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''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
and
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by John Reith, then general manager of the
British Broadcasting Company The British Broadcasting Company Ltd. (BBC) was a short-lived British commercial broadcasting company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom. Licensed by the British General ...
(from 1 January 1927, the
British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
), it was the world's first broadcast listings magazine. It was published entirely in-house by BBC Magazines from 8 January 1937 until 16 August 2011, when the division was merged into
Immediate Media Company Immediate Media Company Limited (styled as Immediate Media Co) is a British multinational publishing house that currently publishes a significant range of titles, including ''Radio Times, BBC Top Gear, BBC Good Food'' and a host of others. In ...
. On 12 January 2017, Immediate Media was bought by the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
media group
Hubert Burda Hubert Burda (born 9 February 1940) is a German billionaire publisher. He is the owner, publisher and general partner of Hubert Burda Media, a global media company of more than 600 media products, including websites, print magazines and other br ...
. The magazine is published on Tuesdays and carries listings for the week from Saturday to Friday. Originally, listings ran from Sunday to Saturday: the changeover meant 8 October 1960 was listed twice, in successive issues. Since
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
1969, a 14-day double-sized issue has been published each December containing schedules for two weeks of programmes. Originally this covered Christmas and
New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system ...
(also included
bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...
s) on some occasions those each appeared in separate editions, with the two-week period ending just before the New Year.


