The Box, originally named the Video Jukebox Network, was an Americanbroadcast, cable and satellitetelevision network that operated from 1985 to 2001. The network focused on music videos, which through a change in format in the early 1990s, were selected by viewer request via telephone; as such, unlike competing networks, the videos were not broadcast on a set rotation. The network was distributed on cable and satellite providers, with additional carriage on over-the-airUHF television stations ; most of these stations, which later became affiliates of MTV2 following the shutdown of The Box's US operations, have since been sold off as of 2012, while Viacom retains ownership of the other remaining former Box affiliates. The Box's UK Operations remain on the air today, now owned by Channel 4.
History
The network originally launched as the Video Jukebox Network in 1985; it was founded by Steve Peters, who launched it on a television station in Miami, Florida. It was initially a product of the MiamiMusic scene, and was hosted by a group of local Miami Bass rappers known as Miami Boyz. Peters formed a record company called Peter's Records from the revenue earned by the Video Jukebox Network. Despite having his foot in the local Miami Bass scene, and employing hip-hop producers from abroad, none of its artists managed to produce a hit record; the label was shut down before Peters sold The Box to a group which included cable operator TCI and Island Records founder Chris Blackwell. Beginning in the early 1990s, the service – which eventually adopted the shortened name The Box – began allowing viewers to request videos through a designated telephone number; viewers would be directed to enter a code – which was displayed through an on-screen menu that aired full-screen between videos as well as in a text- and icon-only format on the lower third of the screen during a video broadcast – to request a recent or classic music video to air on the network. At first, all of The Box's request lines used a large block of Miami telephone numbers and callers were only charged for a long-distance call; however, in order to gain revenue, the network switched to the request line to a 1-900 toll number, with callers being charged from $1.99 to $3.99 per call to make a request of up to three videos. The network was well known for being an "underground" outlet for music videos that were not shown or even banned on MTV, with up to 350 videos selectable at any given time in each of the 170 different Box affiliates throughout the United States. Each affiliate had a unique playlist, usually customized to the local market, giving great exposure to more local and obscure groups. Videos cost between 99¢ and $3.99 and, on a national average, took around 20 minutes to be broadcast after being ordered; it was not uncommon for multiple videos to air in succession, nor was it for there to be a gap in videos for several minutes on end. Because the channel's playlist was totally controlled by viewers, anyone could request any video for as many times as they wanted. The network was known for its rough-around-the-edges and "bootleg"-like feel, sometimes making it appear like it was of low quality. Despite this, The Box was known to have many popular videos appear in heavy rotation on The Box months before appearing on MTV – Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" was seen on The Box many months before "breaking out" for example – and was largely responsible in raising the profile of acts such as Sir Mix-A-Lot and Green Jellÿ. In May 1999, The Box was acquired by MTV Networks division of Viacom. The Box ceased operations in the United States just over 1½ years later on January 1, 2001, moving operations to the UK; MTV2, which featured a mix of set rotation and viewer request music video blocks at the time, replaced the network on its affiliates, before eventually withdrawing broadcast carriage of MTV2 in the 2010s to return to a cable-only distribution model. The concept behind The Box was later revived in 2010, when cable music service Music Choice launched SWRV. The Box's UK operations remain on the air to this day.
Technology
Headends incorporated a video server which allowed for localized content mixes – local demographics could be taken into account for selecting the list of videos available for request or frequently requested genres/bands could be queued automatically. The video server had up to a 64GB HDD and the video programs were compressed in the MPEG2 format. In 2000, The Box had approximately 1,800 music videos in its inventory, 150 to 300 of which were queued across the network, at any given time. Subscribers could call the Interactive Voice Response at The Box's central office to request videos over the phone, which was typical, but could also request over the internet or via set-top box. The central office would then send the data to the individual headends regarding what was ordered.
