RIP Kerrang! TV: Why I’m mourning the loss of the channel in the face of choice overload

• After 23 years on air, Kerrang! TV has officially ceased broadcasting overnight (July 1 2024)
• The move comes as Channel 4 removes four other music channels in light of a “generational shift” in viewing
• But as Benjamin Jackson explains, the need for curated content in an age of “choice overload” is still imperative for many of us.

Kerrang TV, the beloved television station that was born in 2001, died overnight at the age of 23 years old. 

It’s an obituary I knew would come one day, owing to how music listeners consume their daily content at present. But it’s still a pretty sad day, as I awoke to a message from a friend that simply stated “Kerrang! TV is off the air. Permanently.”

As I sipped on that Monday morning coffee, awaiting the first hours of the day, I found myself looking through old YouTube videos people had uploaded from those halcyon days when the channel first started. 

Potato in quality, admittedly, but the nostalgia from seeing that chiron scrolling at the bottom of the screen, with a menu of new music videos and some old classics available for our selection, from the comforts of our own home. It was the jukebox found at the student union at University - or the video jukebox at my old Lincoln haunt Quayside.

With Kerrang! TV one of five music television stations now closed after Channel 4's decision due to "generational shifts" in TV viewing, Benjamin Jackson worries a lack of "curated" content might lead to more "choice overload." (Credit: Music Channel Archive on YouTube.) | Music Channel Archive on YouTube

Kerrang! TV’s demise came as Channel 4 announced earlier in 2024 that five of their music channels were to cease transmission, with The Box included in those channels. Kiss, 4Music and Magic would all be culled as the broadcast reasoned the way people consume music videos had changed.

"As we announced earlier this year as part of Channel 4’s digital-first Fast Forward strategy, we will be closing our Box network of channels from 1 July across all platforms - as they are no longer of sufficient scale to deliver meaningful return on investment.”

"Our strategy reflects the generational shift in TV viewing and involves reducing costs – particularly in linear activities - to allow us to invest in digital priorities and stay competitive in a world of global entertainment conglomerates and social media giants."

From a business perspective makes sense; we music fans are spoiled for how we can access new music, from tracks and albums to videos with the gamut of technological advances from Spotify to YouTube.

But that’s my problem, you see - there’s too much choice.

A need for curated content?

A naturally born hypocrite by my admission, my times telling musicians that they didn’t need the validation of radio play has subsided in my older age, where I now actually enjoy popping on BBC Radio 6 Music and taking a listen to what the DJs are playing.

The “validation” line comes from years of working with smaller bands who “aspired” to feature on Top of the Pops or airplay on either music television or radio. My argument when complaints came in why ranged from “not quite what they’re looking for” to “no one is going to play this white noise on the radio.” 

But ultimately, in some respects, radio kind of lost some of its lustre once on-demand music became a thing. Suddenly, you don’t have to sit and listen to the UK Top 40 to determine if your hard-earned money should be plonked down on an album from that month’s rock band du jour. 

You could stream those works instead, be it Soundcloud, MySpace’s wonderful layout in the day for music, Spotify years later and, of course, YouTube. Music discovery through YouTube was one of the main ways audiences discovered new music, which has now been overtaken by TikTok.

Kerrang! and those other channels never stood a chance when YouTube came along; why bother to wait for your music video to come on when you can just jump on a computer or mobile device, cast YouTube and then pick for yourself? 

Much in the same way we commiserated P-Rock’s death, we’re now doing the same for Kerrang - or The Box or those other channels if you’re fans of the music they regularly showed. But much like modern-day dilemmas with other streaming services, the issue lies not where to watch, but how much there is to watch. 

There’s a term for it I discovered - “Choice overload.”

Choice overload and why music channels are still important

You know that feeling when you want to watch something on, let’s say Netflix (because even my mum knows what “the Netflix” is), but you get caught in a loop just scrolling through title after title, almost spending as much time browsing as you would watching a show or a movie?

Or when you’re stepping up at a house party to add your song to the Spotify Jam session that is occurring, only to falter when you’re not sure what to put on given the sheer wealth of music at your fingertips? Both are considered moments of “choice overload.”

The Decision Lab sums up choice overload quite well: “Choice overload, also known as overchoice, choice paralysis, or the paradox of choice, describes how people get overwhelmed when they are presented with many options”.

“ While we tend to assume that more choice is a good thing, research has shown that, in many cases, we have a harder time choosing from a larger array of options.”

From what to put on streaming services to what to have for dinner, to quote an editor of mine, the same thing applies to music, which is where Kerrang! TV and the radio helped. Maybe I don’t want to make the decision and I want the decision to be made for me and instead, there was an interest in what the “yoof” were into that didn’t involve downloading TikTok.

This goes back to why I am now once again a fan of the radio. Sure, there are going to be some songs that I don’t like, but at the same time how am I meant to discover what I like and what I don’t like if there is no benchmark in place currently? 

So while the “need” for Kerrang! TV’s existence from a business acumen is understandable, its place as somewhere curated “for music fans by music fans,” and not used as a means of branding, has sadly gone the way of other curated outlets. 

Should I suck it up and deal with it? Of course, but music television isn’t quite as antiquated as some believe it to be - yet. 

Do you agree with our writer’s opinion about the need for curated content to avoid choice overload or decision paralysis? Are you going to miss Kerrang! TV or the other channels no longer broadcasting due to Channel 4’s decision? Let us know by dropping a comment down below or emailing [e-mail].