ChannelBee
ChannelBee | |
---|---|
Launched | 5 July 2008 |
Closed | 20 November 2009 |
Picture format | 16:9 |
Slogan | Original content every day. Join us |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Website | http://channelbee.com |
ChannelBee was an internet television channel which launched on 5 July 2008. As from 20/11/09 Channelbee has ceased operating. ChannelBee is a new concept featuring new and topical content each day varying from comedy sketches to daily blogs and football. Television presenter Tim Lovejoy came up with the idea with some of his colleagues on Soccer AM, which he hosted alongside Helen Chamberlain for 11 years.
The original crew members at time of launch were Tim Lovejoy, John 'Fenners' Fendley, Neil 'The Square' Smythe, Joe 'Sheephead' Worsley, Robbie 'The Tramp' Knox, Jon Dyson, Chris 'The Vegetarian' Stott, Jadeen Singh and Gemma Tipping. This group has subsequently been added to as ChannelBee has expanded with new members Harriet 'hasn't got a nickname' Pulford, 'Bendy' Ben Lowe, Tony 'The Cockney' Watson and Jamie 'Sheps' Sheppard joining.
At the core of the website is the forum known as the Banter Pit where members talk about the Channel and other topics. Members can give feedback on content here and uniquely receive a response from the sites producers including Tim Lovejoy. There are also weekly competitions that in the past have had prizes including a PlayStation 3, football tickets and even the opportunity to come to the office, meet the team and enter a poker competition, the prize was won by longstanding member Sgt Bash.
In the past the Channel featured a daily show filmed as live in the studio, however this has since become a blog filmed out on location and away from the studio and now nothing. Some of the more popular blogs included the cider and ale challenge, and Tim reporting from the Nou Camp ahead of Chelsea's clash with Barcelona. Also one member of the ChannelBee team danced every Friday but this was discontinued on 11 October 2008 when all the members of ChannelBee had danced.
On 5 January 2009 it was announced that Charlie Webster would be joining the ChannelBee staff full-time as a roving reporter. The decision to bring Charlie Webster in went down well with the male demographic of the site. It has become the custom that new members of the Bee Team should have to do an initiation dance in the tradition of the Friday Dance Club. Charlie duly did this dance on 9 January 2009. It was one of the poorest ones to have been seen on the ChannelBee dance floor since Robbie Knox and many were disappointed since it was a choreographed dance to the song Crank That (Soulja Boy) and not a spontaneous one. There have been calls for her to dance again to dull down the controversy that has surrounded this event.
Thursdays used to mean 'The Thursday Night Gig' where a live gig from somewhere around the UK is broadcast live via the ChannelBee website. Previous gigs have features the bands Iglu & Hartly, Funeral For A Friend, Does It Offend You, Yeah? and Roots Manuva. All live gigs are stored in the ChannelBee music archive and are available for streaming on demand.
Programmes
24 Hour News
24 Hour News is a parody of BBC News 24. It is one of ChannelBee's most popular gags and all of the 24 Hour News episodes are available to watch in the comedy section. The spoof begins with ChannelBee producer Chris Stott playing a news anchor and talking on a subject that has occurred in recent weeks (e.g. bands reforming, swine flu and new album releases). The anchor will then cross over to a reporter who will explain more on the subject. The gag first aired on 24 February 2009 to supposedly make the point that correspondents cannot explain more about matters than the anchor in the studio.
We Want Answers
We Want Answers is a feature on ChannelBee where celebrities have to answer quick fire questions. Celebrities who have appeared on We Want Answers include Justin Lee Collins, KT Tunstall, Dane Bowers, Mathew Horne, Craig David, Ashley Jensen, Fearne Cotton, Sam Sparro, Sharleen Spiteri, The Rock, David Bentley, Jim Davidson, Jim Bowen, Perry Benson, Vernon Kay, dan le sac vs Scroobius Pip, Keith Chegwin, Stefanie Powers, Thomas Turgoose, Des Walker, Kenny Dalglish, Mr Blobby, Alastair Campbell, Ruth Jones, Sam Torrance, Anton Du Beke, Brian Blessed, Barry Scott, The Rascals, Glasvegas, Lemmy, Rupert Grint, Katie & Peter, CJ Hobgood, Mica Paris, Peter O'Hanrahanrahan, John Legend, Devin Harris, Rhys Darby, Ricky Gervais and Jimmy Bullard.
Stories
Stories started out as rock n roll stories, the basic premise being an amusing anecdote about band members, touring or something similar however the feature was so popular that all celebrities now take part.
3 Men and a Movie
3 Men and a Movie is feature on ChannelBee where Tim Lovejoy, Neil Smythe and Sheephead review a movie together. The 3 Men and a Movie feature is usually only reserved for big films and smaller films are reviewed on dailies. 3 Men and a Movie stopped in August 2008 but was brought back in January 2009 after popular demand. In August 2008, ChannelBee made a spin-off of 3 Men and a Movie called 3 Men and a CD where they reviewed Late of the Pier's latest album Fantasy Black Channel. Films that have been reviewed include Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Pineapple Express, Tropic Thunder, Valkyrie, The Damned United and Lesbian Vampire Killers.
Table Football
The newest feature on ChannelBee is as simple as its name suggests, Tim Lovejoy, Fenners, Sheephead and Neil Smythe/Tony the cockney discuss all the latest football topics around a table.
External links
- ChannelBee's official website
- ChannelBee's YouTube channel
- Guardian.co.uk - Tim Lovejoy: Leaving Sky was the day my life changed
- Tim Lovejoy: From Soccer AM to ChannelBee