Behind the Headlines

Sunday, Aug. 23, is the last day that every reader of the Herald-Leader will receive a TV book for free.

Starting next Sunday, On TV Magazine, the new listings book carried by the Herald-Leader, will be delivered only to readers who have subscribed to the magazine for 59 cents a week. The Herald-Leader has delivered On TV for free the last four weeks to give you a flavor for the magazine, and to help ease the transition.

I know this is a big change, especially for the dedicated group of readers who rely on the in-paper listings to find their favorite programs and plan their TV viewing. It’s not a change we make lightly.

But, for financial reasons, it’s a change the Herald-Leader needed to make.

It’s also an opportunity for us to give readers of the TV book something they’ve long told us they want: A better TV book with a lot more content.

Over the last few weeks, I and other Herald-Leader employees have spoken to many readers who have called with questions or concerns about this change. Here are answers to some of the most common:

Why make the change?

TV books have increasingly become a conundrum for newspapers. They are expensive to produce — the Herald-Leader was spending $165,750 a year to produce its 12-page book. The cost is especially prohibitive when you consider that fewer readers are using the in-paper book in an era of cable channel listings, digital video recorders and listings on the Web.

That meant thousands of TV Books were being discarded each week without ever being opened.

Switching to an opt-in model allows us to deliver a higher quality book of TV listings to readers who really want one. Yes, this saves expense for the Herald-Leader, but it also saves a lot of wasted newsprint (and that’s better for the environment).

The Herald-Leader is not the first newspaper to switch to an opt-in model; other papers around the country are distributing TV books only to consumers who want them and are willing to pay a small additional fee.

Why is it necessary to charge for On TV Magazine when the old TV Book was free?

In the 14 years I’ve been at the Herald-Leader, the story of the TV Book has been one of near-constant contraction. Time and again, the book was reduced in size, losing content along the way. Over the years, the book shrank from 44 tabloid pages or more down to the 12-page tab that we last printed in July.

Every time the TV Book shrank, we’d hear about it from those who rely on the listings. And each time, they would tell us that the book just didn’t have enough information.

The new On TV Magazine, at 44 pages, restores a lot of that valuable content. It has more listings for more hours (including late night listings), a more complete movie guide, daily highlights, games, puzzles, trivia and more. It’s also in an easier-to-handle “book” format.

Beefing up the TV offerings required adding a weekly subscription price of 59 cents, which is in the middle range of newspapers who have switched to an opt-in model.

Can I still get any free listings from the Herald-Leader?

We still offer free local listings on our Web site. To find them, go here. Then click on “Search TV Listings.” This feature allows you to set up your own TV grids for free, based on your viewing preferences.

Who produces On TV Magazine?

On TV is produced by NTVB Media, which has been in the TV listings business for 25 years. It is inserted into the Herald-Leader for subscribers who opt in. Subscriptions to On TV are handled by NTVB, not by the Herald-Leader.

What if I buy the paper at the grocery story or gas station on Sunday?

Readers who buy at retail outlets will get a smaller 16-page version of On TV, called On Lite. These single-copy buyers already pay the full Sunday Herald-Leader cover price of $2, which is significantly more than what home-delivery subscribers pay.

What do I need to do to keep getting a TV book?

If you want to continue receiving On TV Magazine in your Sunday paper, you can send in the form on the cover of Sunday’s magazine, go to www.iwantmytvmagazine.com/lexington on the Web or call (800) 999-8881 (then press 6). The phone option is available during regular business hours weekdays and before 11 a.m. on the weekend .

- Peter Baniak, pbaniak@herald-leader.com

We’ve been fielding a number of calls and emails today about issues with the Lexington edition of the TV book in Sunday’s Herald-Leader. In a nutshell, the TV listings for Lexington ran without Insight cable channel numbers, and only had the station name. Second, the Lexington book included listings for other cities that can’t be received here.

First, let me say thanks to all the loyal readers of the Herald-Leader who’ve taken the time to call and express their concerns.

Second, let me address what seems to be the biggest concern of most callers, who fear that the version of the TV listings they received Sunday reflected a permanent format change to how we do the listings. It did not. The book that went out on Sunday was in error, as we explained in a correction on the front of the city/region section in today’s paper. Because of a production issue, the incorrect grids were placed in the Lexington TV book. The TV listings should return to their correct format, with the TV channel numbers, in the new version of the book on Sunday.

I apologize for the confusion or any inconvenience this error caused.

In the meantime, one astute caller I spoke with this morning suggested clipping out the numbers from last week’s TV book (if you still have it) and using them as a “key” for this week’s.

Thanks again to those of you who contacted us about your concerns. If you have other questions about this, please feel free to contact me at pbaniak@herald-leader.com.

Peter Baniak