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''TV Times'' is a British
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 advertisin ...
listings magazine published by
Future plc Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...
. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by
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 ...
in 1989, which became Time Inc. UK in 2014. Prior to 28 February 1991, it was the only source of seven-day listings for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
and later,
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
(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 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 ...
, its nearest rival was ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') 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 J ...
'' – owned then by the
BBC #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. ...
...
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 ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
station,
Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...
. Initially, the magazine was published only in the
London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
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 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
and its
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 peop ...
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 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 ...
on 1 March 1991, ''TV Times'' began carrying listings for the
BBC #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. ...
...
's television channels which, up to that point, had only been printed in the BBC's official listings magazine, ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') 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 J ...
''. On 11 February 2006, the magazine was refreshed for a more modern look including the double-page highlights of programmes on all channels as well as
radio Radio is the technology of 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 transmit ...
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 ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') 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 J ...
'', ''
TV & Satellite Week ''TV & Satellite Week'' is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing. Its focus is on quality dramas, comedy and documentaries, films and sport. ''TV & Satellite Week'' belongs to Future Publishing's ...
'' and ''
What's on TV ''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC. Overview ''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...
''. The changes included a return of radio schedules to the magazine after a 16-year absence.


Regional editions

Until 21 September 1968, several of the regional ITV companies produced their own listings magazines: 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 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 an ...
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: Every local ITV station originally had its own version, but since 2006 as they have been only four editions:


''TV World''

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 Ind ...
originally had their own edition of ''TV Times'' listing ATV and
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
programmes. A separate listings magazine called ''TV World'' was published from 27 September 1964, with the innovative idea of splitting itself 50:50 with a second cover in the middle allowing for the magazine to be folded over to create both a weekend and a weekday section from one publication. ''TV Times'' went national (except for the Channel Islands) from 21 September 1968.


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

Channel Television ITV Channel Television, previously Channel Television, is a British television station which has served as the ITV contractor for the Channel Islands since 1962. It is based in Jersey and broadcasts regional programme for insertion into the ...
published its own listings magazine ''Channel Viewer'' on 1 September 1962, followed by a relaunch as ''Channel Television Times'' in 1971 and then later shortened to ''CTV Times'' until 25 October 1991 as it was feared that the company might cease trading without the revenue from its own magazine.


''Sbec''

S4C launched its own pull-out weekly listings supplement magazine ''Sbec'' on 1 November 1982, distributed free with the
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
edition of ''TV Times''. It contained full details of 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 peop ...
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 ide ...
.
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
's programmes were also included.


See also

* ''
Look-in ''Look-in'' was a children's magazine centred on ITV's television programmes in the United Kingdom, and subtitled "The Junior ''TVTimes''". It ran from 9 January 1971 to 12 March 1994.TV Times website

TV Times Index Project (TVTip) – Database of TV Times listings 1955 – 1985
{{DEFAULTSORT:TvTimes 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom Listings magazines Magazines established in 1955 Magazines published in London Television magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom