In a move that defies logic, TV Guide is no longer going to provide local listings for TV shows. Instead, they are going to a larger format mag that will focus on celebrities and gossip (you can get a black and white edition from TV Guide if you request it). Um, OK. But don't they already publish a large format celeb gossip magazine? Inside TV?
Sure, you can get listings online and even on the TV Guide Channel, but I thought that if anything TV Guide should go even further with their print listings, to really become the ultimate guide to television, with in-depth episode listings.
In other news, Burger King is going to stop selling hamburgers, and the Best Western hotel chain is getting rid of all their rooms because "they just take up so much space."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-26-2005 @ 12:16PM
Tom Biro said...
This might be the dumbest thing I've heard in a while. Perhaps they aren't going to target TV Guide towards females, as they do with Inside TV.
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7-26-2005 @ 12:19PM
Myron said...
Sounds like a good idea to me. The web and cable boxes with program listings make printed program listings obsolete. (I think that's what TV Guide is. I don't believe I've ever seen the inside of one.) But TV Guide is a valuable brand name, so use it to publish some other crap.
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7-26-2005 @ 1:12PM
Man said...
Finally, that last TV Guide that will be somewhat collectable. Sounds like a bad idea I still use the middle pages.
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7-26-2005 @ 1:57PM
B said...
Ohnoes! Now how is my grandmother going to get her TV listings?
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7-26-2005 @ 5:17PM
Jessy Scholl said...
This is a horrible idea since TvGuide is usually the top mag for tv listings. What they done during the past few years is dumb down the listings and write shorter features except for the occsional list. Still everybody likes lists, but they don't do enough to make themselves relvient.
All the mag is as of right now is junk. I hardly read it, and I hardly look at it except for seeing what the latest news is according to Mike Ausilleo, and the latest review by Matt Roush. Even though I still will buy the fall preview and returning favorates issues, I will stick with Entertainment Weekly, the mag that TV Guide wants to be, but can't.
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7-26-2005 @ 7:19PM
Steve Minghini said...
I was loyal subscriber to TV Guide for 25 some years. In recent years, they have elimated large blocks of listing information. In fact, the suplemental guides provided free in weekend newspapers have provided the same or more listings than TV Guide has. For that reason, I failed to renew my subscription to TV Guide this year. I won't pay for something I get better & for free.
For those who need hard copy tv listings, 24/7, try Onsat, geared for satellite users. It has detailed movies & sport listings. But don't look for detailed program info, as the 24/7 listings are presented the same way TV Guide's prime time grid is.
I subscribe to Inside TV now, but delivery on tht is a joke. I am supposed to get issues on Saturday. Since Memorial Day, I have only 2 issues on time. Many arrive Tuesday or Wednesday.I might just cancel that mag too.
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7-26-2005 @ 9:37PM
Mike said...
program listing channels do me little good. They only tell me what's on right now. Not tomorrow, not 6 hours from now, just a tiny little slice of time.
Guess I can stop giving tv guide as a gift to my parents.
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7-27-2005 @ 11:11AM
David F said...
I've been a loyal TV Guide subscriber for nearly 20 years and just last month renewed for another 3 years. Now I am forced to reconsider my decision. The mag is only marginally valuable the way it is right now, and things ain't gettin' any better. What are they thinking, anyway?
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7-27-2005 @ 2:25PM
David T. said...
Ummm when I worked at a newspaper about 7 years ago now, the biggest problem we had was fitting in the tv listings into the weekly book we printed (doesn't everyone's local newspaper do this every Sunday?). Anyway the cable channels were getting so ridiculous we had to change formats to a larger mag and got rid of the short snippets all together. All you got were the charts.
TV Guide is smart to become a "guide" to tv by writing more in depth stories on the shows themselves and trends in the industry. Can't think of any blogs doing that...oh wait...
Anyway, paper and ink are getting more and more expensive. Plus this would cut down on all the regional versions and headaches/logistics/jobs involved saving tons of money. Bravo TV Guide. Changing with technology is a good thing. Why stay the same and lose money/go out of business just for nostalgia and grandma and grandpa?
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