As a 24-hour television channel in the 1980s, Music Box was able to reach 60 million potential viewers in Europe and the Middle East thanks to satellite distribution. At the time, a satellite dish and receiver were very expensive and for this reason the channel had better viewing figures in countries where cable television was already used, such as Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. A special Italian version of Music Box was created in spring of 1988. Some Music Box shows were also retransmitted by Japanese broadcaster NHK. It was said to have made a small contribution to the overthrow of eastern European communist regimes as its prime, it was illegally watched by young Europeans living in those countries using makeshift satellite systems, and it gave many young people their first view of life in the rest of Europe.