAP Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Rich ...

. The channel shut down on 29 June 2022 at 6am and was replaced with a new version of

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. I ...

. The channel was available on a number of platforms including Sky and

Virgin Media Virgin Media is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 joint ventu ...

. It was part of a network of channels owned by The Box Plus Network, which includes

, The Box,

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication '' Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a on ...

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

and Magic. All of these channels are now in Channel 4's main business operations.

History

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 appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...

on satellite, apart from

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-vi ...

. As a result, the channels were removed from the Sky EPG in Ireland. Smash Hits 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 15 April 2013, alongside three other Box Television channels. Box Hits and its sister channels (except 4Music) returned to Freesat on 8 December 2021 alongside C4 HD. On 25 May 2016, the channel was rebranded as Box Hits. ''Smash Hits TV'' was also the name given to a spin-off TV show broadcast on

Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...

in 2001. It used to broadcast general mainstream

on a "

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to sele ...

" system, where viewers had to call a premium rate

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

number to select a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

to play. From 27 September 2021 to 6 October 2021, Box Hits broadcast a simulcast of

after the activation of a fire suppressant system at the premises of Red Bee Media on 25 September 2021. It was restored on 7 October 2021, while a simulcast of it simultaneously launched on

, replacing The Box. On 13 June 2022, Channel 4 announced that Box Hits' channel slot would be replaced with 4Music on June 29, 2022. This was part of a channel reshuffle where E4 Extra would take over 4Music's old slot, while 4Music would transition back to a full-time music schedule in the ex-Box Hits slot, thus effectively ending the Box Hits branding and the channel itself altogether. The Box, however, will currently remain on air for the time being.

Programming

* Massive Chart Hits – The best chart toppers back to back! * Non-Stop Big Hits – We've got all the biggest videos from the biggest stars right here all through the night! * Buzzin' with Big Hits – Nothing but the biggest hits around from the biggest artists on the planet, right here, right now! * OMG! It's ... Years Since... – The best music videos from a selected number of years ago. * Totally... – 30 minutes of the biggest music videos from your favourite artist. * From Day 1 – Selected artist retrospective. Formally presented by Will Best, Kiss Radio's AJ King, or Kiss 100's Manny Norte (also used to be available on Kiss TV, Box Upfront, and The Box), it is now presented by the selected artist. The programme also airs on

. * All the Hits, All Weekend – We've got your weekend soundtrack sorted with the hottest music around! * Official UK Airplay Chart Top 20 – 20 most-played songs played across UK radio stations in the last week. * UK HOTLIST Top 20 – Will Best provides 20 most-streamed tracks of the week as compiled by

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active use ...

. * Face Off! – Music videos from two different artists. * Hotmix – Exclusive non-stop mix of the hottest tracks to soundtrack your life! * Let's Go! Monday Mood Boosters – We're getting your week off to the best start with the biggest mood-boosting tunes to brighten up Monday morning. * Turn Up The Party – Saturday Night is on! Join us for a Massive playlist of party tunes that will make you blow your mind. (This programme was dropped in 2022 when it was replaced with two new shows, Get The Party started and Ultimate Party Anthems.) * No 1 Party Hits – We've got your night sorted with a mix of The biggest Number 1 songs from the party world. (This programme usually airs on long weekends Easter, May, Spring and summer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Box Hits Defunct British television channels Defunct music video networks Channel 4 television channels Music video networks in the United Kingdom Television channels and stations established in 2001 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2022 2001 establishments in the United Kingdom 2022 disestablishments in the United Kingdom