History and profile


Publication

''The Radio Times'' was first issued on 28 September 1923 for the price of 2 d, carrying details of programmes for six BBC wireless stations ( 2LO,
5IT 5IT was a British Broadcasting Company (later BBC) radio station which broadcast from Birmingham, England, between 1922 and 1927. Birmingham was the first British city outside London to have a radio service from the newly formed British Broa ...
,
2ZY 2ZY was the name of a radio station established by the British Broadcasting Company in Manchester, England, in 1922. Part of the newly nationalised British Broadcasting Corporation from 1 January 1927, the station continued broadcasting under the 2 ...
, 5NO, 5WA and 5SC);
newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...
at the time
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict so ...
ed radio listings fearing that increased listenership might decrease their sales. It included a message to "listeners" by the BBC's chairman, Lord Pease. Initially, ''The Radio Times'' was a combined enterprise between the
British Broadcasting Company The British Broadcasting Company Ltd. (BBC) was a short-lived British commercial broadcasting company formed on 18 October 1922 by British and American electrical companies doing business in the United Kingdom. Licensed by the British General ...
and publishers
George Newnes Ltd George Newnes Ltd is a British publisher. The company was founded in 1891 by George Newnes (1851–1910), considered a founding father of popular journalism. Newnes published such magazines and periodicals as '' Tit-Bits'', ''The Wide World Magaz ...
within the latter typeset, printed and distributed the magazine. In 1925, the BBC assumed full editorial control, but printing and distribution could not begin in-house until 1937. ''The Radio Times'' established a reputation for using leading writers and illustrators, and the covers from the special editions are now collectable design classics. By 26 September 1926, the narrow columns of BBC's wireless programme schedules were broken up by the insertion of a photograph or two – relevant to or depicting subjects of the broadcasts. On 1 May 1927, ''The Radio Times'' produced an experimental
Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...
edition under the auspices of the
National Institute for the Blind The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had ey ...
with its success led to a regular weekly version publication costing one penny. From 15 January 1933, the introduction of a weekly
crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to th ...
puzzle heralded as popular as ever within the pubilcation making its first-ever appearance. From 5 January 1934, the three-column programme pages were expanded to include a fourth column with the BBC's television programmes given a new section layout (on 8 January), and ''The Radio Times'' announced a regular series of "experimental television transmissions by the Baird process" for half an hour every night at 11.00pm. The launch of the first regular 405-line television service by the BBC was reflected with television listings in ''The Radio Times'' London edition of 23 October 1936. Thus, ''Radio Times'' became the first-ever television listings magazine in the world. Initially, only two pages in each edition were devoted to television, which ran from Monday to Saturday and remained off-air on Sundays. After 14 years, from issue 693 (cover date 8 January 1937), that
definitive article An article is any member of a class of dedicated words that are used with noun phrases to mark the identifiability of the referents of the noun phrases. The category of articles constitutes a part of speech. In English, both "the" and "a(n)" a ...
word "''The''" was no longer used on the masthead within the magazine, and the publication became simply known as ''Radio Times''; they also published a lavish photogravure supplement in the same issue. Prior to the
German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week afte ...
on 1 September 1939, the BBC radio listings provided a National Programme for the whole of the United Kingdom, and the Regional Programme appeared in seven different versions (
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...
,
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north ...
,
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
and
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
) each with a combination of various transmitters respectively before the two stations merged into a single service, and included three pages of television listings. When Britain declared war with Germany on 3 September 1939 and the television broadcasting ceased, radio listings continued throughout the war with a reduced service. From 23 June 1944, the
Allied Expeditionary Forces Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF ...
edition carried details of all the programmes for the Home Service and General Forces Programme. The same year, paper rationing meant editions were only 20 pages of tiny print on thin paper. ''Radio Times'' expanded with regional editions introduced from 29 July 1945, and television resumed once again on 7 June 1946. On 4 March 1948, the weekend listing schedules for three BBC radio networks were doubled together with daytime and evening sections in additional four pages a week, as well as weekday billings also used by the same layout which adds 12 extra pages of more articles and detailed programmes bringing up to 40 (or 44 for the television edition) on 1 July 1949. From 18 January 1953, the television listing schedules, which had been in the back of the magazine, were placed alongside daily radio schedules. On 17 February 1957 (shortly after the abolition of " Toddlers' Truce", in which transmissions terminated between 6.00 and 7.00pm), television listings were moved to a separate section at the front with radio listings relegated to the back; a day's listings were sometimes spread over up to three double-page spreads mixed with advertisements, but this format was phased out when independent publishers were allowed to publish television schedules. The new layout was structured thusly: From 8 October 1960, BBC television and radio schedules were re-integrated; the programmes included a new 'pick of the week' with a single third page for previews, before each day's listings; these came before the two pages of television and the four pages of radio. A new bolder masthead was designed by Abram Games (who created graphical designs such as the '
Festival Star The Festival Star was the graphic symbol designed by Abram Games for the 1951 Festival of Britain. Games was one of 12 artists invited to submit designs to the Arts Council and the Council of Industrial Design in 1948, and won the limited comp ...
' on the cover of the 1951
Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...
and the 1953 ' Bat's Wings' ident) and containing the words "BBC TV and Sound" on the left side, was introduced with this revamp; it became one of the shortest-used designs in the magazine's history. On 4 August 1962, when ''Radio Times'' was again revamped, the masthead was replaced with one incorporating the words in the Clarendon typeface; while the main change was the reduction of BBC radio schedules for three stations to a double-page spread brought down into size, the magazine now generally had between 60 and 68 pages, as compared to the relaunched format from two years earlier, which contained only 52 pages. From 30 September 1967, ''Radio Times'' introduced the all-new colour pages of the magazine's feature sections, including "star stories",
Percy Thrower Percy John Thrower (30 January 1913 – 18 March 1988) was a British gardener, horticulturist, broadcaster and writer born at Horwood House in the village of Little Horwood, Buckinghamshire. He became nationally known through presenting garde ...
's gardening,
Zena Skinner Zena Skinner (27 February 1927 – 6 March 2018) was a British chef, writer, and cookery expert on television and radio. Early life Skinner was from Luton, Bedfordshire. Her father owned an electroplating company. Career Skinner served in ...
's cookery, Bill Hartley's motoring and Jeffery Boswall's
birdwatching Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
, as well as 'Round and About' with up-to-the-minute stories in both television and radio from around the world. At the same time, the four new BBC radio stations (replacing the Home Service, the
Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...
and the
Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual f ...
) were launched within the schedule listing pages: The layouts of programme page headings have now restyled as well as the three radio pages had been rearranged with schedule billings for Radio 1 and Radio 2 on the first, Radio 3 on the second and Radio 4 on the third. In future weeks, it would boast another revised masthead although the same typeface simply a bold symbol "
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
" to the right of the title – within the price, date and regional edition being overprinted in letterpress at the top of the front page, but the letters section and the
crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to th ...
were placed inside the back page. On 6 September 1969, ''Radio Times'' was given another radical makeover, as they switched the date format from 'month-day-year' to 'day-month-year' and ceased carrying cigarette advertisements after 46 years. The new format inside with the first three pages were devoted to an abbreviated listing of all the week's BBC television and radio programmes in a simple condensed form, within major changes were noticeable on the feature pages as well as the colour ones were spread out to accompany rather than the centre page. The look of the magazine initially became far more restrained, with less white space between columns and headings. More significantly, the lifestyle section (which covered motoring, gardening and cookery) and the crossword were completely dropped, and the highlights section was scrapped. The front cover was surrounded by a black border and italicised its masthead (now in the
Caslon Caslon is the name given to serif typefaces designed by William Caslon I (c. 1692–1766) in London, or inspired by his work. Caslon worked as an engraver of punches, the masters used to stamp the moulds or matrices used to cast metal ty ...
typeface with swash capitals; this logo remained until April 2001), in an attempt to emphasize the "R" for radio and "T" for television. From 5 July 1975, the magazine was given a refreshed layout which consisted of horizontal black bars from top to bottom with the familiar darker-shaded look; by this time, the BBC's television schedules included a '
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
' annotation which was dropped eight years later, as well as programmes in
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...
were never indicated with the exception of feature films originally made for the cinema. Another major change occurred on 18 November 1978, in response to
wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tr ...
changes (took place on 23 November) that enabled
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
to receive their own separate domestic services in addition to Radio 4 (also known as the national 'Radio 4 UK' service remained until 29 September 1984), the arrival of these services on the pages forced all BBC radio stations into a six-column grid. On 30 August 1980, ''Radio Times'' developed a new double-page spread of Robert Ottaway's highlights from the week ahead, often used for both BBC radio and television programmes. The regular inside back page section for younger listeners and viewers featured content from ''
Newsround ''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first tele ...
'' presenter John Craven and a selection of new puzzles created by the television producer Clive Doig, such as the trackword (which consisted of nine squares in one word), as well as backstage stories and a comic strip of
Peter Lord Peter Lord CBE (born 1953) is an English animator, director, producer and co-founder of the Academy Award-winning Aardman Animations studio, an animation firm best known for its clay-animated films and shorts, particularly those featuring p ...
's '' Morph'' at the bottom of the page. Between March and December 1983, ''Radio Times'' had severe industrial disputes when the British Printing & Communications Corporation and the union SOGAT 82 joined forces, and production was affected due to printing problems: * 23 March – The BBC regrets that the printers for next week's edition are in short supply, but copies will be available in the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
, the
West of England West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan ...
,
North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
, and many parts of
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and the
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
. * 7 April – The BBC expects copies of the magazine will be available in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
and North of England from 16 April, following the print workers in
East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a rais ...
and near
Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...
returning to work. * 4 June – The
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
special issue with the combined
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
edition, as well as the three constituent nations (Scotland,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and Northern Ireland) across throughout the country was used for one week only. * 16 July – The magazine was finally returned to the fully-regionalised form with complete details of all BBC television channels and radio stations for national, regional and local. * 10 December – The magazine was printed and published as the single national edition once again, due to a print workers' strike from the previous week. On 23 June 1984, the radio listings were redesigned again to improve their legibility and paving the way for a new printing technology. That same year (1 September), web-offset printing was used for the first time, meaning the magazine became brighter and more colourful.
Newsprint Newsprint is a low-cost, non-archival paper consisting mainly of wood pulp and most commonly used to print newspapers and other publications and advertising material. Invented in 1844 by Charles Fenerty of Nova Scotia, Canada, it usually has a ...
and sheets of gravure gave way to black ink and
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white paper ...
,
Helvetica Helvetica (originally Neue Haas Grotesk) is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffmann. Helvetica is a neo-grotesque design, one influenced by the famous 19th century (1890s) ...
replaced Franklin Gothic for a larger character style, and the television listings were also redesigned including the new film icon and the 'today at a glance' sidebar on the far right of pages were added. Starting from 11 October 1986, the new family viewing policy warned readers that
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
does not broadcast programmes before 9.00pm which it believed to be unsuitable for children. On 5 September 1987, ''Radio Times'' introduces an innovative title called 'Upfront This Week' devoting the first three pages of illustrated snippets to provide the latest programme highlights from all BBC television and radio networks. On 19 November 1988, ''Radio Times'' launched a new weekly back page section called 'My Kind of Day', which was devoted to the latest star interviews with various special guests. Also on the same year (17 December), its popularity climaxed when the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
edition sold an astounding 11,220,666 copies, and the
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing worl ...
certified it as the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history. On 25 March 1989 (during
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
), a general overhaul of page layout and design took place, with a major makeover for the programme schedules and the channel headings being visible in greater clarity;
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
were once again separated, with the return of the late 1950s/early 1960s layout – television at the front and radio at the back. The week's Radio 1 schedules occupied a single page, followed by Radio 2 (with a facing pair of pages), then several pages of Radio 3 (five pages) and Radio 4 (six pages), and finally the
BBC Local Radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations. History The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
listings; regional features, which had absent from the English editions since the late 1960s, resumed with a localised page. Later on 25 November of that year, the radio schedules were restored to two pages for each day; some of the English editions now had daily editorial features on radio as well. From 2 June 1990, the entire magazine was published in
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
for the first time, and another layout began usage; the day's listings began with a single page of highlights that included 'at a glance', followed by the double-page spreads of BBC television channels (BBC1 always occupied the left page and BBC2 for the right page, without advertisements interrupting the listings) and BBC radio stations, now enlivened with colour logos at the top of the pages. This layout only lasted for six months, when a new refreshed format debuted in the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
edition (22 December); while the programme listing pages were largely the same, the colour-coded
days of the week A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two ...
were now at the top of the page headings. On 16 February 1991 (the same date for the debut of the new
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
idents), the deregulation of television listings began, and ''Radio Times'' started to cover all services that include ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and satellite networks, an alphabetical list of the commercial radio stations available with the frequency and a two or three-word summary of that station's output which was added to the local radio page. Full complete listings of the four main channels and satellite began on Friday 1 March. Prior to deregulation, the five weekly listings magazines were as follows: * ''Radio Times'' carried the programme schedule listings for BBC radio and television channels, including the new Radio 5 launched on 27 August 1990. * The ITV-published magazine ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'', launched on 22 September 1955, carried programme listings for ITV, and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
from 2 November 1982. The regional ITV companies produced their own listings magazines – ''Look Westward'' ( WTV), ''The Viewer'' ( Tyne Tees), ''TV Guide'' ( STV), ''TV Post'' (
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
), ''Television Weekly'' ( TWW/ ITSWW/
Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 19 ...
), ''Wales TV''/''Teledu Cymru'' ( WWN) and ''TV World'' ( ATV/ ABC) – were published before ''TV Times'' went national on 21 September 1968. * ''Sbec'', a pull-out weekly listings supplement (first published on 1 November 1982) which is distributed free with the
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
edition of ''TV Times'', containing the full details of
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-speaking ...
's schedules in both
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
, as well as
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's programmes were also included. *
Rupert Murdoch Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
's new publication ''TV Guide'' launches on 19 March 1989, carried the 28 pages of
Astra satellite Astra 1A was the first satellite launched and operated by SES (Société Européenne des Satellites), launched in December 1988. During its early days, it was often referred to as the Astra Satellite, as SES only operated one satellite origina ...
( 1A) television listings for various Sky channels (including
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
,
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
,
Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...
,
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
, and from 15 December 1990,
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
,
Movie Channel {{Redirect, Movie channel, the American premium television network, The Movie Channel Movie channels are television specialty channels that present film content. Popular movie channels: * AMC Networks ** AMC ** IFC (United States and Canada) ** ...
,
Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...
and
Sports Channel Sports channels are television speciality channels (usually available exclusively through cable and satellite) broadcast sporting events, usually live, and when not broadcasting events, sports news and other related programming. The first spor ...
were added after the BSB merger on the Marcopolo system),
MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
, RTL Véronique (for
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
programmes),
Screensport Screensport was a pan-European cable and satellite sports television network that was on air from 1984 until 1993 before merging with Eurosport. History 1984–1986: Early years Screensport was founded in 1981 by Bob Kennedy — who had sta ...
, Children's Channel,
Lifestyle Lifestyle often refers to: * Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives * ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle * Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality Lifestyle may also refer to: Bu ...
with a highlights of BBC, ITV and Channel 4 listings. * In the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, Raidió Teilifís Éireann published the ''
RTÉ Guide The ''RTÉ Guide'' is a television and radio listings magazine in Ireland published by RTÉ Commercial Enterprises Ltd, a subsidiary of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The magazine offers detailed programme listings for RTÉ channels, as w ...
'' (formerly the ''RTV Guide'') launched on 1 December 1961, it offered detailed programme listings for RTÉ's television and radio channels. From 8 January 1977, they switched from tabloid format to a compact magazine size and also changes from monochrome into
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
, while listings were carried for
Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
, AFN and
BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of I ...
were later dropped on 8 July 1966, but only the RTÉ programme schedules up until 13 April 1991. Today, both publications carry listings for all major terrestrial, cable and satellite television channels in the United Kingdom and following deregulation, new listings magazines such as Mirror Group's ''TV First'',
IPC Media TI Media (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 its tit ...
's ''
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 compet ...
'',
Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 r ...
's '' TV Quick'' and Hamfield Publications' ''TV Plus'' began to be published; several newspapers were also allowed to print television schedules for the entire forthcoming week on a Saturday (or a Sunday), where previously they had only been able to list each day's programmes in that edition. With another major refresh on 31 August 1991, the four extra pages of satellite television listings and one page of the highlights section were scrapped and replaced by a number of ten satellite networks (with two more includes Comedy Channel and
CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
were added) from top to bottom; the daytime schedules for
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
flanked the satellite listings on the left, with ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and 'at a glance' on the right; the main evening schedules for terrestrial television channels retained the same layout. On 5 September 1992, the daytime listings were slightly tweaked, ITV's programme schedules were now sandwiched between BBC2 and Channel 4 within the centre pages, and there were now two pages of satellite and cable channels for each category making up six pages of television listings every day: During 1993, ''Radio Times'' used several layouts were altered throughout the year: * 1 January – The VideoPlus+ number codes to cover all the terrestrial and
satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna com ...
channels were added for the first time, which allowed viewers with suitably equipped video recorders to entering the programme's number would ensure to set its timer from taping it. * 2 January – The new 'film premiere' icon appears for terrestrial television listings, replacing the phrase "first showing on network television". * 30 April – The second national commercial station Virgin 1215 is launched and appears in the local radio listings page. * 5 June – The radio schedules are given a radical makeover, with highlights on the right includes day-by-day Virgin 1215, Classic FM and
BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...
added to each page; the local radio listings now incorporated the weekly frequency guide, and the television schedule pages saw the introduction of the year of production shown in
bracket A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or 'r ...
s for film titles. * 19 June – The categories for satellite television listings were completely rearranged, with the news section includes
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
moving to the left and the sport section moving to the right, also adding
BSkyB Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
's film classifications at the bottom corner on the left page. * 24 July – Two former cable-only services ( Bravo and
Discovery Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discove ...
) appeared in the entertainment section following their launch on satellite, and the cable television listings were relegated to the bottom, meaning the sport section was no longer used. * 1 September – With the introduction of Sky Multichannels package on the new
Astra 1C Astra 1C was a geostationary communications satellite launched in 1993 by the Société Européenne des Satellites ( SES), now SES Astra. The satellite remained in service until 2011 and is now derelict. History Astra 1C was the third commu ...
system, three new services ( UK Living, Family Channel and
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
) were launched as well as CMT Europe; all were added to the previously-unused entertainment section. * 11 September – The satellite television listings is given a redesigned layout, starting with the new movie planner section (providing the latest film titles in
alphabetical order Alphabetical order is a system whereby character strings are placed in order based on the position of the characters in the conventional ordering of an alphabet. It is one of the methods of collation. In mathematics, a lexicographical order is t ...
on various channels at different times every day); other changes included the new factual section (including Discovery,
Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel and organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of Comcast. John Ryley is the he ...
and
CNN International CNN International (CNNI, simply branded on-air as CNN) is an international television channel that is owned by CNN Global. CNN International carries news-related programming worldwide; it cooperates with sister network CNN's national and inter ...
) that replaced the news category, and the sport section returned. * 18 September – The British versions of
TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...
and
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, ...
were added to the movie planner and entertainment sections respectively. * 25 September – The daytime listings were changed once again, with 'at a glance' now on the right page and advertisements occupying the left page. The channel heading logos were reduced into smaller horizontal bars on columns adjacent to those used for terrestrial television listings, a new children's television section (with Children's Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network) was added, and the cable listings including Super Channel were moved to the left side next to the movie planner section (with Asia Vision, Wire TV and
Learning Channel TLC is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. First established in 1980 as The Learning Channel, it initially focused on educational and instructional programming. By the late 1990s, after an acquisition by the own ...
being removed). * 1 October – The British version of QVC launches, appearing at the bottom corner in the entertainment section. * 26 December – The final Christmas Sunday listings used both on television and radio for the very last time, this practice has now fallen out of common usage believed to result from the legalisation of Sunday trading in England and Wales for the following year. ''Radio Times'' design was refreshed on 3 September 1994, the television listings now had the day's name written vertically, beginning with the daytime section including 'today's choices' (which replaced 'at a glance' on the left page), followed by the main evening's schedules in an original four-column grid, as well as the highlights section (now occupying the far left page within the satellite listings), and the movie planner is now on the right page. On 29 March 1997, the programme pages in the television section were restyled often include smaller headings and more billing type with several changes in this layout between the narrower columns for regional variations on the left and Channel 5 schedules on the right page. Yet another major revamp took place on 25 September 1999, where all the pages now proceeded in a particular order, starting with the letters section, followed by film reviews, then the seven-day programme guide with six pages for television (including satellite) and two pages for radio, as well as the single-page
crossword A crossword is a word puzzle that usually takes the form of a square or a rectangular grid of white- and black-shaded squares. The goal is to fill the white squares with letters, forming words or phrases, by solving clues which lead to th ...
and local radio listings with frequencies, and finally the 'My Kind of Day' for the back page which was preceded by
classified advertisements Classified advertising is a form of advertising, particularly common in newspapers, online and other periodicals, which may be sold or distributed free of charge. Classified advertisements are much cheaper than larger display advertisements us ...
. The programme page headings were returned to being inside a coloured block, and the primetime television listings went from two narrow columns to one wide column. The warning phrase " contains strong language", used for BBC television programmes from 9.00pm during the hours of watershed broadcasting restrictions was also implemented at this time, lasting until 2009. This layout lasted until shortly before
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
on 13 April 2001, which saw the new masthead title with the BBC's corporate typeface
Gill Sans Gill Sans is a humanist sans-serif typeface designed by Eric Gill and released by the British branch of Monotype from 1928 onwards. Gill Sans is based on Edward Johnston's 1916 "Underground Alphabet", the corporate font of London Undergro ...
(used until the end of 2004, being replaced by Interstate in the start of 2005), while the programme pages with eight pages of television listings reverted to having the day running across the top of the page horizontally, and the satellite listings expanded into four pages, while the double-page movie planner section for 18 different film channels was retained. On 26 November 2002, NTL and
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...
announced a major new agreement that would offer an exclusive, tailored edition of ''Radio Times'' to every NTL customer across the United Kingdom every week, it would be delivered directly to subscribers' homes. The special NTL edition of ''Radio Times'' replaced the monthly ''Cable Guide'' magazine (which ran from September 1986 to December 2002) and contained programme information for NTL channels, including all terrestrial services; Front Row's
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
movies and events were also included. Subscribers were offered the first four weekly issues of the new title for the same price as the existing monthly magazine, delivered free to homes in time for the first programme week of 4 January 2003; both companies actively and jointly marketed the new edition. From 30 October 2004, the programme schedule pages were revamped again, with the regional variations now at the bottom of the daytime section, as well as the same spread on the five main channels;
BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
,
BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
,
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...
,
ITV3 ITV3 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. The channel was first launched on Monday 1 November 2004 at 9pm, replacing Plus (Granada). ITV3 is the sixth-largest UK television channel ...
(launched on 1 November) and
More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...
(from 10 October 2005) now appeared in digital/cable section on the right page, with a children's section in a single page on the left. The category sections for digital, satellite and cable listings also returned after a four-year absence: On 22 May 2007, two extra pages of television listings per day were added as part of a slight tweak in the publication's format, bringing it up to ten pages of listings per day in total, or five double-page spreads: one page of highlights with daytime listings and regional variations, followed by two pages of evening's terrestrial television listings (with 'at a glance' for nine digital channels until 2010), then six pages of listings for digital, satellite and cable channels. Digital radio listings were integrated into the main radio pages, and three new pages of sport, lifestyle and music were added. By 11 April 2009, the digital, satellite and cable schedules were reshuffled (alongside entertainment, factual and children's sections) preceded by 'today's choices' on the left side, and the sport section moves to the right side as well as the films section having also started on the left within the centre pages horizontally. 10 April 2010 saw major changes as ''Radio Times'' went through a overhaul, with two pages of the latest reviews and highlights ('choices') somewhat akin to the ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'', while the daytime listings moved onto the evening section having the full day's output for the five main channels on one double-page spread to complete the set: * Choices (includes "pick of the day" and "film of the day") * Main channels (with daytime listings and regional variations) *
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
* Satellite and cable (with children's television listings) * Films / Sport * Radio (includes "radio in your area" section) Other changes saw the evening listings start at 5.00pm rather than 6.30pm (sometimes earlier than 5.00pm for weekends,
bank holiday A bank holiday is a national public holiday in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and the Crown Dependencies. The term refers to all public holidays in the United Kingdom, be they set out in statute, declared by royal proclamation or h ...
s,
Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...
,
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
and
New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system ...
), the addition of
electronic program guide Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information for ...
numbers into the channel headers, and the inclusion of director and year of production details for
Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms ...
throughout the day. For the
London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
, the listings for three terrestrial channels (
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
, ITV and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
) temporarily moved onto the right page and Channel 5 was moved to the next page on the left, as to provide enough space for
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
and
BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
/
BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
as the Olympic broadcasters, which also reminded viewers of using both the
red button Red button may refer to: *Red Button (digital television), a button on the remote control for certain digital television set top boxes in the United Kingdom and Australia, and used to access interactive television services **BBC Red Button BBC ...
and
online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed "on line" ...
for BBC channels with additional broadcasts. Following the closure of the BBC3 channel on 20 February 2016, ''Radio Times'' started to include BBC4 in the main channels section, with Channel 5 being relegated to the Freeview section. As of 24 March 2020 to coincide the launch of
Disney+ Disney+ is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by the Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. The service primarily distributes films and television se ...
, ''Radio Times'' introduced two new sections for
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
s and six pages devoted to
streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
and various catch-up services. That same year (8 September), the rearrangement of
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
channel listings with
Sky Arts Sky Arts (originally launched as Artsworld) is a British free-to-air television channel offering 24 hours a day of programmes dedicated to highbrow arts, including theatrical performances, movies, documentaries and music (such as opera perfor ...
moves to the second page, also the three columns in the satellite and cable pages now have on the left side with children's television section, as well as the six film services were also included. During the Tokyo Olympics (which was delayed due to global
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
) on 20 July 2021, ''Radio Times'' declared its special bumper issue with 212 pages that include 16-day listings of the BBC's coverage and an comprehensive easy-to-use guide preceded by two pages with 'pick of the action' chosen by various
pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...
s, although this layout becoming slightly different whether listings started on the left page with two columns for
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
as a dedicated Olympic broadcaster (including
BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to cl ...
occupies at the bottom) and
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
in the single column, as well as ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and
BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
schedules placed on the right page. From 25 January 2022, the
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
schedules have altered once again starting with the return of
BBC3 BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
(launches on 1 February after six years since the television channel has moved online), whether
ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, ...
's listings now occupies at the bottom, as well as the seven remaining services were also placed in the second and third pages respectively. From 4 October 2022 (three weeks before the BBC's 100th anniversary celebrations), ''Radio Times'' refreshed its format: * The 'this week' section which was devoted to the best entertainment reviews with all latest news over the next seven days, as well as other features including the grapevine, ten questions, viewpoint and 'on the box' as fronted by broadcaster Jane Garvey. * The expanded pages of the streaming section provides the best of catch-up services for television and films (include
free-to-view Free-to-view (FTV) is a term used for audiovisual transmissions that are provided free without any form of continual subscription . It differs from free-to-air (FTA) in that the program is encrypted. Free-to-view vs. free-to-air The free-to-vi ...
, subscription or premium) so you want to watch every day. * The double-page 'highlights' section has given a newly-refreshed layout dedicated to the most comprehensive guide of programmes throughout the week ahead with 'also on today', 'live sport' and 'film of the day' also included. * The third page of the
Freeview Freeview may refer to: *Freeview (Australia), the marketing name for the digital terrestrial television platform in Australia *Freeview (New Zealand), a digital satellite and digital terrestrial television platform in New Zealand *Freeview (UK), a ...
section includes some of its children's television schedules sandwiched between the top two channels.
Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ( ...
and Blaze) were added as requested by readers and the number of movie channels was reduced from 18 to eight within the centre pages, with the latest film reviews which also embedded into each day's listings occupied by the right hand side. * The last two pages of satellite/cable schedules followed by the sport section was incorporated into a 'quick and easy' planner with various times by using individual live coverage of other events, as well as channel numbers (include
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
,
BT Sport BT Sport is a group of pay television sports channels in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Europe and BT Group, they first launched on 1 August 2013. The channels are based at the former International Bro ...
,
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
and Premier Sports) were listed in the bottom right corner. Three weeks later (18 October), the mainstream sport listings were reverted back to any channel rather than popular events.


