TV channels once championed music. Why have they given up so

Channel 4 has axed music video channels such as The Box and Kerrang! amid falling revenues. They were once vibrant and full of gems – and there’s very little to replace them

You may not live near a record shop or live venue, but if you want more music, chances are you own a television: this was the alluring promise of linear TV music channels, which, two decades after their peak period, came to a decisive end this week.

Channel 4 have announced the closure of The Box, 4Music, Kiss, Magic and Kerrang! on 1 July, amid declining eyeballs on linear TV, rising operating costs and plummeting advertising revenue. The stations – which served a hard-to-reach national audience often underserved by the music industry – now “no longer deliver revenues or public value at scale”.