The History of Radio Times magazine began in 1923 when the BBC's first director general John Reith conceived of publishing a magazine dedicated solely to radio listings. Originally a joint project between the BBC and George Newnes Ltd, the BBC took over editorial control by 1925 and fully ran it in-house by 1937. Radio Times grew popular as one of the leading magazines of its time featuring prominent writers and illustrators. It became the world's first television listings magazine in 1936. Modern printing methods in the 1980s allowed for more color in Radio Times, and its popularity increased when the 1988 Christmas edition broke the British magazine record as the biggest selling issue ever.

1. The History of Radio Times
Radio timescomearoundin1923.JohnReithwho wasthe BBC’sfirst directorgeneral,conceivedthe
idea ofthe BBCpublishingitsownmagazine purely forand dedicatedto radiolistings.It came toour
newsstandsonthe28th
September1923.
George NewnesLtdwasinitiallyjoint withtheBBCto create radiotimes.Soonin1925theBBCtook
onthe editorialcontrolandby 1937they wererunningit in-housethemselves.By thistime the
magazine hadgrewinpopularityasoneofthe leadingmagazinesforincludingthe biggestwriters
andillustratorsofthe day.
From 1928Radio timesannounceda regularseriesof‘experimentalTVtransmissionsby theBaird
process’ for30minuteseachmorning, Radio timeswasjust aboutradio.
By November1936, Radio timesbecame the world’sfirst televisionlistingsmagazine.
Inthe 1980s, new printingmethodsreplacingnewsprint andmetalmeantthatRadio Timescouldbe
publishedinmore colour.It becamemore popularin1988whentheChristmaseditionsold
11,220,666copieswhichgoesdowninhistory andtheGuinnessBookofRecordsasthe biggest-
sellingeditionofany Britishmagazine.