TV Guide Magazine is trying to fail. At least, that appears to be the case for many TV critics with today's bombshell that, according to Variety, the listings section for the magazine will no longer include schedules for such networks as the CW and MTV.

So if you want to know whether this week's episodes of Smallville, Supernatural, One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl are new, don't bother looking in your TV Guide (assuming you're one of the few people who still subscribes).

The move is the latest in a string of downward moves ever since TV Guide Magazine was sold to a private company called OpenGate last year for one dollar. Seriously, the sale was for a single dollar, something that can't even buy you one item from a dollar store thanks to sales tax.

TV Guide's CEO Scott Crystal told the Philadelphia Inquirer, "There are now hundreds of channels on television and we can only accommodate approximately 70 in our primetime grids.”

If that explanation seems strange and without any season of reason, it's because it has none. The magazine still offers listings for such obscure networks as QVC and Ion. Further explanations are even more implausible.

The magazine also targets older viewers, and one argument is that youth-based channels like the CW and MTV simply don't appeal to their readers. Why then does the magazine still offer listings for networks like The N? And why is there a story about the CW show Smallville in this week's issue?

Whatever the reason, the result seems obvious: the TV Guide magazine is on its last legs. With more and more people turning to the Internet or their digital cable for information about their favorite TV shows, a magazine devoted to telling you what's on is a relic of the past.

However, if you're interested, this Thursday, there are new episodes of Smallville at 8pm and Supernatural at 9pm, both on the CW. So while you can't find that kind of stuff out at TV Guide, BuddyTV is more than happy to give the many, many devoted fans of these shows a place to call home.


-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
Source: Variety
(Image courtesy of TVGuide)