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It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

Re: TV GUIDE HAS LOST THEIR MINDS!!!!

>
> I always liked the fact that TV Guide had the most accurate,
> 24/7 printed listings. The 24/7 listings were done away
> with last year. There is not even a Channels Listed page in
> most editions anymore. I also always liked the fact that
> most editions covered several markets and it was easy to
> compare what the stations in each market were doing.

In fairness, who outside of these types of boards cared though? I remember seeing NY listings in Philly as a kid, and couldn't have cared less when New York stations were running my favorite shows... THAT was a waste of space.
>
> I simply don't see why TV Guide thinks being an almost soley
> entertainment magazine is going to help them out,
> circulation-wise. There are already a ton of entertainment
> or entertainment-related magazines out there.

Because to NOT change will do nothing for the circ numbers either.

I wrote to TV
> Guide within the last year complaining about the changes
> they had made up to that point, and I told them if I wanted
> "Entertainment Weekly" I would subscribe to EW. I, of
> course, got no response.
>
> It's the end of an era.
>
Indeed, and that's sad. But all eras end eventually.
 
Re: TV GUIDE HAS LOST THEIR MINDS!!!!

You probably have a point. The average viewer probably doesn't give a rip about what programs that stations are airing in a neighboring market. That was basically a fringe benefit of TV Guide to those of us who were interested.

TV Guide's circulation has been declining for years. TV Guide has also been dumbing down its magazine, particularly the listings section, for years. I think the two are probably connected. TV Guide's decline started well before on-screen program grids and internet program listings took hold. Granted, on-screen program guides and internet listings were the nail in the coffin. However, instead of trying to come up with innovative ways to compete with the new sources for listings that viewers had (other than TV Guide buying Prevue and transforming it into the TV Guide Channel, which I can't stand to watch), TV Guide has trimmed itself back and inflated the price, and tried to pass off these changes to the readers as "improvements." Even with these "improvements," the circulation continues to decline. TV Guide claims it's basing its coming makeover on research. Well, their "research" in the past would seem to be terribly inaccurate. I doubt it will be any different this time around. I doubt that TV Guide, in any form, will be with us much longer.

Perhaps TV Guide should have recognized that many of its readers are not merely the mindless (BLEEP) who read "Entertainment Weekly" or "People." Maybe instead of TV Guide dumbing down its magazine to the lowest common denominator, they could have marketed the magazine to a slightly more elite crowd. I think TV Guide will find that the competition is a lot more stiff in the entertainment magazine business than in the TV listings business. We'll see how it goes.
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> This was bound to happen
htt> p://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050726/ap_on_en_tv/tv_guide_revamp
>
Based on my own experiences, I know the feelings of frustration among the groups most likely to be out of a job at TV Guide as a result of this change. Been there, done that, and wouldn't wish it on anyone. That, I think, is far more important than whether or not people will get their listings for ESPN and Lifetime online, on their cable box or in the newspaper. Good luck to all.

That said, from a business standpoint, I can't imagine there is a viable way to continue making money printing listings anymore. As the audience continues to fragment, and viewing options multiply and shift to on-demand viewing, the concept of listings the way there were done for 40 years doesn't make sense.

Whether or not the listings are in a black and white format seems like a meaningless distinction. They'll continue in other formats--this is an evolution, not a complete death of something. The focus should be on making the listings useful and accurate, wherever they reside.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> >
> I lived in about a half-dozen different cities when I was
> growing up, had relatives in North Carolina and Florida who
> knew about my interest in television and would send me their
>
> local editions, and my dad traveled the country and brought
> back the local edition(s) from wherever he'd been that week.
>
> Consequently, I always enjoyed comparing different markets
> and what the local stations were doing.
>
> But now, without the channel charts, I hardly know what
> stations I'm looking at, plus the listings have been
> truncated
> (no late-night, nothing before 9 AM on weekends, "various
> programs"
> throughout the daytime grids). And now, no more local
> editions.
> I have one subscription left, to an out-of-state edition,
> and I may get rid of it before it runs out in March.
>
> One suggestion, however. You can make your own TV Guide by
> going to www.titantv.com. There you can put together any
> combination
> of stations, anywhere in the country, that you want.
>
> In the meantime, I feel a part of my life is ending.
> Remember
> when TV Guide was 15 cents and you got plenty of information
> about
> the workings of the industry, as well as listings from
> several
> markets in one book? Getting TV Guide was the highlight of
> my
> week in the '60s and '70s. Now it's what, $2.49? And
> mostly
> pictures. I can walk right past it in the store and not
> bother
> to look at it.
>
I too collected out of market TV guides for 20-25 years up until last year. I have over 100 different editions and the key star attraction to me was always the channels listed page. Whenever I went to a new TV guide market, I would purchase a new guide and do a little comparison. That ended last year when TVG took away the channels listed page. I recently moved to a new area and looked to TVG for guidance settling in to my new home. Instead, it was just a jumbled list of channels that may or may not be available. Sad. An old friend let me down.

