Vintage TV Guide

TV Guide History

Prior to the establishment of a dedicated Canadian publication, television listings in Canada were provided by the American edition of TV Guide, published by Triangle Publications. The first national issue of TV Guide appeared on April 3, 1953, featuring Lucille Ball’s newborn son, Desi Arnaz Jr., on the cover, with a smaller image of Ball in the upper corner and the headline “Lucy’s $50,000,000 Baby.” Throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, TV Guide steadily expanded its regional coverage, eventually serving as many as eleven markets in Canada in addition to those in the United States. In 1977, Telemedia acquired the Canadian publishing rights to TV Guide, and from that point forward all copies sold in Canada were published by Telemedia. The Canadian edition of TV Guide continued in print until the November 25, 2006 issue, after which publication ceased.

TV Guide before Telemedia

Up until 1977, TV Guide editions sold in Canada were virtually identical to those distributed in the United States, including the advertising featured in the full-colour sections. The first issue of TV Guide available in Canada was the June 26, 1953 issue, published as the New York–Lake Ontario Edition and sold at newsstands throughout much of Southern Ontario. This edition featured television listings for five channels, including Channel 9 in Toronto (CBC) and four stations from cities in New York State such as Buffalo, Rochester, and Syracuse. The second edition to serve Canadian audiences was the St. Lawrence Edition, which covered Montreal and Ottawa along with neighboring U.S. markets. Circulation of the St. Lawrence Edition began in the late 1950s. The third edition to extend coverage into Canada arrived in 1961 with the Dakota–Winnipeg Edition.

In some cases, individual editions of TV Guide served audiences in both Canada and the United States. Examples of these cross-border editions include the Alberta–Montana Edition, Dakota–Winnipeg Edition, Lake Ontario Edition, and Montreal–St. Lawrence Edition.

Beginning with the December 4, 1965 issue, the printed listings section of TV Guide for editions sold in Canada began to be produced by McMurry Publishing. This change marked the end of single editions that simultaneously covered both U.S. and Canadian markets. Despite this shift, the full-colour section of TV Guide continued to mirror the U.S. version. Weekly subscription copies were also introduced and distributed by McMurry Publishing at this time.

Starting with the December 4, 1965 issue, McMurry Publishing produced the following Canadian editions: Western British Columbia Edition, Alberta–Eastern British Columbia Edition, Manitoba–Saskatchewan Edition, Western Ontario Edition, Toronto–Lake Ontario Edition, and Montreal–St. Lawrence Edition.

TV Guide Canada is Born

Starting with the January 15, 1977 issue, Telemedia assumed responsibility for publishing TV Guide in all Canadian markets. In most cases, the regional editions previously produced by Triangle Publications and McMurry Publishing remained unchanged. During the early years of Telemedia’s ownership, many cover stories and feature articles continued to mirror those of the U.S. edition, with additional Canadian content incorporated. Over time, however, all editorial material became fully unique to the Canadian publication. Initially, Telemedia produced eight regional editions of TV Guide, a number that expanded significantly as the television landscape grew, reaching sixteen regional editions by the late 1980s.

The cover shown below marks the first instance in which the Canadian editions of TV Guide featured artwork that differed from the American publication. Prior to this, the first eleven covers printed by Telemedia were visually identical to their U.S. counterparts, with only minor differences in headlines and page numbering for featured articles.

TV Guide Pay-TV Listings

Starting with the January 29, 1983 issue, TV Guide began including Pay-TV channels alongside local broadcast listings. This change coincided with the national launch of Pay-TV services in Canada on February 1, 1983. Below is a list of the pay-television channels that appeared in each regional edition.

Beginning with the August 25, 1984 issue, MuchMusic was added to the Pay-TV listings in advance of its August 31 launch. TSN followed shortly thereafter, appearing for the first time in the September 1, 1984 issue. That same issue also reflected the merger of First Choice and Superchannel. Editions printed in Manitoba and the west listed the combined service as First Choice Superchannel using the abbreviation SUP, while editions in Ontario and the east used the abbreviation FC. Starting with the November 10, 1984 issue, additional specialty services were introduced, including A&E (Arts & Entertainment), CNN (Cable News Network), and TNN (The Nashville Network). For several years, the Manitoba edition of TV Guide included listings only for First Choice Superchannel, as the two cable systems serving the Winnipeg region were unable to add additional Pay-TV services until a few years later.

