TVTimes

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TV Times
Tvtimes.jpg
TV Times logo from 1999 to 2016
EditorClaire Ruck
Categories TV listings magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Circulation 197,153 (ABC Jan – Jun 2016) [1] (Print and digital editions)
First issue22 September 1955
Company
  • Associated Rediffusion (1955–1959)
  • TV Publications Ltd (1959–1968)
  • Independent Television Publications (1968–1989)
  • TI Media (formerly IPC Media and Time Inc. UK) (1989–2020)
  • Future plc (2020–present)
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based in London
Language British English
Website www.whatsontv.co.uk/tv-times/
ISSN 0962-1660

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 became Time Inc. UK in 2014. [2]

Contents

Prior to 28 February 1991, it was the only source of seven-day listings for ITV and later, Channel 4 (includes S4C in Wales). The magazine was first published in 1955, but did not circulate nationally until 1968 as some (usually smaller) regional stations opted to produce their own listings publications. Until the market was deregulated, its nearest rival was Radio Times – owned then by the BBC and at the time the only source of weekly BBC television and radio schedules. However the two magazines were very different in character, and viewers wanting the full listings for the coming week were required to purchase both publications.

It also used the branding for several broadcast spin-offs on ITV, often include the Miss TV Times and The TV Times Awards during the 1970s and 1980s.

Publication

TV Times was launched on 22 September 1955, with the start of transmissions of the first ITV station, Associated-Rediffusion. Initially, the magazine was published only in the London area, carrying listings for Associated-Rediffusion (Rediffusion, London from 1964) on weekdays and ATV at weekends, but regional editions began to appear covering those ITV regional companies which did not opt to establish their own listings magazines. TV Times became a national magazine (except for the Channel Islands) from 21 September 1968.

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

On 15 March 2022, the television listings were given a refreshed layout which is similar to Radio Times , TV & Satellite Week and What's on TV . The changes included a return of radio schedules to the magazine after a 16-year absence.

TV Times Awards

The awards were held annually to celebrate best in British television as nominations and winners are entirely chosen by its readers. [4]

Regional editions

Until 21 September 1968, several of the regional ITV companies produced their own listings magazines:

Magazine name ITV region
TV Times
TV Guide STV (until 13 May 1962)
Television Weekly
  • TWW (until 1964)
  • TWW  Teledu Cymru (1964–1968)
  • ITSWW (4 March – 19 May 1968)
  • Harlech (from 20 May 1968)
Wales West and North Television (14 September 1962 – 26 January 1964)
TV World(27 September 1964 – 20 September 1968)
The Viewer
  • Tyne Tees
  • STV (13 May 1962 – September 1965)
TV Post Ulster Television
Look Westward Westward Television
Channel Viewer Channel Television

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

On 1 March 1991, TV Times published BBC1 and BBC2 programme listings for the first time, which also mirrored the 11 regional editions generally referred to by the ITV company's name, rather than geographical area:

BBC regionITV region
BBC Northern Ireland Ulster
BBC Scotland STV   Grampian
BBC North East Tyne Tees   Border
BBC North Yorkshire
BBC North West Granada
BBC Wales   BBC West HTV
BBC West Midlands   BBC East Midlands Central
BBC East Anglia
BBC South East
  • Thames   LWT (until 31 December 1992)
  • Carlton   LWT (from 1 January 1993)
BBC South
BBC South West

Every local ITV station originally had its own version, but since 2006 as they have been only four editions:

Regional areaChannels
England All 13 BBC and 10 ITV regions in England, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland

TV World

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

Channel Viewer / CTV Times

Channel Television published its own listings magazine Channel Viewer on 1 September 1962, followed by a relaunch as Channel Television Times in 1971 and then later shortened to CTV Times until 25 October 1991 as it was feared that the company might cease trading without the revenue from its own magazine. [5]

Sbec

S4C launched its own pull-out weekly listings supplement magazine Sbec on 1 November 1982, distributed free with the Wales edition of TV Times. It contained full details of schedules in both Welsh and English. Channel 4's programmes were also included.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV (TV network)</span> TV network in the United Kingdom

ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition and reduce the current monopoly to the then BBC Television. ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time: BBC One, BBC Two, and Channel 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ABC Weekend TV</span> Former ITV service for Midlands & North England

ABC Weekend TV was the popular name of the British broadcaster ABC Television Limited, which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of the "Big Four" companies that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes during this period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV Channel Television</span> ITV service for the Channel Islands

ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the network ITV schedule. Until November 2011, Channel Television was one of four ITV companies independent from ITV plc alongside the two STV regions in Scotland and UTV in Northern Ireland. The station has been owned by ITV plc since 2012 and the licence was transferred to ITV Broadcasting Limited in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ITV1</span> British free-to-air television channel

ITV1 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for the central and northern areas of Scotland where STV provides the service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Associated Television</span> Former ITV service for London and the Midlands

Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and to the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982. It was one of the "Big Four" until 1968, and the "Big Five" after 1968, that between them produced the majority of ITV networked programmes. In 1982, ATV was restructured and rebranded as Central Independent Television, under which name it continued to provide the service for the Midlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Television</span> Former ITV weekday service for London

Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broadcast from 9:25 Monday morning to 5:15 Friday afternoon at which time it would hand over to London Weekend Television (LWT).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London Weekend Television</span> ITV weekend service for London

London Weekend Television (LWT) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm to Monday mornings at 6:00. From 1968 until 1992, when LWT's weekday counterpart was Thames Television, there was an on-screen handover to LWT on Friday nights. From 1993 to 2002, when LWT's weekday counterpart was Carlton Television, the transfer usually occurred invisibly during a commercial break, for Carlton and LWT shared studio and transmission facilities.

<i>Radio Times</i> British weekly listings magazine for radio and television

Radio Times is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by John Reith, then general manager of the British Broadcasting Company, it was the world's first broadcast listings magazine.

The history of ITV, the United Kingdom "Independent Television" commercial network, goes back to 1955.

ITV Schools was the educational television service set up in 1957 by the Independent Television Authority, broadcasting learning programmes for children ages 5 to 18 across ITV-affiliated stations. It was an example of public service broadcasting on a commercial television network.

In the 1960s and 1970s, an envisioned fourth UK television service was popularly referred to as ITV2, before the launch of Channel 4 in November 1982.

This is a timeline of the history of the British television network ITV.

This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster Television South West (TSW) and its predecessor Westward Television. Between them, they provided the ITV service for the South West of England from 1961 to 1992.

This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster Channel Television. It provides the ITV service for the Channel Islands.

This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster London Weekend Television. It has provided the ITV weekend service for London since 1968.

This is a timeline of the history of the former British television broadcaster ATV. It provided the ITV service for London at weekends and the Midlands on weekdays from 1955 to 1968, and for the Midlands all week from 1968 to 1982.

This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster Thames Television and its predecessor Associated-Rediffusion. Between them, they provided the ITV weekday service for London from 1955 to 1992, after which Thames continued as an independent production company until 2003.

This is a timeline of television in London.

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References

  1. "ABC Certificates and Reports: TV Times". Audit Bureau of Circulations . Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  2. Devitt, Maureen. "Scottish Television profit 21% brighter". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  3. "The TV-Listings Market: The Duopoly Strikes Back". The Economist . 2 February 1991. p. 53.
  4. "TV TIMES Awards 2022". Birminghamworld. 15 October 2022.
  5. "Not the TVTimes - Schedules - Transdiffusion Broadcasting System".