Circulation

In 1934, ''Radio Times'' achieved a circulation of two million and its net profit in that year was more than one quarter of the total BBC licence income. By the 1950s, ''Radio Times'' had grown to be the magazine with the largest circulation in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, with an average sale of 8.8 million in 1955. Following the 1969 relaunch, circulation indeed dropped by about a quarter of a million, it would take several years to recover but the magazine remained ahead of glossier lifestyle-led competitor, ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
''. In the mid-1970s, it was just over four million; but in 2013 it was just over one million. During a major revamp in April 2010, ''Radio Times'' was the third-biggest-selling magazine in the United Kingdom. However, according to the
Audit Bureau of Circulations An Audit Bureau of Circulations is a private organization that provides industry-agreed standards for media brand measurement of print publications and other media outlets in a given country. The International Federation of Audit Bureaux of Circula ...
, the magazine experienced about 2.2% year-on-year decrease to an average weekly sale of 1,648,000 in the second half of 2009. It averaged a circulation per issue of 497,852 between July and December 2020, versus 1,041,826 for '' TV Choice'' and 690,617 for ''
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 compet ...
''.


Advertising

During the
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
of television listings, there was strong criticism from other magazines that ''Radio Times'' was advertised on the BBC (as well as on commercial broadcasting channels), saying that it gave unfair advantage to a publication and includes the tagline: "If it's on, it's in". 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, from 1992 until 2004, it had to depict a static picture of the cover, and show a clear disclaimer reading "Other television listings magazines are available", leading to the phrase entering common public usage for a time. By the early 2000s, advertisements for the publication had become sparse on the BBC. ''Radio Times'' has not been promoted on BBC television and radio channels since 2005, following complaints by rival publications that the promotions were unfair competition.


Missing issues

For various reasons, some issues were not printed. These include:


Diminished form

Printing disputes and other operational difficulties have also led to the magazine appearing in a different formats to the standard:


Editors

There have been 20 editors of ''Radio Times'' to date (including one uncredited and one returning) since the magazine began publication: * 1923–1926: Leonard Crocombe * 1926–1927: Walter Fuller * 1927–1933:
Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, and des ...
* 1933–1941:
Maurice Gorham Maurice Anthony Coneys Gorham (1902 – 9 August 1975) was an Irish journalist and broadcasting executive. After being educated in England at Stonyhurst College, Lancashire and later Balliol College, Oxford, he began working as a journalist on the ...
* 1941–1944: Gordon Stowell * 1944–1954: Tom Henn * 1954–1968: Douglas G. Williams * 1968–1969: C. J. Campbell Nairne * 1969–1979:
Geoffrey Cannon Geoffrey Cannon (born 1940) is an English author, journalist and former magazine editor, and scholar. From 1968 to 1972, he was the music critic for ''The Guardian'', a role that made him the first dedicated rock critic at a British daily newsp ...
* 1979–1988: Brian Gearing * 1988–1996: Nicholas Brett * 1996–2000: Sue Robinson * 2000–2001: Nicholas Brett (returned) * 2001–April 2002: Nigel Horne * April–July 2002: Liz Vercoe (uncredited) * August 2002–August 2009: Gill Hudson * September 2009 – 2017: Ben Preston * 2017–2020:
Mark Frith Mark Frith (born 22 May 1970, in Sheffield) is a British journalist and editor. He has been a writer and editor for magazines such as ''Smash Hits'', ''Time Out'' and ''Heat''. He has since branched into TV and radio presenting and is an author ...
* 2020–present: Tom Loxley and Shem Law


