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. This group has subsequently been added to as ChannelBee has expanded with new members Harriet 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.
Famous quotes containing the words channel and/or bee:
“There may sometimes be ungenerous attempts to keep a young man down; and they will succeed too, if he allows his mind to be diverted from its true channel to brood over the attempted injury. Cast about, and see if this feeling has not injured every person you have ever known to fall into it.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“Ah evil wedlock! Ah fate!
she incites all to evil,
she flutters over all things,
like a bee in flight.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)