Print or digital companion publication with broadcast times, plot summaries, cast, and schedules — traditionally weekly or monthly. Marketing tool and viewer guide combined.
For decades, the program guide was the central means of communication between broadcaster and viewer — printed, weekly or monthly, with all broadcast slots, synopses, cast details, and broadcast times. For productions, the program guide meant more than just conveying information: it was simultaneously a platform for advertising sales, a prestige object, and a legally relevant document. The broadcaster committed to the announced broadcast; for the production, the correct mention of director, cinematographer, and cast was a matter of contractual fulfillment and credit.
In day-to-day production, this meant specifically: the press office and production management coordinated early with the production team to obtain stills, formulate plot synopses (between 30 and 200 words, depending on broadcast length), and accurately list personnel. Errors here — incorrect screenwriter, missing director — would propagate into the archive. For documentaries and series, the editorial description is crucial for viewer expectations. An exciting text attracts viewers, a meager one alienates them. Larger broadcasters employed their own program editors who distilled a crisp teaser from press releases and original material.
With digitalization, the program guide evolved into a website, later an app — offering format flexibility but also rapid update cycles. The classic print version disappeared at smaller broadcasters but remained with the major public broadcasters as a prestige project. The difference: the digital counterpart allows dynamic links to trailers, actor profiles, and ratings. For productions, this is a gain — the IMDb-like connections increase visibility. At the same time, the tangible craft of understanding the program guide as a physical artifact was lost.
Today, the distinction between the program guide (broadcaster publication) and the press kit (production for press and marketing) has become more fluid. Nevertheless, those who produce independently should understand that program guide entries are not mere decoration. They fix the narrative of your work in the public sphere — and they are preserved in broadcaster archives longer than any website.