It truly is an end of an era for me. Maybe everyone is right....maybe time and technology did pass TVG by and they chose to react by (1) Not reacting and then (2) Over reacting. Maybe it is best to shoot it in the head once and for all and be done with it. Truth is, TVG died long ago. It's just taken this long to write the Obit.
 
Re: TV GUIDE HAS LOST THEIR MINDS!!!!

> You probably have a point. The average viewer probably
> doesn't give a rip about what programs that stations are
> airing in a neighboring market. That was basically a fringe
> benefit of TV Guide to those of us who were interested.
>
> TV Guide's circulation has been declining for years. TV
> Guide has also been dumbing down its magazine, particularly
> the listings section, for years. I think the two are
> probably connected. TV Guide's decline started well before
> on-screen program grids and internet program listings took
> hold. Granted, on-screen program guides and internet
> listings were the nail in the coffin. However, instead of
> trying to come up with innovative ways to compete with the
> new sources for listings that viewers had (other than TV
> Guide buying Prevue and transforming it into the TV Guide
> Channel, which I can't stand to watch), TV Guide has trimmed
> itself back and inflated the price, and tried to pass off
> these changes to the readers as "improvements." Even with
> these "improvements," the circulation continues to decline.
> TV Guide claims it's basing its coming makeover on research.
> Well, their "research" in the past would seem to be
> terribly inaccurate. I doubt it will be any different this
> time around. I doubt that TV Guide, in any form, will be
> with us much longer.
>
> Perhaps TV Guide should have recognized that many of its
> readers are not merely the mindless (BLEEP) who read
> "Entertainment Weekly" or "People." Maybe instead of TV
> Guide dumbing down its magazine to the lowest common
> denominator, they could have marketed the magazine to a
> slightly more elite crowd. I think TV Guide will find that
> the competition is a lot more stiff in the entertainment
> magazine business than in the TV listings business. We'll
> see how it goes.
>
The key will indeed be to see how the new "front" section does. If "Inside TV"--the full-size spinoff they launched--is any indication, it'll be a disaster.

The parallels in the way the front section has become fluffier seems, to me anyway, to parallel culture in general. Why are there an increasing number of celebrity and gossib rags, in addition to the traditional tabloids--and why does the combined circulation go up, in total as a category, year over year?

People want it.

It's easy to blame networks, publishers, station owners or anyone else for the decline in [fill in the blank: news, movies, TV, books, magazines, art....]. But at the end of the day, this is what people order. Media is a business, and business owners are by and large responsible to the shareholders. It's easy to say so-and-so should take the high road, but that's playing with someone else's money.

If I knew covers of scantily clad blondes from sci-fi shows sell more covers than an in-depth look at a compelling new edition of Masterpiece Theater, which one would I run? Of course I'd pick the blonde. And I'd pick it week after week if my job was to increase circulation. Just being honest.

There are those who follow a different course, and do well with it. To them, all sincere congratulations and kudos. Maybe I'm turning slightly conservative in my view of a free market economy, but I don't fault those who are trying to do what they need to to maximize revenues. If WE as a society change what we buy, the rest will follow. WE're to blame.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> I would think TV Guide, even if eliminating local editions,
> would have to print four time-zone specific editions
> (Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific), more if you
> include Alaska and Hawaii.
Not at all. You just print an ET/CT listing in the east coast and MT/PT for the west.