Pay-TV and Cable listing expansion in the 80s and 90s

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Pay-TV and cable channel listings continued to expand across the various Canadian editions of TV Guide. Below is a summary of the channels that were added to the listings over time.

Specialty Channels not listed in TV Guide

Many specialty channels available in Canada were not included in TV Guide listings. While widely distributed services such as A&E (Arts & Entertainment), CNN (Cable News Network), and TNN (The Nashville Network) were typically listed, numerous other channels offered by cable systems were omitted. These included Headline News, Financial News Network (later CNBC-FNN and eventually CNBC), Country Music Television (the U.S. version, which was replaced by New Country Network in 1995), Telelatino, Chinavision, and later Viewer's Choice pay-per-view. These services did not appear in any Canadian editions of TV Guide at the time. Some channels, such as CNBC, were eventually added to Canadian listings beginning in 1997 or later. Other services—including Parliament/CPAC, provincial legislature channels, The Weather Network, and various shopping or classified channels—were also not listed, although certain editions occasionally noted their dial positions within cable converter guides.

Cable Editions of TV Guide

Beginning in August 1991, TV Guide Canada introduced editions tailored specifically to cable systems serving major metropolitan areas*. These cable-specific editions featured channel bullets that reflected cable dial positions rather than over-the-air channel numbers, along with abbreviated bullets for cable and pay-television services. Cable editions were produced for Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, while the traditional regional editions continued to be available in those markets. As a result, consumers often had a choice of which TV Guide edition to purchase at newsstands.

*It is worth noting that some editions serving Northern Ontario featured listings tailored to local cable systems as early as the late 1980s. These editions incorporated cable-specific channel arrangements ahead of the broader rollout of dedicated metropolitan cable editions.

Satellite Edition of TV Guide

Beginning in the fall of 2000, TV Guide Canada began advertising a Satellite Edition compatible with both ExpressVu and Star Choice. It is unclear whether this edition was sold at newsstands or made available exclusively through subscription. This edition was likely discontinued when regional editions started incorporating ExpressVu and Star Choice into their cable converter charts and primetime grids beginning in 2002.

Sale to Transcontinental Media and conversion to Super Digest

In 2000, Telemedia sold the Canadian rights to TV Guide to Transcontinental Media. Significant changes to TV Guide Canada began with the February 29, 2004 issue, when the publication transitioned to a super digest format, similar in size to a comic book. Other changes included the eventual elimination of overnight listings and the condensation of weekday schedules. By mid-2005, TV Guide Canada had been reduced to six regional editions: Maritimes; East (Montreal–Eastern Ontario); Rogers Toronto–Central Ontario; Western Ontario; Prairie; and Shaw Vancouver–BC. Starting with the November 5, 2005 issue, the publication was further consolidated into just two editions—one serving Eastern Canada (Ontario and east) and the other serving Western Canada (Manitoba and west).

End of printed TV Guide in Canada

On October 19, 2006, Transcontinental Media announced that it would cease the printed publication of TV Guide in Canada with the November 29, 2006 issue. Following the final print edition, the magazine transitioned to an online-only format. A new website, tvguidelive.ca, launched on December 1, 2006, and served as the digital continuation of TV Guide in Canada. The online publication continued until December 2012, when it was replaced by The Loop. Beginning in July 2014, the American edition of TV Guide once again became available at Canadian newsstands; however, it does not include local television listings.

TV Guide Channel

Beginning in 1991, several Canadian television providers, including Rogers, began offering a TV listings channel under the TV Guide brand. For much of its history, TV Guide Channel displayed scrolling channel listings on the left side of the television screen, while the right side featured program previews, movie highlights, network promotions, and advertisements. By the mid-to-late 2000s, TV Guide Channel had become one of the primary television listings services in Canada, eventually replacing earlier services such as Prevue Channel and Zap2It. Starting in 2012, the TV Guide brand was discontinued for these listings channels, with most providers adopting the TV Listings Channel name. The Canadian TV Guide Channel should not be confused with the similarly named channel that was available in the United States.