Radio Times
British TV and radio listings magazine launched in 1923 and published by The BBC's commercial arm. For a time in the 1970s and 1980s, it had the highest circulation of any magazine in the United Kingdom. This was because at that time TV listings for a longer period in advance than a single day were monopolised by the TV networks' official publications - the Radio Times for the BBC and TV Times for the commercial channels. In 1990 the law was changed to require the channels to supply advance schedule information to anybody who wanted to publish them, leading to many competing TV listings magazines being created.
Although no longer the best-selling listings magazine, the Radio Times remains the most respected and the most upmarket, as seen in its choice of cover stories. While ITV's TV Times and its other rivals feature soap operas on their covers almost every week, RT gives prime space to documentaries, serious drama and even (occasionally) radio shows. Oh, and since the 2005 revival, Doctor Who. A lot. It also scores over its rivals in featuring extensive cast lists, and even selected crew credits, for most homemade BBC programmes and many imports. And let's not forget that it continues to justify its title by providing the most comprehensive set of listings for Britain's national radio networks.
Other Listings Magazines Are Available is the famous disclaimer The BBC have to use when advertising it on TV.
Comedians (especially on radio) often reference the fact that the modern Radio Times has much more to do with TV listings than radio. On I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, it was claimed that the magazine was in fact named after "Theradio Times" (pronounced "Theh-rah-dio Teem-es"), the ancient Greek inventor of TV listings.
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