CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · Arts & Letters

The Box Plus Network

British television company

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 16, 2026
Entity authorityQ4951572
Source-derived summary

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, and specialising in music programming. Channel Four acquired a 50% share in Box Television (established 1992) in 2007, and gained full control in 2019. The five remaining channels closed on 30 June 2024.

History

The Box began as a cable television service in 1992, showing music videos. It was taken over by the publishing company Emap in the late 1990s, and began to broadcast via satellite and Freeview alongside other music channels which used Emap-owned brands. Emap sold its broadcasting business to Bauer Media in 2007, and a 50:50 joint venture was established between Bauer and Channel Four.

On 2 April 2013, all The Box Plus Network channels went free-to-air on satellite, apart from 4Music which went free-to-view.

On 8 January 2019, Channel 4 acquired Bauer's 50% stake in the company to take full ownership of The Box Plus Network. In July of that year, operations of Box Plus moved into Channel 4's main business operations. The company was based in Victoria, London.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “The Box Plus Network” as british television company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Plus, Network and British.

Editorial reviewA productive route into publication, performance and collection histories when the underlying object or edition remains clearly identified. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1992, 2007, 2019, 2024—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1991. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Plus, Network and British providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “The Box Plus Network”, the useful work is to connect “british television company” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Object files, edition statements, performance records and contemporary criticism preserve different stages of the work’s history. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4951572. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1992, 2007, 2019 and 2024.

Critical limits

Later fame can flatten the distinction between original context, subsequent adaptation and institutional collecting history. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “The Box Plus Network”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow The Box Plus Network primary sources, The Box Plus Network archive and Plus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “The Box Plus Network”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from The Box Plus Network” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.