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Radio Times

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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
EditorBen Preston
Former editorsGill Hudson
CategoriesTV and radio listings
FrequencyWeekly
CirculationDecrease 925,373 (Jul-Dec 2011)[1]
First issue28 September 1923
CompanyImmediate Media Company (2011–)
BBC Magazines (1923-2011)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon
LanguageEnglish
Websiteradiotimes.com
ISSN0033-8060
OCLC240905405

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.[2][3][4]

History and publication

Cover of the first issue

GAYYYYYYYYY

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.[5] They identified around five million programmes, involving 8.5 million actors, presenters, writers and technical staff.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7] 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.[8]

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.[9]

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

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

References

  1. ^ Ponsford, Dominic. "Mag ABCs: Breakdown of circulation for all 500 titles". Press Gazette, 16 February 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  2. ^ Sweney, Mark (16 August 2011). "BBC Worldwide agrees £121m magazine sell-off". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Preston, Peter (11 March 2012). "What price the Radio Times? Only private equity can tell us". Guardian.
  4. ^ Chapman, Matthew (11 April 2012). "Radio Times hires Hello! ad director". Media Week.
  5. ^ a b Kelion, Leo. "BBC finishes Radio Times archive digitisation effort". BBC Online. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  6. ^ Radio Times - Doctor Who covers
  7. ^ "Doctor Who - The greatest magazine cover of all time". Radio Times. BBC Magazines. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  8. ^ Martin, Nicole (29 September 2008). "Vote Dalek image voted best magazine cover of all time". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  9. ^ Radio Times coverage of the 2012 event, 18 January 2012, accessed 1 December 2012

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