Covers

When the magazine was a BBC publication, the covers had a BBC bias (in 2005, 31 of the 51 issues had BBC-related covers) and consisting of a single side of
glossy paper Coated paper (also known as enamel paper, gloss paper, and thin paper) is paper that has been coated by a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink abso ...
, however the magazine often uses double or triple-width covers that open out for several large group photographs. Each year, ''Radio Times'' celebrates those individuals and programmes that are featured at the Covers Party, where framed oversized versions of the covers are presented. ''Radio Times'' had several sporting events with more than one of the
Home Nations Home Nations is a collective term with one of two meanings depending on context. Politically it means the nations of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales). In sport, if a sport is g ...
(such as the Six Nations,
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
,
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the ex ...
and the
Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...
) taking part are often marked with different covers for each nation, showing their own team. While the major events (such as
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in ...
,
Crufts Crufts is an international dog show held annually in the United Kingdom, first held in 1891. Organised and hosted by The Kennel Club, it is the largest show of its kind in the world. Crufts is centred on a championship conformation show for d ...
, the Oscars/
BAFTAs The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
,
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
,
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...
,
Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...
and
the Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
) or new series of popular programmes are marked by producing different covers were actually used for other collectors: * The first person of
colour Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
to feature on the front cover was the American singer
Paul Robeson Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional American football, football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplish ...
, in the 535th issue which dated on 29 December 1933. * ''Radio Times'' celebrated the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...
moon landing on 10 July 1969, with this cover bearing the "TARGET MOON" caption at the top of the
Saturn V Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
rocket lifts off from
Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 196 ...
as part of the
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...
's
Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...
mission. * During
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
's 50th anniversary on 1 November 1986, Tony McSweeney's cover illustration depicted a 1930s family living in the shadow of
Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...
somehow watching the title sequence of '' Nine O'Clock News'' on a modern colour set. * 23 February 1991 saw ''Radio Times'' began offering a comprehensive programme schedule guide to BBC, ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and various satellite networks (from Friday 1 March) bearing the "If it's on, it's in" tagline, which includes
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
on the cover focusing about the former Mr. Universe and successfully become the biggest film career in
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...
. There was also a mixed reaction for the
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
of television listings had occurred and allow information on all channels to be printed as they showing material by the broadcasters with its other competitors. * On 26 March 1994, to coincide the relaunch of Radio 5 as ' Five Live' (the new
rolling news The 24-hour news cycle (or 24/7 news cycle) is 24-hour investigation and reporting of news, concomitant with fast-paced lifestyles. The vast news resources available in recent decades have increased competition for audience and advertiser attent ...
and sport service which took place on 28 March) within the group consists of
Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
,
Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...
and
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
,
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
,
John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...
and
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...
to appear on the cover wearing in t-shirts that includes the logo was done by Sven Arnstein, as well as Jones Bloom's electronic retouching but we also told that the sportswear came from
Lillywhites Lillywhites is a sports retailer based at Piccadilly Circus, London, United Kingdom. It is a division of Frasers Group. History In the 19th century, several members of the Lillywhite family were leading cricketers; another, Fred Lillywhite, ...
and the footwear courtesy of
John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...
. * A special issue for the 50th anniversary of BBC television news on 3 July 2004, as well as a fold-out cover with BBC news teams (from left to right:
Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...
,
Fiona Bruce Fiona Elizabeth Bruce (born 25 April 1964) is a British journalist, newsreader, and television presenter. She joined the BBC as a researcher for '' Panorama'' in 1989, and has since become the first female newsreader on the ''BBC News at Ten' ...
,
Anna Ford Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...
, George Alagiah,
Sophie Raworth Sophie Jane Raworth () (born 15 May 1968) is an English journalist, newsreader and broadcaster working for the BBC. She is a senior newsreader and is one of the main presenters of BBC News (mainly ''BBC News at Six'' and ''BBC News at Ten''). ...
,
Dermot Murnaghan Dermot John Murnaghan (; born 26 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. A presenter for Sky News, he was a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots ...
, Natasha Kaplinsky,
Sian Williams Sian Mary Williams (; born 28 November 1964) is a Welsh journalist, current affairs presenter best known for her work with the BBC, and psychologist. From 2001 until 2012, Williams regularly presented weekday editions of ''BBC Breakfast'' a ...
,
Darren Jordon Darren Jordon (born 23 November 1960 in London, England) is a British journalist working for the Al-Jazeera 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, Al Jazeera English. He is also a former officer of the Jamaica Defence Force ...
and Moira Stuart) was photographed by Andy Earl, and also an accompanying special pull-out supplement within the centre pages. * On 10 February 2007, the second series of ''
Life on Mars The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
'', was marked by the ''Radio Times'' producing a mock-up of a 1973-style cover promoting the series, placed on page three of the magazine. * ''Radio Times'' reaches its 5,000th edition on 9 May 2020 with excellent lead articles from the support staff and workers of the
National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...
front line during the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
known as the
coronavirus disease Coronavirus diseases are caused by viruses in the coronavirus subfamily, a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, the group of viruses cause respiratory tract infections that can range from ...
, and also granted this cover showing the colours of the
rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...
which uses
acrylic paint Acrylic paint is a fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion and plasticizers, silicone oils, defoamers, stabilizers, or metal soaps. Most acrylic paints are water-based, but become water-resistant when dry. ...
in a plain white background.


Royal specials

Over the past years, ''Radio Times'' published special majestic covers (often marked as a 'souvenir' issue) dedicated to royalty which reflects the
monarchy of the United Kingdom The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...
, as well as other significant events include birthdays,
coronations A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the presentation of ot ...
, jubilees, royal weddings,
state funerals A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...
and various celebrations across the decades. Between February 1952 and September 2022, ''Radio Times'' focuses about
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
is the nation's longest-serving monarch which represented over eight decades during its 70-year reign: * On 1 June 1952, Princess Elizabeth was attended become the Queen's Birthday Parade for the first time as sovereign marked the occasion with a majestic artwork cover depicting its two aligned rows of marching
guardsmen Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian Fo ...
at the Horse Guards building in
Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
is designed by Eric Fraser – the revered illustrator who had worked for the magazine between 1926 and 1982, until his death on 15 November 1983 at the age of 81. * ''Radio Times'' declared its special ' Coronation Number' issue on 31 May 1953 with a record-breaking 9,012,358 copies sold, as well as Eric Fraser's
heraldic Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
cover illustration and also made the back page depicted his lion and the unicorn tucking into an advertisement for
Bachelors A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...
tinned foods. It was the first artwork cover since before
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
by the presses at
Waterlow and Sons Waterlow and Sons Limited was a major worldwide engraver of currency, postage stamps, stocks and bond certificates based in London, Watford and Dunstable in England. The company was founded as a family business in 1810. It was acquired in 1961 ...
couldn't print in full colour but the existing technology allowed a yellowish gold tint between the back and front within a red crown motif running across the magazine. * The informal picture of
Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
and Queen Elizabeth II was taken by photographer Joan Williams for the cover in this issue on 21 June 1969, during the making of Richard Cawston's 110-minute documentary film ''
Royal Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...
'' which is watched over 30.6 million television viewers almost half the population that includes an estimated global audience of 350 million people. Despite having been repeated ten times in eight years until it was withdrawn from circulation on 11 August 1977, and broadcasters were asked by
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
not to be shown again in its entirety. * To celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee on 28 May 1977, ''Radio Times'' joined forces with
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's ''
Blue Peter ''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Te ...
'' in running a competition for children to design a special cover which it led to a staggering 65,000 entrants include Nicola Griffin was the youngest-ever artist talks to ''
Newsround ''Newsround'' (stylised as ''newsround'', and originally called ''John Craven's Newsround'' before his departure in 1989) is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972. It was one of the world's first tele ...
'' presenter John Craven reported her painting of a jolly guardsman, as well as John Noakes going behind the scenes at the printers to watch the first of its three-and-a-half million copies come off the presses. The following week (4 June), they took its unusual step of commissioning a
tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads ma ...
made by Candace Bahouth for the artwork cover of this issue, and also been adapted for the 116-page bookazine in 2022. * For Queen Elizabeth II's 60th birthday on 19 April 1986, this special heraldic cover featuring a colour portrait photographed by John Lawrence and the border illustration which also included the lion and the unicorn was done by Gerald Mynott. * 1 February 1992 saw ''Radio Times'' celebrated its 40th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, with a special majestic cover include Dorothy Wilding's
monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, monochr ...
photograph which dates back in 1952. * Royal photographer Lord Snowdon was behind the camera for this special majestic cover with a double portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on 15 November 1997. * During
Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee The year 2012 marked the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II being the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. The only diamond jubilee celebration for any of Elizabeth's predecessors was in 1897, for the 60th an ...
on 2 June 2012, as ''Radio Times'' celebrated this event with a majestic cover includes the new
portrait painting Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...
designed by Peter Blake. * Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the BBC's newly rebuilt
Broadcasting House Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The ma ...
on 7 June 2013, and was presented with a collection of 44 majestic covers by the
BBC Trust The BBC Trust was the governing body of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) between 2007 and 2017. It was operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and its stated aim was to make decisions in the best interests of ...
chairman
Chris Patten Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, (; born 12 May 1944) is a British politician who was the 28th and last Governor of Hong Kong from 1992 to 1997 and Chairman of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1992. He was made a life ...
. * Ahead before the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II on 18 April 2016, this jubilant artwork cover was illustrated by Nina Cosford depicts the crowds gathered here at
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. Two months later (11 June), ''Radio Times'' deluged with wonderful cover designs from more than 11,000 children across the United Kingdom which include Ayesha Mahmood to become the winner of this competition after her majestic design – showing its vibrant painting of a crown adorned within the purple-riched colour and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
glitter Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...
– is picked by our panel of judges that featured ''Blue Peter''s
Lindsey Russell Lindsey Russell (born 25 September 1990) is a British television presenter. She is best known for being the thirty-sixth presenter of the long running British BBC television programme ''Blue Peter'', which she co-hosted from 2013 to 2021 with Bar ...
, Shem Law,
Judith Kerr Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr (surname pronounced ; 14 June 1923 – 22 May 2019) was a German-born British writer and illustrator whose books sold more than 10 million copies around the world.
and Ben Preston. * As part of Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations on 4 June 2022, illustrator James Weston Lewis took inspiration for this artwork cover paying homage to King George VI's coronation special issue on 7 May 1937 was designed by the famous war artist
Christopher R. W. Nevinson Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson (13 August 1889 – 7 October 1946) was an English figure and landscape painter, etcher and lithographer, who was one of the most famous war artists of World War I. He is often referred to by his initia ...
, with capture some of its classic depiction of the original by adding a few modern elements. * On 13 September 2022, ''Radio Times'' declared this emergency issue paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II who passes peacefully away at the
old age Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usa ...
of 96, includes a monochrome photograph from the Camera Press with its darker sombre effect and surrounded by black border. A special commemorative edition was published on 20 September of that year containing 30 pages throughout her life and reign which reproduced nine majestic covers to chart of each decade, as well as the striking
silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...
portrait also used by permission for kind agreement of the
Royal Mint The Royal Mint is the United Kingdom's oldest company and the official maker of British coins. Operating under the legal name The Royal Mint Limited, it is a limited company that is wholly owned by HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury and is un ...
.


