Just got my new issue today, what a piece of crap. There is no way I will renew this. I actually used my TV guide as a guide, hate scrolling through the digital cable listings and searching each show to see if it is new and when I need to tape things. I liked a small book I could keep in the drawer, pull out and check quickly and easily. The new guide is all fluff and no substance. The grids are horrible, the lack of daytime and late night programming is pathetic (with the simple little 2 page quick grids that give no info), and the articles are pretty bad as well. A shame, because I agree that Matt Roush is one of the best TV reviewers out there, without being condescending or preachy. I will miss his stuff, but its not enough to keep me paying for this crap.

I avoided entering this thread's discussion when TV Guide first made the announcement, but might as well post my thoughts now that the thread's been resurrected.

My current job is editing TV listings for a major listings provider (not TV Guide). Print listings, whether it be TV Guide, the newspaper, or guides y+ou get from your cable or satellite company, are useless nowadays. Networks change line-ups so frequently - adding/dropping shows, switching time slots, etc - that there are so many changes made after print listings go to the printer (typically 2-3 weeks ahead of time). Most electronic guides (web sites, digital cable/satelitte on-screen guides, Tivo, etc), especially in major markets, get updated listings multiple times a day. I know for a fact that we have electronic clients that get updated information HOURLY. Electronic guides are so much more accurate/thorough than print listings so I don't know why anyone would pay for TV Guide or other print guides when you can get much more accurate/updated information for free online or on your cable/satellite/Tivo (which you're paying for anyways).

Sure TV Guide was a valuable resource to know what was on TV for decades, but over the last 5-10 years its value has declined considerably, which they essentially admitted in the summer when they first announced their new format.

I understand there are people - mainly older people - who don't have computers, Tivo, or stuff like that, who rely on print listings so it's different for them. But in general, I don't know why people still pay for TV Guide.

/soapbox

And BTW, I will be picking up the new TV Guide once to see just what it's like.

I never use the guide anymore, so I'm not missing that portion. All the stuff that was there, still is. Only more of it. I can't complain too much.

On the other hand, I shouldn't. A $30 eBay auction last year got me a renewal through the end of 2008.

I only like it for the articles. Like Playboy.

It's a pain to look up 15 different websites to see what movies are coming on, but there are so many channels now the print listings can't keep up anyway.

The electronic guide is fine if you want to see what is on NOW, but if you want to know if there are any good movies on which you might want to record during the week, the printed listings were a whole lot easier.

Which cover of the last mini issue did you guys get? I got the god damn Reba McInture one. Pissed me off. Probably my least favorite one aside from the Miami Vice one.

TV Guide has been junk for the past few years. I used to get it every week, back when they had decent articles, complete listings, and movie reviews.

This news affects me not at all. There was always a printed weekly guide in my local paper on Sundays and nowadays it's just easier to view the grid on TV or look some stuff up on the internet. I've never subscribed to TV Guide and won't be starting now.

I like it. The first part of the TV guide was all I ever read anyway now I get much more of that. I usually use TVguide.com anyway.

Here's their own spin on it:

http://online.tvguide.com/gobig/faq.asp

I've been getting the large-format digital coverage edition through my cable company, and appreciated the listings for virtally ALL the channels, including some very local ones like CUNY (City University of NY) which shows foreign films, opera, etc., as well as the various PBS stations we have on our system.

Looks like the new national edition will only cover about 80 channels for prime-time only, so count me out.

I got the new addition today. I like it. Good articles and more content.

Thank you TV Guide for spoiling next weeks episode of Survivor on page 5 by having what will be the "surprise" in big letters.

LB...

Agreed. Plenty of other places to get listings...and the listings are mostly still there anyway. I like the bigger and better highlights of each night. I like being able to turn to one page and get all the best stuff on that week (or day). I think the new TV Guide is much improved.

