Radio Times
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- For the U.S. radio series, see National Public Radio.
| Radio Times | |
|---|---|
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| Editor | Gill Hudson |
| Categories | TV Listings |
| Frequency | Weekly |
| First Issue | 28 September 1923 |
| Company | BBC Magazines |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Website | Radio Times (currently down) |
| ISSN | 0033-8060 |
Radio Times is the BBC's weekly television and radio programme listings magazine.
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[edit] History and Publication
It was founded on 28 September 1923, and originally carried details of BBC radio programmes in response to a newspaper boycott of radio listings. It was at one time the magazine with the largest circulation in the UK. Until deregulation of television listings in 1991, the Radio Times carried only listings for BBC channels, while the ITV-published magazine, the TV Times, carried only ITV and (from 1982) Channel Four listings. Today both publications carry listings for all major terrestrial (analogue and digital), cable and satellite television channels in the United Kingdom. A number of similar magazines, from independent publishers, also exist. However, the Radio Times still lives up to its name by being the most comprehensive source of UK radio listings in print.
The Radio Times is currently published on Tuesdays and carries listings for the following Saturday through to Friday (this began in 1960, before which issues ran Sunday to Saturday; the changeover meant that Saturday 8 October 1960 was listed twice). A double issue is published each Christmas (a tradition that began in 1969), in common with most other listing magazines. This usually features a generic festive piece of artwork, atypical for the magazine which since the 1970s has almost exclusively used photographic covers.
There are several regional editions of the magazine:
- London/Anglia - BBC London, BBC East, ITV London and ITV Anglia
- South, West, South-West - BBC South, BBC South East, BBC South West, BBC West, ITV Meridian, ITV Westcountry, ITV West and Channel Television
- Midlands - BBC Midlands, BBC East Midlands and ITV Central
- North West - BBC North West and ITV Granada
- Yorkshire/North East - BBC Yorkshire and North Midlands, BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, BBC North East and Cumbria, ITV Yorkshire and ITV Tyne Tees
- Scotland/Border - BBC Scotland, BBC North East and Cumbria, STV (North and Central)and ITV Border
- Wales - BBC Wales, ITV Wales and S4C
- Northern Ireland - BBC Northern Ireland, UTV, RTE and TV3
In addition to the regions shown above all versions carry variations for adjoining regions and local radio listings. There are now fewer regional editions than there once were because fewer variations in the schedules have lead to merging of several editions. The exception to this is Wales, which used to be part of a larger Wales/West (of England) version, mirroring the HTV region.
The Radio Times was once edited by the British lyricist and entertainer Eric Maschwitz, and is currently edited by Gill Hudson.
Between 1929 and 1991 it had a more highbrow sister publication, The Listener.
As of August 2005, the Audit Bureau of Circulations stated that the magazine has a circulation of 1.1 million copies per week. Although exact figures are not available from the magazine's publisher (BBC Worldwide) it claims to be the most profitable magazine in Britain (according to Ariel, the BBC in-house newspaper).
In the immediate years after the deregulation of television listings in 1991, there was outcry from other listings magazines that the Radio Times still be allowed to be advertised on the BBC (as well as on commercial channels), saying it gave an unfair advantage to the publiction. The case went to court, but the outcome was that the Radio Times had very close connections with the BBC and would still be allowed to be advertised by the Corperation; However it must be a static picture of the cover, and that the clear disclaimer "Other listings magazines are available" be given (leading to the phrase entering common public usage for a time). In more recent years, BBC advertisements for the publication have become much sparser.
[edit] Covers
To appear on the cover of the Radio Times is great publicity for a show, especially since most independent listings magazines tend to put soaps on the cover. Since the magazine is a BBC publication it is unsurprising that the covers have a BBC bias (in 2005 31 of the 51 issues had BBC related covers).
Over the course of its history Doctor Who is by far the most represented programme on the cover of the magazine with 21 appearances.
[edit] Radio Times Guide To Films
Since 2000, BBC Worldwide has published the Radio Times Guide To Films, a film guide featuring more than 21,000 films in a 1707 page book. The 2006 edition is edited by Kilmeny Fane-Saunders and features an introduction by Barry Norman, even though the BBC's Film Programme is now hosted by Jonathan Ross.
In an earlier form, edited by Derek Winnert from 1993, the BBC was successfully sued for plagiarism by HarperCollins, the publishers of Halliwell's Film Guide, and Winnert was sacked.
The Radio Times Guide to Films 2007 is introduced by Andrew Collins.
[edit] Bibliography
- Tony Currie (2001) The "Radio Times" Story, Kelly Publications, ISBN 1-903053-09-9
[edit] External links
- Radio Times home page
- TV & Radio Bits: A collection of Radio Times covers, and selected listings
- Vintage Times: Unofficial Radio Times covers website
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Radio Times | TV Times | TV Quick | TV Plus | What's On TV | TV and Satellite Week | TV Easy | TV Guide | TV Choice |
