Radio Times

This article is about the listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by BBC Magazines. For the U.S. radio series, see Radio Times With Marty Moss-Coane.

Radio Times

Christmas 2005 double issue
Editor	Ben Preston
Former editors	Gill Hudson
Categories	TV and radio listings
Frequency	Weekly
Circulation	925,373 (Jul-Dec 2011)
First issue	28 September 1923
Company	Immediate Media Company (2011–) BBC Magazines (1923-2011)
Country	United Kingdom
Based in	London
Language	English
Website	radiotimes.com
ISSN	0033-8060
OCLC number	240905405

Radio Times is a British weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, founded and originally published in-house by BBC Magazines from 1923 to 2011 when the BBC Magazines division was merged into Immediate Media Company.

History and publication

Cover of the first issue

Radio Times was first issued on 28 September 1923, carrying details of BBC radio programmes (newspapers at the time boycotted radio listings, fearing that increased listenership might decrease their sales). It was at one time the magazine with the largest circulation in Europe.

Until deregulation of television listings in 1991, the Radio Times carried only broadcast programming listings for BBC radio and television channels, while the ITV-published magazine, TVTimes, carried only ITV and, from 1982, Channel 4 television 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, and also since the 22 May 2007 edition has carried two extra pages of TV listings per day as part of a slight tweak in the publication's format, bringing it up to ten pages of listings per day in total.

Radio Times is published on Tuesdays (its publication day having gradually moved forward from Fridays over many years) 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).

Since Christmas 1969, a double-sized issue - described as 'Legendary' by Radio Times itself - has been published each December containing listings for two weeks of programmes. Originally, this covered both Christmas and New Year listings but in some years these appear in separate editions, with the two-week period ending just before New Year. The cover of the 'Christmas Number' (as this issue came to be called) dating from the time when it contained just a single week's listings, usually features a generic festive artwork, atypical for the magazine, which since the 1970s has almost exclusively used photographic covers for all other issues.

There are several regional editions, which each contain different listings for regional programming. All editions 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 led to merging of several editions. The most recent of these is when the Midlands and London/Anglia versions merged into one in August 2007. The exception to this process of merging is Wales, which used to be part of a larger Wales/West (of England) version, mirroring the HTV region.

Each day's television (from 2010 onwards) is listed over ten pages or five double-page spreads: two pages of reviews of highlights ("Choices") followed by two pages of terrestrial TV listings (one column for daytime television, and five columns for the evening television), then six pages of listings for digital channels.

Before digital channels became commonplace, a terrestrial day's television was sometimes spread over up to three double-spreads mixed with advertisements, but this format was phased out when independent publishers were allowed to publish television programme schedules.

In the years after deregulation of television listings in 1991, there was outcry from other listings magazines that Radio Times was advertised on the BBC (as well as on commercial channels), saying it gave unfair advantage to the publication. The case went to court, but the outcome was that as the Radio Times had close connections with the BBC it would be allowed to be advertised by the BBC; however, it must be a static picture of the cover, and that the clear disclaimer "Other television listings magazines are available" be given (leading to the phrase entering common public usage for a time).^{[citation needed]} By the early 2000s, advertisements for the publication had become sparse on the BBC, and BBC magazines, including the Radio Times, have not been advertised nor promoted on BBC television and radio channels since 2005, following a commercial review by the BBC.

The latest circulation figure (July–December 2009) for the Radio Times is 1,000,648 making it third in the TV listings magazine market behind TV Choice (1,302,382) and What's on TV (1,243,933)

Edition	BBC regions	ITV regions	Other channels
London/Anglia/Midlands	BBC London, BBC South East, BBC East, BBC Midlands, BBC East Midlands	ITV London, ITV Anglia, ITV Central
South/West/South West	BBC South, BBC South East, BBC West, BBC South West	ITV Meridian, ITV West, ITV Westcountry, ITV Channel Television
Yorkshire/North East/North West	BBC Yorkshire, BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, BBC North East and Cumbria, BBC North West	ITV Yorkshire, ITV Tyne Tees, ITV Granada
Scotland/Border	BBC Scotland, BBC North East and Cumbria	STV (North and Central), ITV Border
Wales	BBC Wales	ITV Wales	S4C
Northern Ireland	BBC Northern Ireland	UTV	RTÉ One, RTÉ Two, TG4