''Doctor Who''

''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the ...
'' 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 on 23 November 1963. On 30 April 2005, a double-width cover was used to commemorate the return of the
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...
s to ''Doctor Who'' and the forthcoming
general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. This cover recreated a scene from the 1964 serial ''
The Dalek Invasion of Earth ''The Dalek Invasion of Earth'' is the second Serial (radio and television), serial of the Doctor Who (season 2), second season in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Written by Terry Nation and directed by Richard Ma ...
'' in which the Daleks were seen crossing
Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...
with the
Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north ban ...
and
Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...
in the background, and also the cover text read "VOTE DALEK!". On 29 September 2008, the contest was sponsored by the Periodical Publishers Association, this cover was voted the best British magazine cover of all time. Five years later (on 17 April 2010) before the next general election, our three special covers depicting the Daleks invading the capital once more within showing their true colours of red, blue and yellow as one of several Britain's political parties for Labour,
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
and Liberal Democrats were used individually. Throughout the decades, ''Radio Times'' had covers for various television specials and anniversary editions: * On 19 November 1983, the show celebrated its 20th anniversary with a standalone special featuring
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...
,
Patrick Troughton Patrick George Troughton (; 25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor who was classically trained for the stage but became known for his roles in television and film. His work included appearances in several fantasy, science fiction ...
,
Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...
,
Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...
, Richard Hurndall (who replaced
William Hartnell William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the first incarnation of the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Brig ...
, who died on 23 April 1975) and
Anthony Ainley Anthony Ainley (20 August 1932 – 3 May 2004) was an English actor. He was the fourth actor to portray the Master in ''Doctor Who''. Early life Ainley was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, the son of the actor Henry Ainley, on 20 August 1932, al ...
as The Master. They featured in an illustrated cover by
Andrew Skilleter Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
. * On 20 November 1993, as the show marked its 30th anniversary, the surviving actors who had played The Doctor appeared to promote the special television event, a
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...
between ''
EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'' as part of the BBC's annual '' Children in Need'' telethon. 3D glasses were sold in aid of the charity enhanced viewing of several programmes broadcast throughout the week, and the first ''Doctor Who'' episode to be aired since the series ended on 6 December 1989. * ''Doctor Who'' returned to television on 25 May 1996 after a seven-year absence, as
Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...
starred in a feature-length television special with a corresponding cover, and a 16-page pull-out supplement. * A themed night on
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
on 13 November 1999, was marked by a specially commissioned
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...
portrait photographed by Lord Snowdon, which was originally used as a stamp design. * For its 40th anniversary on 22 November 2003, a commemorative cover was photographed by Andy Earl to create a panoramic vista featuring
Colin Baker Colin Baker (born 8 June 1943) is an English actor who played Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series '' The Brothers'' from 1974 to 1976 and the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running science fiction television series ''Docto ...
,
Sylvester McCoy Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith (born 20 August 1943), known professionally as Sylvester McCoy, is a Scottish actor. Gaining prominence as a physical comedian, he became best known for playing the seventh incarnation of the Doctor in the lon ...
,
Tom Baker Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is well known for his portrayal of the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' from 1974 to 1981.Scott, Danny. (1 ...
and
Peter Davison Peter Malcolm Gordon Moffett (born 13 April 1951), known professionally as Peter Davison, is an English actor with many credits in television dramas and sitcoms. He made his television acting debut in 1975 and became famous in 1978 as Tristan ...
, as well as the
TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...
, K-9, a
Cyberman The Cybermen are a fictional race of cyborgs principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. The Cybermen are a species of space-faring cyborgs who often forcefully and painfully convert human beings ...
and the two
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrials in fiction, extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction on television, science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by write ...
s. * The 23 November 2013 issue marked the 50th anniversary of the programme with a selection of 12 different covers.


Christmas

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. In recent years, ''Radio Times'' has published and sold packs of reproductions of some of the
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
covers of the magazine as Christmas cards.


Annuals and guides

An
annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year ** Yearbook ** Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...
was published three times: in 1954, 1955 and 1956. The ''Radio Times Film & Video Guide'' by the magazine's film and video editor Derek Winnert was first published in 1994 featuring more than 18,000 films and an introduction by
Barry Norman Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British film critic, television presenter and journalist. He presented the BBC's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998. Early life Born at St Thomas’s Hospital ...
, former presenter of the BBC's ''
Film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...
'' programme. A second edition was published the following year. In 2000, a completely new ''Radio Times Guide to Films'' was published by
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadca ...
, edited by Kilmey Fane-Saunders, featuring more than 21,000 film titles. The last edition of ''Radio Times Guide to Films'' was published in 2018. There are also similar publications, the ''Radio Times Guide to TV Comedy'' by
Mark Lewisohn Mark Lewisohn (born 16 June 1958) is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps.
and the ''Radio Times Guide to Science-Fiction''.


Regional editions

There are several regional editions that which contain different schedules for localised programming, all editions of ''Radio Times'' carry variations of adjoining regions for television and radio. As of December 2022, there are six regional editions.


Radio

Since its began on 28 September 1923 (during the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...
), there was just a single national edition to cover all the BBC wireless services including relay stations from 1924: From 10 October 1926, the two separate regions – 'Northern' and 'Southern' – were published before ''Radio Times'' reverted to one edition and covering all the local stations once again on 7 January 1934: Between 1930 and 1935, many of the original 21 BBC local stations eventually reduced to six regional services (including
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
from 1937) as well as five national variations with the exceptions of
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...
,
Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...
,
Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...
and Stagshaw were remained until 1939 before the
outbreak of World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
: After the
end of World War II in Europe The final battle of the European Theatre of World War II continued after the definitive overall surrender of Nazi Germany to the Allies, signed by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel on 8 May 1945 in Karlshorst, Berlin. After German dictator Adolf ...
, the seven local variations were resumed on 29 July 1945 which also used by
BBC Home Service The BBC Home Service was a national and regional radio station that broadcast from 1939 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 4. History 1922–1939: Interwar period Between the early 1920s and the outbreak of World War II, the BBC ...
as they referred similar to its pre-war Regional Programme during the 1930s. November 1967 saw the introduction of
BBC Local Radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations. History The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...
whether these regional areas subdivided with individual editions for each
English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...
(except
Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...
), as well as the national regions and several opt-out services were also used. This continued between February 1981 and January 1983 until each regional edition began to cover three local stations which was previously used by regional news and opt-out programming on Radio 4, apart from the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
(including the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
) as this is now the only part of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
still without any BBC local station. During the mid-1980s and early 1990s, a number of 13 new BBC local stations were added to covering the whole areas throughout the United Kingdom: As of December 2022, there were 50 BBC regional radio networks which consist of 45 local stations and four opt-out services included:


Television

In November 1936, ''Radio Times'' launches its first television service in the London area only before they closed down on 1 September 1939 by the duration of war for over six years and finally resumed on 7 June 1946. When the second channel began in 1964, there were a number of areas where only certain parts of a region could get receive this service until 1966: From 1 March 1991, ''Radio Times'' started carrying ITV and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
listings to begin they cover the 14 regional editions (which later reduced to ten areas) across the country: At the same time, regional editions also included several local television stations used individually as well as the neighbouring countries outside
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...
where available: As of December 2022, every local television station had its own edition consisting of 15 BBC regional services and 13 ITV companies were also used:


Alterations

The number of regional editions has been altered over the years within gradually being reduced over time due to there being fewer variations in the programme schedules: * The
North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...
region was separated from
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
on 4 January 1948 who had their own edition. * The spread of television editions when full listings (with six pages) were not included in all issues between 7 June 1946 and 15 August 1952. * On 8 October 1960, the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...
region was renamed 'Midlands and East Anglia', and the
West of England West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan ...
region was also renamed 'South and West'. * On 9 February 1964, the launch of BBC Cymru Wales television service in the Welsh edition of ''Radio Times'' with its own programme schedule pages from the prominent heading (remained until 1982), without detracting from the service they provided to English viewers on the other side of the
Severn Estuary The Severn Estuary ( cy, Aber Hafren) is the estuary of the River Severn, flowing into the Bristol Channel between South West England and South Wales. Its high tidal range, approximately , means that it has been at the centre of discussions in t ...
. * As from 21 March 1964, the previously unmarked
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
region was successfully renamed 'London and South East'. It was later dropped on 25 March 1989 when the 'London' name is no longer used, became known as ' South East', and later reverted to its original name on 23 February 1991. * On 29 August 1970, the four
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
regional editions (along the constituent nations) were separated into ten areas, such as the
administrative counties An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until either 1973 (in Northern Ireland) or 2002 (in the Republic of Ireland). They are now abolished, although mos ...
of
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...
and
Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...
(which included the
Furness Furness ( ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria in northwestern England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale, historically an exclave of Lancashire. The Furness Peninsula, also known as Low Furness, is an area of vill ...
exclave in
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
and the district of Sedburgh in the
West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...
) before the creation of a new
non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...
of
Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...
from 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
in
England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is En ...
. * Between 1 November 1982 and 22 February 1991,
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-speaking ...
listings were included in the
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
edition known as 'Rhaglenni Cymraeg' ( Welsh programmes), while its
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
programming were simply billed as 'Rhaglenni Saesneg' with no further detail being given. ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'' included a pull-out supplement ''Sbec'' which gave full details on all S4C programming in both languages. From the following week, it also took the billing space by cutting down on the detail in the
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's listings in that edition, and allowing S4C to share some of its space. * After the
deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...
of television listings on 1 March 1991, they rebranded the Northern Ireland edition as '
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...
' (named after the historic Irish province), and started including listings for the Irish state broadcaster's two channels – RTÉ1 and
Network 2 Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...
– were occupied the lower half of the three columns devoted to UTV's schedules. * ''Radio Times'' used to have three separate editions for STV,
Grampian Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...
and
Border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ca ...
(also appearing in the North East edition) while just then after a while they merged back into one
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
edition from 6 July 1991. * No edition of ''Radio Times'' in the
Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
as their listing schedules were contained within the
South West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
region, but Channel TV published its own listings magazine, the ''CTV Times'' (formerly ''Channel Viewer'') until 25 October 1991. * The
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
region was absorbed by the
North East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...
region on 25 September 1993 became known as 'Yorkshire/ Tyne Tees', and also later added the
North West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
region on 7 April 2007. * The exception to this process of merging is
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
on 31 August 1991, which used to be part of a larger 'Wales/West' (of
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
), mirroring the HTV area. The region was separated on 16 April 2005 leaving the West of England to join
South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
and South West edition. The two regional editions of London and
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
were merged on the same date. * On 5 November 2001,
BBC 2W BBC 2W was a digital television channel run by the BBC in Wales until January 2009. It replaced the standard BBC Two broadcast on digital services in Wales — running on weekdays from 8.30pm to 10pm. Launched on 5 November 2001, it had an in ...
launches as the digital-only service in Wales used for weekday evenings from 8.30pm to 10.00pm, within
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
's listings in the normal column is mainly split vertically in two to cover both the analogue and digital services. The digital-only service was ceased on 2 January 2009 as part of the
digital switchover The digital television transition, also called the digital switchover (DSO), the analogue switch/sign-off (ASO), the digital migration, or the analogue shutdown, is the process in which older analogue television broadcasting technology is conv ...
, and reverts to the normal service with less frequent regional programmes as the arrangement on analogue broadcasts. * On 25 August 2007, the Midlands and London/Anglia regions were merged. * On 24 February 2019, ''Radio Times'' introduces the BBC Scotland television channel, a new autonomous service that broadcasts an nightly line-up of entirely Scottish-related programming from 7.00pm to midnight replacing the Scotland's version of BBC2 after 53 years, and the listings were occupied by
BBC4 BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
at the bottom on the right page.


Online content


Website

The ''Radio Times'' website was launched in June 1997, primarily as a listings service. As from 18 August 2011, it relaunches an offering diverse editorial product to accompany its schedules for television, radio and film recommendations.


Digitisation

In December 2012, the BBC completed a digitisation exercise, scanning the listings of all programmes from an entire run of about 4,500 copies of the magazine from 1923 (the first issue) to 2009, the
BBC Genome Project The BBC Genome Project is an online searchable database of programme listings initially based upon the contents of the ''Radio Times'' from the first issue in 1923 to 2009. Television listings from post-2009 can be accessed via the BBC Programme ...
, with a view to creating an online database of its output. They identified around five million programmes, involving 8.5 million actors, presenters, writers and technical staff. The results were made public on 15 October 2014, Corrections to OCR errors and changes to advertised schedules are being
crowdsourced Crowdsourcing involves a large group of dispersed participants contributing or producing goods or services—including ideas, votes, micro-tasks, and finances—for payment or as volunteers. Contemporary crowdsourcing often involves digit ...
. Digitised editions of entire magazines (including front covers, prose articles, advertisements and other non-listings content) were added: * 1920s (March 2017) * 1930s (December 2017) * 1940s (December 2018) * 1950s (December 2019) Several addresses,
telephone numbers A telephone number is a sequence of digits assigned to a landline telephone subscriber station connected to a telephone line or to a wireless electronic telephony device, such as a radio telephone or a mobile telephone, or to other devices f ...
and
email address An email address identifies an email box to which messages are delivered. While early messaging systems used a variety of formats for addressing, today, email addresses follow a set of specific rules originally standardized by the Internet Engineer ...
es have been removed, to prevent readers from attempting to donate to charity appeals that have closed. Some names and
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from ot ...
terms have been removed for legal reasons.


Puzzles

On 28 September 2020, ''Radio Times'' launched its online puzzle site using brainteasers from their archive. Puzzles include those based on television and radio programmes such as '' Eggheads'', ''
Only Connect ''Only Connect'' is a British television quiz show presented by Victoria Coren Mitchell. In the series, teams compete in a tournament of finding connections between seemingly unrelated clues. The title is taken from a passage in E. M. Fo ...
'', ''
Pointless ''Pointless'' is a British television quiz show produced by Banijay subsidiary Remarkable Television for the BBC. It is hosted by Alexander Armstrong. In each episode four teams of two contestants attempt to find correct but obscure answers t ...
'',
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''
Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and ev ...
'' and
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
's ''
PopMaster PopMaster (briefly known as Celebrity PopMaster from 2007–2008) is a popular music quiz on the ''Ken Bruce Show'' on BBC Radio 2 that has aired on weekday mornings since February 1998. It usually takes place at around 10:30 every weekday. The que ...
''.


