SBTV
1 known investors
British online music and youth media platform publishing freestyles, music videos, interviews and original series.
Also known as SB.TV · SB.TV Global Ltd · SBTV · SmokeyBarz
Investors · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026SB.TV Global Ltd, also known as SB.TV, SBTV or SmokeyBarz, is a British music media and creative cultural industry company headquartered at 145-157 St John Street, London. The platform originated in urban music and distributes most of its content through its YouTube channel and the sbtv.co.uk website, including freestyle raps, music videos, acoustic sessions, artist interviews and original series. Genres covered include British hip hop, grime, road rap, afroswing, UK drill and acoustic material. The site's published output includes recurring formats such as the Warm Up Sessions, A64 acoustic covers, artist interviews and studio series such as Tea Time and RepDat TV.
The company describes itself as built on three core services: broadcasting, production and editorial. Broadcasting covers music, freestyle, acoustic and interview video across youth culture categories, with most content produced in-house though submissions are accepted; production covers original music videos, documentaries and promotional material; editorial draws on staff with print media experience. Beyond video, SB.TV has diversified into live events, curating stages at festivals including Bestival, Wireless and Outlook, and in February 2011 launched a music label, Just Jam, an imprint of Sony RCA, whose first signing was east London MC Maxsta. In January 2016 the company launched SBTV News, an online news service run in partnership with the Press Association and chaired by former EMAP, Hearst, Axel Springer and Future CEO Colin Morrison.
A company directory profile describes SB.TV as an innovative youth media platform run by a small team, and reports cumulative figures of over 800 million views and 1.25 million subscribers on its YouTube channel, with a stated positioning around reaching the 18-34 demographic. Its stated mission is framed around the initials Share, Build, Teach and Vibes."]
Founding story
The SB.TV YouTube channel was created on 2 November 2006 by Jamal Edwards, then a teenager living in Acton, west London, who had been given a video camera at around age 15 and used a handycam to film rap freestyles by friends and local artists for upload to his YouTube account. The name derives from the initials of "SmokeyBarz", the alias Edwards had briefly used as a rapper. For the first three years he worked alone, filming amateur footage of British grime artists including Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, Chipmunk and Tinchy Stryder, with the first SB.TV video uploaded in February 2007. Edwards worked at retail chain Topman for four years to support himself financially while building the channel, leaving once video views grew into the hundreds of thousands.
Business model
SB.TV operates as a privately held media and production company that broadcasts video content across its YouTube channel and website, produces original content including music videos, documentaries and promotional material, provides editorial output, and extends into live events and festival stage curation. It has also operated a record label imprint and an online news service through partnerships.
A third-party company directory lists an estimated annual revenue of approximately $1.6m and states no funding has been recorded; the company's own materials position it as a route for brands to reach the 18-34 demographic, alongside label, events and production activity.
Traction
A company directory profile reports over 800 million cumulative views and 1.25 million YouTube subscribers; the SBTV YouTube channel passed one million subscribers as of 2019 and the company marked 100 million cumulative video views in April 2012. Staff size is listed as 11-20 employees.
Latest developments
In January 2016 SBTV launched SBTV News, an online news service in partnership with the Press Association, chaired by Colin Morrison, as part of an expansion toward mainstream multichannel video. Founder Jamal Edwards MBE died on 20 February 2022.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
SB.TV is described as a pioneer of new media and online talent discovery in the UK, credited with helping to launch or amplify the careers of artists including Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Stormzy, Dave and Emeli Sandé, and with contributing to the mainstream visibility of grime. It has been covered in publications including RWD, The Observer, Time, Forbes, The Guardian, The Independent, Dazed & Confused, Sunday Times Style, Vanity Fair, Vogue and GQ.
Go-to-market
Distribution is primarily through the SB.TV YouTube channel and the sbtv.co.uk website, supported by extensive use of social networks to interact with viewers and to publish blog and news articles. The company also accepts artist submissions alongside self-produced content, and builds reach through festival stage curation, brand collaborations and high-profile interviews.
Audiences in British youth culture, particularly the 18-34 demographic; emerging and established music artists seeking exposure; and brands and organisations seeking access to that audience. Content spans grime, hip hop, rap, afroswing, UK drill and acoustic music.
Geography
Headquartered in London, England, at 145-157 St John Street, with an area served listed as the United Kingdom and the United States.
History
The channel became active as a business from 25 August 2010 onwards. As it attracted attention it added lifestyle interviews and event coverage and built a production team of about ten people; a Channel 4 documentary series, Bedroom to Boardroom, followed SB.TV and was filmed in Edwards' first office at Camden Collective. In February 2010 the channel aired Ed Sheeran's music exclusively, roughly a year before his mainstream breakthrough, and SB.TV has been credited with discovering him. In February 2011 the company launched the Just Jam label with Sony RCA; in March 2011 it was reported that the company was expected to go into business with restaurant chain Nando's. In August 2011 Edwards appeared in a Google Chrome advertisement by agency BBH, which drove enough traffic to crash the SB.TV website and became the second most watched video advertisement on YouTube in the UK that year, also drawing the attention of Dr. Dre, who invited Edwards to film him on an Asia tour. In April 2012 SB.TV released a video with grime collective Boy Better Know to mark 100 million cumulative video views. The company filmed interviews with politicians at 10 Downing Street, including Prime Minister David Cameron, and Edwards first interviewed Prince Charles in 2013. In January 2016 SBTV News launched with the Press Association. Founder Jamal Edwards, appointed MBE in December 2014 for services to music, died on 20 February 2022.
Risks & controversies
Founder Jamal Edwards, central to the platform's identity and talent discovery model, died on 20 February 2022 at age 31.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 5
launches, deals, and filingsJamal Edwards MBE, founder of SB.TV, died on 20 February 2022 in Acton, London, aged 31.
SBTV announced SBTV News, an online news service launched in partnership with the Press Association and chaired by former EMAP, Hearst, Axel Springer and Future CEO Colin Morrison, as part of an expansion into mainstream multichannel video.
SB.TV released a video with grime collective Boy Better Know to mark reaching 100 million views across all its videos.
Founder Jamal Edwards was featured in a Google Chrome advertisement created by London agency BBH; the resulting traffic crashed the SB.TV website and the spot became the second most watched video advertisement on YouTube in the UK in 2011.
SB.TV launched its own music label, Just Jam, an imprint of Sony RCA, announcing east London MC Maxsta as its first signing.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- SBTV | Homesbtv.co.uk · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does SBTV do?
- British online music and youth media platform publishing freestyles, music videos, interviews and original series.
- Who are SBTV's investors?
- SBTV's investors include Miroma Ventures.