> It's also interesting to note that the change will take
> place in October. Perhaps they wanted to print one last Fall
> Preview issue (sometime in early-to-mid-September) with the
> "old" format of extensive local program listings. The Fall
> Preview is TV Guide's biggest issue of the year (in terms of
> number of pages) and traditionaly the magazine's
> biggest-selling single issue of the year.

Or perhaps that's when, for such a drastic business change, they can make the change in all aspects of the production and distribution.
>
> As regards the issue of fewer places to get printed TV
> listings, it's not just TV Guide.
>
> It's harder to get printed TV listings anywhere.
Because it's not practical to try to list all of the channels now available.

> Printed TV listings may be a memory within a year or two.
>
> And I personally think it's a shame because of all those
> channels out there, people might find comprehensive printed
> listings very helpful.
Comprehensive printed listings for roughly 200 channels would necessitate printing a phone book each week. Prohibitively expensive and not user friendly.

>
> TV Guide has dropped the ball.
>
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> My TV Guide subscription runs out in October...how
> convenient!
>

Mine too. I looked today and my subscription runs out on Oct. 16th. I know for sure I won't be renewing my subscription.
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> More than likely, depending on each market area, this is
> going benefit the local newspaper TV weeklies (which,
> depending on the newspaper, are mostly second-rate).

The Dallas Morning News' "TV Week" blows TV Guide out of the water.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

Zap2it.com lets you look at listings by zip code also...you can also choose "local channels only" so you don't have to go through the cable channels that are the same everywhere.
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> > More than likely, depending on each market area, this is
> > going benefit the local newspaper TV weeklies (which,
> > depending on the newspaper, are mostly second-rate).
>
> The Dallas Morning News' "TV Week" blows TV Guide out of the
> water.
>

The Memphis Commercial Appeal has recently improved their Sunday TV section to where it is better than TV Guide now as well.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> > > > TV Guide has dropped the ball.
> > > >
> > >
> > > I couldn't agree more about the whole case reguarding TV
>
> > > Guide. And you think TV Guide is bad, check out the TV
> > Guide
> > > Channel. Useless TV programming, like "Seeing Stars"
> like
> > > h*ll I wouldn't. Besides, I'll just surf the web and go
> to
> > a
> > > site like Zap2it.com or the AOL TV Listings.
> > >
> > > I think,in my opinion,Inside TV Magazine will pass the
> TV
> > Listings Torch when TV Guide:)()dies!
> >
> I lived in about a half-dozen different cities when I was
> growing up, had relatives in North Carolina and Florida who
> knew about my interest in television and would send me their
>
> local editions, and my dad traveled the country and brought
> back the local edition(s) from wherever he'd been that week.
>
> Consequently, I always enjoyed comparing different markets
> and what the local stations were doing.
>
> But now, without the channel charts, I hardly know what
> stations I'm looking at, plus the listings have been
> truncated
> (no late-night, nothing before 9 AM on weekends, "various
> programs"
> throughout the daytime grids). And now, no more local
> editions.
> I have one subscription left, to an out-of-state edition,
> and I may get rid of it before it runs out in March.
>
> One suggestion, however. You can make your own TV Guide by
> going to www.titantv.com. There you can put together any
> combination
> of stations, anywhere in the country, that you want.
>
> In the meantime, I feel a part of my life is ending.
> Remember
> when TV Guide was 15 cents and you got plenty of information
> about
> the workings of the industry, as well as listings from
> several
> markets in one book? Getting TV Guide was the highlight of
> my
> week in the '60s and '70s. Now it's what, $2.49? And
> mostly
> pictures. I can walk right past it in the store and not
> bother
> to look at it.
>

Off the rack TV Guide is normally $2.49 except for "special" editions which can run up to $2.99. No "special" issue I've seen deserves to have a price of $2.99 except for possibly the Fall Preview. If it wasn't for the subscription deals I got at 25 or 50 cents an issue in the last few years, I would have quit them a long time before now. I think that it's perfect timing that my current subscription runs out on October 16th. Like I said earlier I won't be renewing again, no matter how cheap they make it.
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

If I may be permitted a tongue in cheek comment ...

> > My TV Guide subscription runs out in October...how
> > convenient!
> >
>
> Mine too. I looked today and my subscription runs out on
> Oct. 16th. I know for sure I won't be renewing my
> subscription.

