Radio Times

This article is about the UK listings magazine. For the US radio series, see Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. For the defunct Australian magazine, see Radio Times (Australia). For the radio station, see Times Radio.

Radio Times
The 2005 Christmas double issue (dated 17–30 December) with cover illustration by Mark Thomas of Doctor Who's TARDIS in a snow globe
CategoriesTV and radio listings magazine
FrequencyWeekly
Circulation497,852 (July–December 2020)[1]
First issue28 September 1923; 101 years ago (1923-09-28)
Company
CountryUnited Kingdom
Based inLondon, England
Language
Websitewww.radiotimes.com Edit this at Wikidata
ISSN0033-8060

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 September 1923 by John Reith, then general manager of the British Broadcasting Company (from 1 January 1927, the British Broadcasting Corporation), it was the world's first broadcast listings magazine.[2] Consequently, in September 2023 it became the first broadcast listings magazine to reach and then pass its centenary.[3]

It was published entirely in-house by BBC Magazines from 8 January 1937[4] until 16 August 2011, when the division was merged into Immediate Media Company.[5][6][7] On 12 January 2017, Immediate Media was bought by the German media group Hubert Burda.[8]

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 1969, a 14-day double-duration issue has been published each December containing schedules for two weeks of programmes. Originally this covered Christmas Day and New Year's Day, but on some occasions those have each appeared in separate editions due to the two-week period ending just before the New Year.

  1. ^ "ABC Certificates and Reports: Radio Times". Audit Bureau of Circulations. Retrieved 18 April 2021.
  2. ^ Currie, Tony (2001). The Radio Times Story. Kelly Publishing. ISBN 978-1903053096.
  3. ^ "Radio Times at 100: Magazine still 'highly profitable' fuelled by subscriptions". Press Gazette. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  4. ^ "The history of Radio Times". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  5. ^ Sweney, Mark (16 August 2011). "BBC Worldwide agrees £121m magazine sell-off". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Preston, Peter (11 March 2012). "What price the Radio Times? Only private equity can tell us". The Guardian.
  7. ^ Chapman, Matthew (11 April 2012). "Radio Times hires Hello! ad director". Media Week.
  8. ^ "German media group buys Radio Times". 12 January 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2019.