...Here are a couple of suggestions I can offer to TV Guide:

1. Make sure the article are hard hitting pieces like the heyday of the magazine in the 1970's and early 1980's. With more space available, the editors could write longer articles discussing various aspects of the television industry.

2. Create a listings page online that can be adjusted on the fly if there are any programming changes. If you are a paid subscriber to the print magazine, offer that listing page in without any online ads.

There are good resources for this too, though. My DVR has a scrollable list of movies by genre. If your emphasis is on high-definition movies and don't mind paying a couple bucks a year, HDTV Magazine has a really useful movie scheduler -- it'll export to Excel, even.

My parents used to buy TV guide til maybe the early 90's, when they switched over to the weekend paper TV guide. They said they actually never bothered reading the articles so why pay for it when you can get it for free with the paper? I doubt this new version will be around very long, once the current subscriptions begin to end.

I just purchased the new format issue- (I had a coupon for 50cents off and Safeway doubled the coupon- So the cost was 3cents. I am glad because it looks like it was thrown togetherand mimics there other magazine- Why have 2?- The new TV Guide reminds me of the Large print Readers Digest. They should just go out gracefully- I still use the On screen EPG with Dish to program up to 9 days, as well as the search feature. Even the TV Guide channel is awful.
I also go to the specific websites for my channels that I watch- which provide enough info for me- HBO did it right they did offer the printed guide as a subscription, but they offer the guide on line now for free and you can download it if you want.

The listing in the new TV Guide are pretty much useless.

My old edition (via my cable company) had ALL the channels for the premium channels (SHO, HBO, etc.) but the new one has about two for each.

The "daytime" listings are a joke: for such channels as ESPN, SciFi, Biography, Bravo, History, and Travel the program desription is simply "various programming". That's about as useful as a newscast telling us "things happened".

Of course, there are only daytime listings for Monday-Friday, and none at all for the weekends when most people might actually be home and want to watch something. Same thing for late-night: Monday-Friday only.

The most depressing thing about this? Some assholes got paid big bucks to come up with this useless piece of crap.

I work for a magazine distributor. From my personal observation the new TV Guide is barely selling. None of our stores have the new racks for the larger size. I've been putting them all on a cardboard display which was provided. For the past three Friday's it seems I've been sending all of them back. Has anyone seen new racks at the checkouts to fit the new size in any stores?

i have a freebie sub that will be running out in a couple of months and i won't be renewing it. i actually think the old version is much better.

I tried looking at the first new issue and wanted to burn it in frustration. Fine, they took away the guide. But for anyone with a Tivo/HTPC, that often can be several episodes behind, the new PoS TV Guide just loves assuming everyone watches stuff when it airs and spoils every plot out there, starting with spoilers on the cover.

I refuse to even open it after the first week, since I'm not caught up on all shows and the idiots behind this "innovation" seem to care less about spoiling major plots for people... Further, the entire point of the magazine seems to be either going over TV that's already aired or spoiling stuff that hasn't. It's either that or pathetic trashy celebrity gossip. The magazine now goes from the mail-man to the trash can.

Then there's the fact they even had the indecency to rip off Entertainment Weekly to the point I'm surprised they haven't been sued. Wow, that Just the Facts section sure is original. Honestly, I would care less except for the fact they pulled this shit when I'd paid for a subscription to the old magazine through May 06. Utter waste of money and no options but to continue getting the junk in my mail until the subscription runs out.

Call them or go to the website and cancel your subscription. I did and got about $60 bucks back.

I'm bumping this old thread because I have to wonder if this new format has killed the issue I most look forward to every year: the Fall Season Preview.

I was flipping through this week's issue and saw all kinds of ads for the new series. Yet, no preview issue. Is this annual tradition dead?

I think the fall preview issue usually comes out sometime in early September. It should be out around the same time Entertainment Weekly's TV preview issue is out.

Traditionallly most new shows wouldn't start until 9/15 or so, but Fox has now jumped the gun on starting fall earlier so they have already started by the time these special issues get released.