... obviously TVG checked the end dates of your subscriptions when they decided when to take this step toward oblivion!
<P ID="signature">______________


</P>
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> The Dallas Morning News' "TV Week" blows TV Guide out of the
> water.

I'll agree with this, as well.

It also serves as a reminder that a printed TV listing does serve a purpose even in the era of online guides. Sometimes it is more convenient to just grab the "TV Week" to see what is coming on, rather than pulling up online listings.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> Remember
> when TV Guide was 15 cents and you got plenty of information
> about
> the workings of the industry, as well as listings from
> several
> markets in one book? Getting TV Guide was the highlight of
> my
> week in the '60s and '70s.

Yeah, I remember that, albeit at a higher price (25 cents) in the mid-to-late seventies. The TV Guide of that era was filled with good information and articles about the industry, with subjects covered including everything from celebrity interviews to a serious analysis of conflict in network/affiliate relations. I looked forward to reading it every week, as well.

However, after Rupert Murdoch bought TV Guide, the articles started trending exclusively to celebrity gossip and other fluff, and it just became less interesting to read. And while the argument will be made that they were just responding to what the market wanted, I can't help but note that is also the time when TV Guide began its steady circulation decline. So it seems like the efforts to dumb down the content to make it more appealing actually had the opposite effect.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> For those of you who like look at listings in other markets,
> I'd suggest tv.yahoo.com. (I just rediscovered it a few
> months ago; in its infancy, it was pathetic.) Not only can
> you get cable/satellite listings for your individual zip
> code, but it will give you an alternative of choosing
> broadcast listings from markets within several hundred miles
> of that zip.
----------
That site is terrible. I have never been able to access listings, because I keep hitting error pages claiming that the listings I have chosen are not valid. I don't even touch that site because it is a library of error pages. I like Zap2it, although it does have limitations on what channels you can include in your personalized listings...there are two channels available where I live that Zap2it doesn't list as being available here, so I can't add them. TV Guide had online listings at one time that were rather good from my recollection, but they made them inaccessable to non-subscribers, so that was the end of that. TitanTV is no good for me living in Canada.
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> Sometimes
> it is more convenient to just grab [a copy of the paper's latest] "TV Week" to see what
> is coming on, rather than pulling up online listings.
>

Agreed -- also, the paper guides are practically always available, while their server and your internet service would occasionally go on the fritz. Also, try taking a computer to the bathroom or storing it in the pocket on your La-Z-Boy.

The only thing the online guides are good for is if last-minute changes are made -- other than that, I generally turn to the paper first.

With TVG now out of the printed local listings business (and I have a feeling their online and TVG Channel counterparts won't bode well, either), I have a feeling that TVG will have a competitor soon, to fill the gaps left open by TVG. This wouldn't be the first time TVG was challenged nationally -- remember Time's ill-fated TV magazine (forgot the title) that lasted only a few weeks? This time, though, whoever steps to the plate will have the tables turned.
 
Re: TV Guide and TV Listings

> > Remember
> > when TV Guide was 15 cents...
>
> Yeah, I remember that, albeit at a higher price (25 cents)
> in the mid-to-late seventies.

As a matter of fact, in the mid-1970s, TVG would apologise each time they hiked up their cover price, from 15c to 20c, then 25c, etc.

By the time Murdoch took over, they hiked their cover prices while saying "Who cares?"
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

Could these changes have been in the works for many months, and that TV Guide decided that NO subscriptions to their magazine would go past October 16th, 2005??
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

Are you kidding? Why would they engineer it so that they had ZERO subscribers following their relaunch? Sorry, my sub goes deep into next year. I think they were actually depending on people renewing at that insane 25 cent-an-issue rate (I admit it, I was sucked in, even though the magazine is a shell of its former self), so that they'd have a built-in guaranteed subscriber rate for the new mag going into 2006.

> Could these changes have been in the works for many months,
> and that TV Guide decided that NO subscriptions to their
> magazine would go past October 16th, 2005??
>
 
Re: It's official: TV Guide will drop local editions and be relaunched as 'new' magazine October 17th!

> Could these changes have been in the works for many months,
> and that TV Guide decided that NO subscriptions to their
> magazine would go past October 16th, 2005??
>

I just renewed, and now I'm paid to 8/13/06. Wish I'd known, or I wouldn't have bothered.
 
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