Regional variations is a common term used in British television listings publications to show the different programmes broadcast in different areas of the country. A listings magazine is a magazine which contains information about the upcoming weeks events such as TV Listings, Music, Clubs, Theatre and Film information, examples include Time Out magazine in the UK. These are normally published either with a Saturday or Sunday newspaper or are published weekly to give information...

Magazines and national newspapers print different editions of their TV listings for different areas - some just for the four nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, while others produce seperate editions for the regions within England also. For example, the Radio Times produces eight different editions in total (five of them in England), while its oldest rival TV Times now produces only four; newspaper supplements are usually printed in just one edition for the whole of the UK. TV listings are the lists of programmes/TV shows that will appear on television over the next few days and weeks. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... Motto: Nemo me impune lacessit (English: No one provokes me with impunity) Scotlands location within Europe Scotlands location within the United Kingdom Languages English, Gaelic, Scots Capital Edinburgh Largest city Glasgow First Minister Jack McConnell Area - Total - % water Ranked 2nd UK 78,782 km² 1. ... National motto: Cymru am byth (Welsh: Wales for ever) Waless location relative to most of the British Isles (other parts of the UK shown on the map are in pink). ... Dieu et mon droit (motto) (French for God and my right)2 Northern Irelands location within the UK Languages English (De facto) 3, Irish, Ulster Scots 4 Capital and largest city Belfast First Minister Office suspended Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain MP Area  - Total Ranked 4th... Current Radio Times logo Radio Times is the BBCs weekly television and radio programme listings magazine. ... The TV Times is a television listings magazine published in the United Kingdom. ...

A Regional Variations column shows programmes in adjoining areas which differ from those in the main listings columns. Generally, in broadcasting, programming that differs from the main schedule (known at the BBC as "network"), is called an opt-out. It is these programmes that make up regional variations. Opt-out is a method of requiring a targetted individual to explicitly respond to a solicitation in order to keep from receiving some service or widget, usually used in marketing. ...

Regional variations are only listed for the BBC One, BBC Two (nations only) and ITV columns (ITV1 in England and Wales; in Scotland, STV; Northern Ireland, UTV), as these are the only channels that can broadcast different programmes for different areas. BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest television station in the world. ... BBC Two (or BBC2 as it was formerly styled) was the second UK television station to be aired by the BBC and Europes first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour (from 1967), envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming. ... Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England, Wales and southern Scotland, the channel has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of the broadcasting licences for those areas. ... ITV1 is a terrestrial, free-to-air television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom by the ITV network. ... STV is the brand used by both ITV contractors in Northern and Central Scotland, formerly known as Grampian TV and Scottish TV respectively. ... New UTV Ident. ...

In England- and UK-wide editions, the main BBC One or ITV1 column shows programmes in the London region, with other regions (and nations) in the Regional Variations column. Listings for Welsh channel S4C are commonly included as a regional variation since it simulcasts some Channel 4 programming, although it is itself a seperate channel. In Welsh and Scottish editions, adjoining English regions are usually listed. In Northern Ireland, some services from the Republic of Ireland are often listed as regional variations, although they are not. S4C (Sianel Pedwar Cymru - Channel Four Wales) is a Welsh-language television channel broadcasting in Wales, United Kingdom, which was established in response to demands for a channel to cater for the Welsh-speaking minority population in Wales. ... Simulcast is a contraction of simultaneous broadcast, and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium at the same time. ... Channel 4 is a public service television broadcaster in the United Kingdom (see British television). ...

Regional variations are less common these days than they used to be. Especially so on ITV1 following the various mergers that ultimately created ITV plc. In the past, a programme that was shown by the whole ITV network could be seen at different times in different regions. Now that all ITV1 regions are played out from the same network centre, virtually all programmes are shown in all regions (including STV and UTV) at the same time. ITV1 is a terrestrial, free-to-air television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom by the ITV network. ... ITV plc is a British media company which operates the oldest and largest commercial terrestrial television network in the United Kingdom. ...

The most common regional variation on BBC One and ITV1 is the local news programme which differs for each region. Some listings magazines which produce one single edition for the whole of England simply print "Local news" or "Regional news" in place of the programme title, thus utilising space in the Regional Variations column more efficiently. BBC One (or BBC1 as it was formerly styled) is the oldest television station in the world. ... ITV1 is a terrestrial, free-to-air television channel broadcast in the United Kingdom by the ITV network. ...

Regional variations are more common in the nations (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland), than they are among the various regions in England.

See also

• Opt-out
• TV listings
• Listings magazine