Put the channels back on the side menu. Let us decide if we want it enabled or not.
I really really really am not a fan of hiding the channels in a drop down menu. It is not easy to use at all. At a glance my list of channels is too many for the drop down, and I like to glance over at the side to have a reminder of what other channels I was going to go back to. It's just an extra step. It wastes time. A shortcut key is not the answer.