TVTimes

TV Times is a British television listings magazine published by TI Media. First published in 1955, it was during its first several decades known for its access to television actors (including actresses) and their programmes. Until 1991, in the regions where it was published, it was the only publication permitted to publish weekly listings for ITV, Channel 4 and S4C.

TV Times
TVTimes logo from 1999 to 2016
EditorColin Tough
CategoriesTV listings magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Circulation197,153 (ABC Jan-Jun 2016)[1]
Print and digital editions.
First issue22 September 1955
CompanyIndependent Television Publications (1955–1989)
TI Media (formerly IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) (since 1989)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon, England
LanguageBritish English
Websitewww.whatsontv.co.uk
ISSN0962-1660

TV Times belongs to TI Media's family of television magazines including What's on TV (published since 1991), TV & Satellite Week (published since 1993) and TV Easy (published 2005–14), as well as the soap bi-weekly Soaplife (published 1999–2018).

Publication history

The magazine was launched in London on 22 September 1955, at the start of transmissions of the first ITV station, Associated-Rediffusion. Initially, the magazine was published only in the London area, carrying listings for Associated-Rediffusion (Rediffusion, London from 1964) on weekdays and ATV London at weekends, while the other ITV regions were served by their own listings magazines. TV Times became a national magazine on 21 September 1968.

The magazine was branded as TV Times Magazine from 3 October 1981 until 6 October 1984, the premise being it contained more than simply television listings. From November 1982 onwards, it carried listings for Channel 4 and its Welsh equivalent, S4C. On 7 October 1989, the programme schedule pages were finally printed in full colour for the first time. When the television listings were deregulated on 1 March 1991, TV Times began carrying listings for the BBC's TV channels, which up to that point had only been printed in the BBC's official listings magazine, Radio Times.[2] On 11 February 2006 it was refreshed for a more modern look including the double-page highlights of programmes on all channels, plus radio and kids' television listings were scrapped, increasing its emphasis on big-star interviews and soaps.

Originally published by Independent Television Publications (an association of the ITV companies), in 1989 the magazine was acquired by IPC Media, which became Time Inc. UK in 2014.[3]

Use of the brand

ITV used the branding for several broadcast spin-offs, including Miss TV Times and The TV Times Awards during the 1970s and 1980s.

Regional editions

Prior to 1968, several of the regional ITV companies produced their own listings magazines:

Magazine ITV regions
TV Times Associated-Rediffusion (weekdays until 1968), Associated Television (London: weekends until 1968, and Midlands: weekdays), Associated British Corporation (weekends in the Midlands and North of England until 1968), Granada Television (weekdays, and later all week from 29 July 1968), Southern Television, Anglia Television, Border Television, Grampian Television, Scottish Television (from September 1965), Yorkshire Television (from 29 July 1968), Thames Television (weekdays from 30 July 1968), London Weekend Television (weekends from 2 August 1968)
TV Guide Scottish Television (until May 1962)
Television Weekly Television Wales and the West (until 1968), Wales West and North Television (Teledu Cymru) (until 1964), Independent Television Service for Wales and the West (4 March – 19 May 1968), Harlech Television (from 20 May 1968)
TV World Associated Television (weekdays, and later all week from 29 July 1968), Associated British Corporation (weekends until 1968)
The Viewer Tyne Tees Television, Scottish Television (until September 1965)
TV Post Ulster Television
Look Westward Westward Television
Channel Viewer Channel Television

From 1956 to 1964, the Midlands originally had their own edition of TV Times listing ATV and ABC programmes, but a separate listings magazine in the Midlands called TV World from 27 September 1964, with the innovative idea of splitting the magazine itself 50:50, with a second cover in the middle allowing for the magazine to be folded over to create both a weekend and a weekday magazine from one publication, before TV Times went national on 21 September 1968.

During the late 1950s until the early 1980s, TV Times suffered frequent printing disputes that often meant emergency or special combined editions.

On 1 March 1991, TV Times published BBC One and BBC Two programme listings for the first time, which also the 11 regional editions that generally referred to by the ITV company's name rather than geographical area:

BBC regions ITV regions
BBC Northern Ireland Ulster Television
BBC Scotland Grampian Television, Scottish Television, Border Television
BBC North East Tyne Tees Television
BBC North Yorkshire Television
BBC North West Granada Television
BBC Wales/West Harlech Television (HTV)
BBC Midlands Central Independent Television
BBC East Anglia Television
BBC South East Thames Television (until 31 December 1992), Carlton Television (from 1 January 1993), London Weekend Television
BBC South Television South (until 31 December 1992), Meridian Broadcasting (from 1 January 1993), Channel Television (from 26 October 1991)
BBC South West Television South West (until 31 December 1992), Westcountry Television (from 1 January 1993)

Every ITV regional area originally had its own version, but since 2006 there have been only four editions:

Edition Channels
England All BBC and ITV regions in England and the Channel Islands
Scotland BBC Scotland, STV and ITV Border
Wales BBC Cymru Wales, ITV Cymru Wales and S4C
Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland, UTV, RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and Virgin Media One (formerly TV3)

Channel Viewer/CTV Times

Channel Television published its own listings magazine Channel Viewer on 1 September 1962, followed by a 1970s relaunch as Channel Television Times and then later shortened to CTV Times until 25 October 1991 as it was feared that the company might cease trading without the revenue from its own magazine.

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See also

References
  1. "ABC Certificates and Reports: TV Times". Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. "The TV-Listings Market: The Duopoly Strikes Back". The Economist. 2 February 1991. p. 53.
  3. Devitt, Maureen. "Scottish Television profit 21% brighter". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
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