''TV Times'' is a British

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

listings magazine. From 1955 until 1991, it was the only source of seven-day listings for ITV and, from 1982,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

(as well as

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

in Wales in an enclosed local supplement titled '' Sbec''). The magazine did not circulate nationally until 1968 as some (usually smaller) regional stations opted to produce their own listings publications. Until the market was

deregulated Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental Economic regulation, regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 19 ...

, its nearest rival was ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' – owned then by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and at the time the only source of weekly BBC television and radio schedules. However the two magazines were very different in character, and viewers wanting the full listings for the coming week were required to purchase both publications. The ''TV Times'' branding was also used for several broadcast spin-offs on ITV, including the ''Miss TV Times'' and ''The TV Times Awards'' during the 1970s and 1980s. Previously published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies, the magazine was acquired by

IPC Media TI Media Ltd. (formerly International Publishing Company, IPC Magazines Ltd, IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) was a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year. Most of it ...

in 1989, which became Time Inc. UK in 2014 and then TI Media in 2018. It was acquired by

Future plc Future plc is a British publishing company. It was started in 1985 by Chris Anderson (entrepreneur), Chris Anderson. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History 1985–2012 The company was ...

in 2020.

History and profile

''TV Times'' was launched on 22 September 1955, with the start of transmissions of the first ITV station,

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

. Initially, the magazine was published only in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

area, carrying listings for Associated-Rediffusion (Rediffusion, London from 1964) on weekdays and ATV at weekends, but regional editions began to appear covering those ITV regional companies which did not opt to establish their own listings magazines. ''TV Times'' became a national magazine (except for the Channel Islands) from 21 September 1968. During the late 1950s until the early 1980s, ''TV Times'' suffered frequent printing disputes that often resulted in the publication of emergency or special combined editions. 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

and its Welsh equivalent,

. On 7 October 1989, the programme schedule pages were printed in full colour for the first time. When the television listings were

on 1 March 1991, ''TV Times'' began carrying listings for the

's television channels and radio stations which, up to that point, had only been printed in the BBC's official listings magazine, ''

''. On 11 February 2006, the magazine was refreshed for a more modern look including the double-page highlights of programmes on all channels as well as

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and kids' television listings were scrapped, increasing the publication's emphasis on big-star interviews and soaps. On 15 March 2022, the television listings were given a refreshed layout which is similar to ''

'', ''

TV & Satellite Week ''TV & Satellite Week'' is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing. Its focus is on quality dramas, comedy and documentaries, films and sport. ''TV & Satellite Week'' belongs to Future Publishing's ...

'' and ''

What's on TV ''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC. Overview ''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and com ...

''. The changes included a return of radio schedules to the magazine after a 16-year absence.

''TV Times'' Awards

The awards are held annually to celebrate best in British television as nominations and winners are entirely chosen by its readers.

Regional editions

Until 21 September 1968, several of the regional ITV companies produced their own listings magazines: On 1 March 1991, ''TV Times'' published

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

and

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

programme listings for the first time, which also mirrored the 11 regional editions generally referred to by the ITV company's name, rather than geographical area: The ten regional editions in England had ended by September 2005, and since then there have been only four editions:

''TV World''

From 1956 to 1964, the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

originally had their own edition of ''TV Times'' listing ATV and ABC programmes. A separate listings magazine called ''TV World'' was published from 27 September 1964, with the innovative idea of splitting 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 section from one publication. ''TV Times'' went national (except for the Channel Islands) from 21 September 1968.

''Channel Viewer'' / ''CTV Times''

Channel Television ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV (TV network), ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programmes for i ...

published its own listings magazine ''Channel Viewer'' on 1 September 1962, followed by a relaunch as ''Channel Television Times'' in 1971 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.

''Sbec''

launched its own pull-out weekly listings supplement magazine ''Sbec'' on 1 November 1982, distributed free with the

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

edition of ''TV Times''. It contained full details of schedules in both Welsh and English.