Podcast

On 8 September 2021, ''Radio Times'' introduces the 40-minute
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
show hosted by Jane Garvey and Rhianna Dhillon, which include interviews with television celebrities.


See also

* Most Powerful People – a annual listing charted the three different areas of British media (include TV comedy, TV drama and radio) from January 2003 to June 2005 * Radio Times Extra – a digital programme guide which offers full television listings and synopses throughout 14 days provided by
Inview Technology Inview Technology (Inview Technology Ltd or simply Inview) is a UK-based digital TV software company. It specialises in advanced EPGs, interactive broadcast, IP services and solutions for Pay-TV and analogue switch off markets. Their OTT TV ...


References


Notes

# Renamed
BBC TV BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
on 8 October 1960 and later became
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 20 April 1964, when
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
is launched. # All these strands including the
Third Programme The BBC Third Programme was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by Radio 3. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and quickly became one of the leading cultural and intellectual f ...
kept their separate identities (such as music, sports coverage and education) within Radio 3 until 4 April 1970, when there was a further reorganisation following the introduction of the structural changes which had been outlined in the BBC document ''Broadcasting in the Seventies'' on 10 July 1969. # In earlier years, the BBC television listing schedules has giving phrases such as 'a film series' used for imported programmes and 'the feature film' were remained until 1 September 1984. # Between June and December 1990, the layout of programme page sections had given its own distinctive colour were used at the top along with
deep pink Pink colors are usually light or desaturated shades of reds, roses, and magentas which are created on computer and television screens using the RGB color model and in printing with the CMYK color model. As such, it is an arbitrary classificati ...
for films, dark blue for television and medium turquoise for radio, as well as each
day of the week In many languages, the names given to the seven days of the week are derived from the names of the classical planets in Hellenistic astronomy, which were in turn named after contemporary deities, a system introduced by the Sumerians and lat ...
often include: red for Saturday, orange for Sunday,
magenta Magenta () is a color that is variously defined as pinkish- purplish- red, reddish-purplish-pink or mauvish-crimson. On color wheels of the RGB (additive) and CMY (subtractive) color models, it is located exactly midway between red and blu ...
for Monday, chartreuse for Tuesday,
purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters ...
for Wednesday,
salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus '' Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Onco ...
for Thursday and
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
for Friday. # The colours for each day of the week were changed on 22 December 1990, they are: Saturday in red, Sunday in azure blue, Monday in light orange, Tuesday in
indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
, Wednesday in
dark green Varieties of the color green may differ in hue, chroma (also called saturation or intensity) or lightness (or value, tone, or brightness), or in two or three of these qualities. Variations in value are also called tints and shades, a tint be ...
, Thursday in cerise, and Friday in medium turquoise. On 30 October 2004, the day's colours were slightly changed once again that includes Tuesday in
lavender ''Lavandula'' (common name lavender) is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and easte ...
, Wednesday in mint green, and Friday in
navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color ...
. # The station is rebranded as
Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadcasting of sports events, covering sport in ...
on 28 March 1994, that replaces educational and children's programmes with a new
rolling news The 24-hour news cycle (or 24/7 news cycle) is 24-hour investigation and reporting of news, concomitant with fast-paced lifestyles. The vast news resources available in recent decades have increased competition for audience and advertiser attent ...
format, whilst retaining the sports programmes from the old service. # Also known as ''TV Times Magazine'' from 3 October 1981; rebranded back to its original ''
TV Times ''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
'' name on 6 October 1984. # From 1956 to 1964, the
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the In ...
originally had their own edition of ''TV Times'' carrying ATV and ABC programme listings, but in a separate weekly magazine called ''TV World'' on 27 September 1964, for the innovative idea of splitting itself 50:50 with a second cover in the middle allowing for the magazine to be folded over to creating both weekend and weekday sections from one publication, before ''TV Times'' went national on 21 September 1968. # Named after the American magazine of the same name that which devoted to latest celebrities and television reviews. It became a monthly publication from 1991, and it was later absorbed by ''Satellite TV Europe'' in 1992. # On 1 September 2021,
Sky One Sky One was a British pay television channel operated and owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). Originally launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, it was Europe's first satellite and non- terrestrial channel. From 31 July 1989, ...
has now ceased broadcasting with all the entertainment shows to be replaced by two new channels,
Sky Showcase Sky Showcase is a British pay television channel which launched on 1 September 2021 along with Sky Max. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a division of American media company Comcast. The channel was announced on 28 July 2021 to replace S ...
and
Sky Max Sky Max is a British pay television channel which launched on 1 September 2021 along with Sky Showcase. It is owned and operated by Sky Group, a subsidiary of Comcast. The channel was announced on 28 July 2021 to replace Sky One, which had been ...
. # The service closed on 8 April 1991 and replaced by
Sky Movies Sky Cinema is a British subscription film service owned by Sky Group (a division of Comcast). In the United Kingdom, Sky Cinema channels currently broadcast on the Sky satellite and Virgin Media cable platforms, and in addition Sky Cinema ...
. # Replaced by
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...
on 20 April 1991. # ''TV Plus'' launched on 1 March 1991 by Hamfield Publications which combines a hybrid
women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of women. Currently published *'' 10 Magazine'' (UK - distributed worldwide) *''Al Jamila'' (Saudi Arabia) *'' All ...
and the full complete seven-day television listings (for BBC, ITV,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
and various
British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
networks) which ran from Friday to Thursday, until the publication was ceased after three issues and it was a shortest-lived weekly listings magazine in
British history The British Isles have witnessed intermittent periods of competition and cooperation between the people that occupy the various parts of Great Britain, the Isle of Man, Ireland, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey and ...
. # Absorbed by
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
on 1 March 1993. # The two consecutive adults-only services – HVC and Adult Channel – were unsuitabled until 19 December 1992. # On 19 August 1994,
Sky Sports 2 Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. I ...
has launched initially as a weekend-only service, which occupies the listings sandwiched between Sky Sports at the top and Eurosport at the bottom. # Between September 1999 and April 2001, the programme section colours returned once again which was placed halfway throughout the double-page spreads vertically that include royal purple for films,
dark orange Dark Orange is an ethereal wave band from Hamburg, Germany and is probably best known for their gothic rendition of Paul Simon's "Sounds of Silence". History Dark Orange's last release with Hyperium Records, "The Sea Is My Soul", taken from ...
for television and
viridian Viridian is a blue-green pigment, a hydrated chromium(III) oxide, of medium saturation and relatively dark in value. It is composed of a majority of green, followed by blue. Specifically, it is a shade of spring green, which places the color b ...
for radio. # Originally launched on 5 November 1982, '' TV Choice'' is the first weekly listings magazine which provide full schedules for all services (
BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
,
BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...
, ITV and
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
) that the publication breached their
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
forcing to be suspended on 1 January 1983, along with revamped and more detailed programme billings until it was eventually vanished without trace.
Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (german: Heinrich Bauer Verlag KG), trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 r ...
revived the title used as a low-price listings magazine from its own stable on 14 September 1999. # On 28 January 2021, a leaked version of the film and publishes online shortly before taken down due to a copyright claim after the BBC sought to have being removed, it was remained available to view on the video-sharing platform
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
and the digital library website
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
. # All of four
VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...
opt-out services from
Radio Scotland Radio Scotland was an offshore pirate radio station broadcasting on 1241 kHz mediumwave (242 metres), created by Tommy Shields in 1965. The station was on the former lightship L.V. ''Comet'', which had been fitted out as a radio station in ...
were ceased broadcasting on 29 January 1993 and the output replaced by local news bulletins throughout each day on 1 February of that year.


Sources


Bibliography

* Tony Currie, ''The Radio Times Story'' (2001, Kelly Publications) * David Driver, ''The Art of Radio Times: The First Sixty Years'' (1981) * Martin Baker, ''The Art of Radio Times: A Golden Age of British Illustration'' * R.D. Usherwood, ''Drawing for Radio Times'' (1961, Bodley Head)


External links

*
BBC – History of the ''Radio Times''

Radio programme about cover art
with gallery * A selection o
Vintage ''Radio Times'' covers

BBC Genome
- ''Radio Times'' listings from 1923 to 2009
Digitized versions
of years 1923 to 1930 and 1936 on the website of th

{{Authority control BBC history BBC publications Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Listings magazines Magazines established in 1923 1923 establishments in the United Kingdom Interwar period United Kingdom in World War II Radio during World War II Radio in the United Kingdom History of television in the United Kingdom Television magazines published in the United Kingdom