It seems to me - and I think I might email RT's editor to mention it - that actually the ridiculous contraction to daytime listings could be misleading. Someone looking at a column which says "6am CBeebies, 7am CBBC..." could be forgiven for thinking that this is a simulcast of the CBeebies channel for an hour, followed by a simulcast of the CBBC channel for the rest of the morning, especially when those channels are granted full listings - well, perhaps not 'full', but certainly complete listings (albeit several pages away!!).
Nowhere in RT does it indicate that those sequences on BBC Two are different childrens programmes, you need pre-existing knowledge for that.
Like all the above posters, I think this is a catastrophic re-launch, once again squeezing the listings info, especially about the main five channels, in favour of yet more space for pointless 'choices'. Give me full listings info so I can make my OWN choices, it's not that much to ask!
Can't help feeling they're now sending out generic replies...
Thank you for your email about Radio Times and our new listings layout.
We are sorry to hear that you are disappointed with the new look.
Whenever we make changes to our listings pages, we know that there will be an impact on our readers whilst they get used to them. We therefore make changes rarely, only when we perceive a clear need that should be addressed and when we have researched our proposed solutions. As access to digital TV is becoming widespread, an ever increasing proportion of our readers has access to a plethora of viewing and listening options, and consolidating our choices coverage into one place enables our readers to access easily the best that is available to them on that day. Radio Times has always not just informed readers of what is on, but also guided our readers to the best in broadcasting.
In changing the choices, the daytime listings have moved onto the evening spread. For many of our readers, having the full day's output for the five main channels on one double page spread is an attractive option, but we understand that others will take time to adjust to the new look.
Radio Times has always set great store by reader feedback, so thank you for letting us know your views. As a result of feedback from yourself and other readers, we have made some changes this week to improve the legibility of daytime listings. These include increasing the font size on programme titles; including Videoplus numbers on key programmes in the morning; and adjusting the colour tint on the daytime panel.
From the following issue we will also put the Freeview EPG numbers back into the channel headers; and include director and year of production details on all Film4 movies throughout the day.
All of these changes have been made as a result of reader feedback. Whilst it is impossible to please everyone, all of the time, we are determined to continue to deliver the best possible listings magazine to our loyal readers and we will try to accommodate as many of your suggestions as we can.
We remain committed to producing the most intelligent and comprehensive guide to TV and Radio and we are still the only magazine to give radio listings in full detail (including local radio and radio from the nations).
Thank you once again for contacting us. We hope that the changes we are making as a result of your feedback address some of your concerns and that you will continue to enjoy Radio Times.
I'm glad they're putting the freeview numbers back, why take them out, I don't instantly recall channel 7 when I see BBC3
and scrap the two pages of choices we're not so dumb we need somebody else to tell us what to watch, I doubt you'll all watch Outnumbered just because I like to watch it so why assume you'll watch what they recommend
I've discovered I can happily exist without Radio Times now, and I don't miss being told that Mad Men is the best thing on TV, or looking to see which of this week's films has the word 'visceral' in the description (I'm sure a sub-editor has a bet with someone to use that word every week).
Who'd have thought 2 months ago it would still be as bad, it's even worse with alternative schedules now due to the World Cup. Good to see the new editor has listened to peoples opinions.
In his editorial, this week, Ben Preston said something along the lines of "how difficult" it was for the listing team to give out alternative schedules for the football. Well, Ben, it might be a bit easier for them if they actually had some space to do it in!!
Surely they could have put a column on the "Pick of the Day" pages for the alternative schedules, especially as they don't know what the two biggest channels are airing so isn't a lot to pick from there.
At the lower end of the market annoyed TV Easy have ditched their Pick of the Day and kept the evening planner instead. They used to be quite quirky with their Pick of the Days rather than just reprinting the how the broadcasters want to sell the shows. Another mag which used to be a bit quirky in it's show descriptions was TV Quick - I know they're closing that, so is it still on the shelves or has it gone already?
Surely they could have put a column on the "Pick of the Day" pages for the alternative schedules, especially as they don't know what the two biggest channels are airing so isn't a lot to pick from there.
At the lower end of the market annoyed TV Easy have ditched their Pick of the Day and kept the evening planner instead. They used to be quite quirky with their Pick of the Days rather than just reprinting the how the broadcasters want to sell the shows. Another mag which used to be a bit quirky in it's show descriptions was TV Quick - I know they're closing that, so is it still on the shelves or has it gone already?
TV Quick is still on the shelves - I got it today mainly because they usually have Corrie on it. When is it supposed to be closing? Cant say im surprised tho as it caters for mainly the same market as TV Easy/Whats on TV and they are more than 30p cheaper. Then again TV Quick has more in depth interviews thatn TV Choice/Quick which is another reason I quite like it apart from its frequent Corrie covers!
Can't believe TV Choice is the biggest seller. Yes, at 40p it's the cheapest, but I think compared to What's on TV and TV Easy, which are both less than 50p, it's nowhere near as good IMO - and the listings especially are pretty poorly laid out.