Radio Times Gets Revamp For Digital Age

The Radio Times, the BBC’s long-running weekly television and radio programme listings magazine, has undergone a makeover in an effort to boost flagging sales.

According to publisher BBC Magazines, the new look offering, which is in retail outlets from today, has been redesigned to give readers the “UK’s best-ever guide to digital TV and radio, with top-quality listings, recommendations, reviews and features”.

‘Must-see TV at a glance’ is a key focus for the new-look listings pages. Each day now has two pages of listings devoted to the five main channels, plus nine key digital channels.

Those wanting more in-depth guidance can turn to a further six pages of listings, covering 70 digital channels, which apparently offers “the best, and most detailed, digital information of any listings magazine in the country”.

The magazine has increased its listings pages by an extra 14 pages, with other new features including dedicated genre pages for Sport, Music, Soaps and Living, plus revamped Film, TV and Radio sections, authored by industry experts including Barry Norman, Alan Titchmarsh, Stuart Maconie and Andrew Collins.

There is also a new ‘RT Recommends’, which has now expanded to include an at-a-glance film planner featuring the week’s best movies and all the premieres.

New-look radio listings are also amongst the new features, which bring FM and digital stations together with two pages per day devoted to 15 stations, and now categorised by genre.

“Radio Times was the UK’s first-ever listings magazine when it launched in 1923 and has remained the UK’s most successful magazine brand ever since through a constant process of reevaluation and adaptation,” said editor Gill Hudson.

“In 2007 we are now a truly multi-platform brand, across print, online, TV and mobile. As the UK gears up for digital switchover, our latest changes will ensure that readers get the easiest-to-use and best possible guidance to the potentially overwhelming choices now available.”

Since the turn of the new millennium, the listings bible’s circulation has shown a steady picture of decline. For the period July to December 2000, the title recorded an ABC of more than 1.2 million. That figure has since dropped, now standing at around 18,000 copies short of 1.1 million for July to December 2006.

Radio Times: www.radiotimes.com