The cover price of the Radio Times has gone up this week.
It now costs £5.50 an issue.
Last week it was £4.95.
That's an 11% price increase.
Inflation is currently running at 3.8%.
The price is currently doubling every 6-7 years.
(2012 £1.40; 2018 £2.80; 2025 £5.50)
I wrote a post on the soaring cost of the Christmas Double Issue last year.
The weekly Radio Times now costs the same as the 2023 Double Issue.
It's one hell of a price increase.
Here's a graph showing the cover price over the last 50-or-so years
The BBC sold off the Radio Times to a private company in 2011.
The gradient of the graph steepens noticeably after 2011.
Here's how much the Radio Times costs compared to the UK average weekly wage.
Year
Cost of Radio Times
Average weekly wage
% of average weekly wage
1975
5p
£65
0.08%
1985
30p
£172
0.17%
1995
68p
£340
0.20%
2005
95p
£531
0.18%
2015
£2.00
£665
0.31%
2025
£5.50
£733
0.75%
Over the last 50 years wages have increased 11-fold and magazine prices have increased 110-fold.
That's one reason why things feel increasingly unaffordable.
It's worth saying that a 6 month subscription to Radio Times currently costs £55.
That's £2.12 an issue rather than £5.50 an issue, so much more affordable.
Only a fool still buys the Radio Times in a shop.
But even so, blimey.
20 years ago the cover price of the Radio Times was under £1.
Now it's over £5.