Colour-coded listings

• Saturday: Crimson red
• Sunday: Azure blue
• Monday: Tangerine yellow
• Tuesday: Grape purple
• Wednesday: Islamic green
• Thursday: Ruby magenta
• Friday: Bright cerulean

Digitisation

In December 2012, the BBC completed a digitisation exercise, scanning the listings of all BBC programmes from an entire run of about 4,500 copies of the magazine from the first issue to 2009, the 'BBC Genome project', with a view to creating an online database of its programme output. They identified around five million programmes, involving 8.5 million actors, presenters, writers and technical staff.

Covers

When the magazine was a BBC publication, covers had a BBC bias (in 2005, 31 of the 51 issues had BBC-related covers). Doctor Who is the most represented programme on the cover, appearing on 29 issues (with 35 separate covers due to multiples) in the 49 years since the programme began.

The Radio Times for 30 April - 6 May 2005 covered both the return of the Daleks to Doctor Who and the forthcoming general election.

Most covers consist of a single side of glossy paper. However, the magazine often uses double or triple-width covers that open out for large group photographs, while events such as Crufts or new series of popular programmes are marked by producing several different covers for collectors. Sporting events with more than one of the Home Nations taking part are often marked with different covers for each nation, showing their own team. The second series of Life on Mars, meanwhile, was marked by the Radio Times producing a mock-up of a 1973-style cover promoting the series, placed on page 3 of the magazine.

In April 2005, a double-width cover was used to commemorate the return of the Daleks to Doctor Who and the forthcoming general election. This cover recreated a scene from the 1964 Doctor Who serial The Dalek Invasion of Earth in which the Daleks were seen crossing Westminster Bridge, with the Houses of Parliament in the background. The cover text read "VOTE DALEK!" In a 2008 contest sponsored by the Periodical Publishers Association, this cover was voted the best British magazine cover of all time.

Each year, the Radio Times celebrates those individuals and programmes that are featured on the cover at the Radio Times Covers Party, where framed oversized versions of the covers are presented.

For the past three years, Radio Times has published and sold packs of reproductions of some of the Christmas covers of the magazine as Christmas cards.

Price

When it launched in September 1923 an issue of Radio Times cost 2d (2 old pence). This price stayed the same until January 1951 when it increased to 3d (although the Christmas Number - with a colour cover - bore a cover price of 6d from the 1920s) and by September 1963 it had doubled to 6d. By October 1970 the price had doubled again to 1 shilling (5p in decimal currency). The price remained at 5p until the summer of 1974 when it rose to 8p. In 1984, the year that Radio Times began to be web-offset printed - and no longer used basic newsprint - the price was 30p.

2007 saw an issue cost £1 for the first time.

The price of an issue from that published on 23 December 2011 was £1.40. This represented an increase of 20p per issue compared to the previous regular issue price. The Christmas double issue of 2011 cost £2.50, which was more than twice the cost of a single issue. The most recent Christmas double issue (2012) cost £2.80.

The cost of an issue commencing from that listing programmes for the first week of January 2013, published on 29 December 2012 bears a cover price of £1.60.

Radio Times Guide to Films

Since 2000, BBC Worldwide has published the Radio Times Guide to Films, featuring more than 21,000 films in a 1,707-page book. The 2006 edition was edited by Kilmeny Fane-Saunders and featured an introduction by Barry Norman, former presenter of the BBC's Film Programme.

The Radio Times Guide to Films 2007 is introduced by Andrew Collins.

There are also similar publications, the Radio Times Guide to Comedy and the Radio Times Guide to Science-Fiction.

Website

The Radio Times website was launched in 1997 primarily as a listings service. In 2011 it relaunched offering a diverse editorial product to accompany its listings and television, radio and film recommendations. Tim Glanfield is the current editor of RadioTimes.com.

See also

• The Listener

Bibliography

• Tony Currie, The 'Radio Times' Story (2001. Kelly Publications) ISBN 1-903053-09-9
• David Driver, The Art of 'Radio Times': The First Sixty Years (1981)
• Martin Baker, Art of Radio Times: A Golden Age of British Illustration ISBN 978-1854441713

External links

• Official website
• A selection of Vintage Radio Times covers