Remembering the Jukebox Network

Growing up in the midwest without cable or a satellite dish (satellite dishes of the time were huge, and if memory serves, expensive - at least, according to my parents), I was MTV deprived. I vividly remember my stepsister and I wasting chunks of a Steamboat Springs ski vacation parked in front of the hotel room TV transfixed by the just released video for Madonna’s Like a Prayer. But eventually, there was a reprieve, of sorts: The Jukebox Network.

Jukebox (later “The Box”) broadcast nonstop music videos on, at least in the local market, UHF channel 58. Viewers could call up a (900) number, which would result in a $1.99 charge on the phone bill, and punch in a three digit code for a music video they wanted to see, which would be added to the queue. During the day, this could be a frustratingly long wait, but after about 1 a.m., it was almost guaranteed the next video to play would be the one just selected - VCRs, stand ready!

This was where I first encountered Depeche Mode’s Personal Jesus, and probably the reason why Violator was one of my first four CDs.

In the era of YouTube and Apple Music and ... it’s hard to believe how media-starved we were not that long ago, to the point where we’d pay real money just to watch a music video once. But, when all you had was a few broadcast network channels and FM radio (which, at least we had a crazy alternative radio station) ...