Kiss TV is a commercial hip-hop music television channel owned by The Box Plus Network. The playlist predominantly consists of old skool and mainstream hip-hop, grime and R&B.
It is based on the format of the Bauer owned London radio station Kiss FM UK, which started as a pirate radio station in London in 1985.
The original incarnation of Kiss TV was created by Guy Wingate, was bought back in to head up EMAP's fledgling TV division by then Kiss Chief Executive and the station's original founder, Gordon 'Mac' McNamee. The channel ran for one hour a night on the Mirror Group's L!VE TV cable circuit and after a year moved up to the Granada satellite and cable platform, taking a similar slot in the evening.
Although the original idea for the channel was proposed in 1993 (three years after Kiss FM launched as a legal station), it took many months for Wingate to convince UK television regulators, The Independent Television Commission to permit the extension of a brand name over to television. When permission was finally granted, Kiss had once again innovated by becoming the first "Masthead" TV project in the UK.
Within one year, the station was beating MTV in its time slots, and quickly gained cult status for its low-budget edgy coverage of the UK dance music scene. The channel's presenters included legendary DJs such as BBC Radio 1's Judge Jules. By the time the channel was one year old, it had attracted major sponsorship from blue-chip brands such as Levi's, Sony consumer products, and The Guardian newspaper.
The channel is available on many digital television platforms. It is part of a network of channels owned by The Box Plus Network, which includes 4Music, Kerrang! TV, Box Hits, Box Upfront, The Box, and Magic. On 2 April 2013, all Box Television channels went free-to-air on satellite, apart from 4Music which went free-to-view. As a result, the channels were removed from the Sky EPG in Ireland.
However, Kiss TV launched on Freesat on 15 April 2013, alongside three other Box Television channels.[3] Kiss TV also broadcasts in Sub-Saharan Africa as a Pay-TV Channel through various Digital TV providers without Commercials and Teleshopping. Past Music Videos are played in place of commercials.
In January 2017, the online worldwide live stream of KISS TV was shut down, in both KissKube app and Kiss official website. The channel is free to view in the UK via The Box Plus apps.