’s and this time a whole channel is getting the axe.
The Kerrang! TV channel – which launched in 2001 and videos for alternative artists including skate-punk, indie rock, metal, and rock bands – is set to go.
Viewers could text Kerrang! to request a particular song, and there was a guarantee it would be played (although, you may have had to wait a little while).
Unfortunately, it will be no more due to the broadcaster’s five-year plan to become a digital-first public service streamer by 2030, with other Box channels – The Box, Magic, Kiss, and 4Music – also getting the cut.
‘To stay competitive and invest in digital priorities, Channel 4 will reduce its operational costs, particularly out of legacy activities. This will simplify its operations to become leaner, nimbler, and more sustainable in the long term,’their ambitious statement reads.
‘This includes: Proposing to close small linear channels that no longer deliver revenues or public value at scale, including the Box channels in 2024 and others at the right time.’
The decline in the popularity of music channels and the shift to other platforms such as is hard to avoid, but it doesn’t make it any less sad for their viewers past and present.
Hundreds of fans took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their grief.
‘Kerrang TV is closing down thank u for raising me and changing the entire trajectory of my life,’ wrote Jake.
Account Cries Tired referenced in her social media post: ‘Kerrang tv shutting down, you me at six breaking up, 14 years old me is screaming and throwing up.’
Robin described Kerrang! TV as her ‘whole world as a teenager’ and credited it for helping her discover ‘alt music’.
It was a day Scott Wilson hoped would never come: ‘Kerrang TV was single-handedly responsible for curating the soundtrack to my adolescence. It was how you knew what was good and what was new. Thought it’d be there for every generation after me too! Sad news.’
Evie doesn’t even know how she’ll fill her time now. She asked: ‘KERRANG TV CLOSING DOWN???? worst news ever what am i meant to watch </3.’
‘Kerrang TV closing really is the end of an era,’ viewer Tom simply wrote.
As part of its plan, Channel 4 will have ‘fewer, stronger new titles that generate more scale and impact’, increase YouTube content, and ‘reduce headcount by 18%’ which will mean around 200 redundancies and the closure of around 40 unfilled roles.
The broadcaster has recently been making bold decisions to cut loose some of its programming, including , and The Big Celebrity Detox.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Channel 4 for comment.
