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TV network logos

U.S.
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PBS idents are television idents used by the US Public Broadcasting Service. Programs distributed to its member stations end with a television ident including the network's name and logo and often a voiceover, known in the industry as a "system cue". From October 5, 1970 to September 30, 1984 the logo was usually displayed on-screen for eight seconds. Since October 1, 1984 the logo has appeared on-screen for five seconds.

This article also covers the idents used by PBS's predecessor, National Educational Television.

Contents 1 NET idents 1.1 1st logo 1.2 2nd logo 1.3 3rd logo 1.4 4th logo 2 PBS idents 2.1 1st logo 2.2 2nd logo 2.3 3rd logo 2.4 4th logo 2.5 5th logo 2.6 6th logo 2.7 7th logo 2.8 8th logo 2.9 9th logo 3 PBS Kids idents 3.1 1st ident 3.2 2nd ident 3.3 3rd ident 4 PBS Kids GO! idents 5 PBS Kids Sprout idents 6 PBS Kids Preschool Block 7 PBS Home Video idents 7.1 1989–1998 7.2 1998–2009 7.3 2009-present 8 References 9 External links

[edit] NET idents

[edit] 1st logo

The National Educational Television and Radio Center was established on May 16, 1952. Their original on-air logo was used from May 16, 1952 to September 30, 1962. It was a two-dimensional still shot of a white map silhouette of the United States inside a black oval over a white background. Inside the map design are three sets of segmented lines shaped like television monitors with the letters NET inside each box. A TV antenna appears vertically through the map design with the words National Educational Television at the top and Educational Television and Radio Center underneath.

[edit] 2nd logo

The original ident for the National Educational Television was used from October 1, 1962^[1] to October 2, 1966. It was a simple still shot of the network's logo -- the letters "NET" with a slanted roof coming out of the top-right of the "T", hanging over the "N" and the "E," with a small antenna sticking out over the "N." There are also "stars" all over the screen. Meanwhile, an announcer says, "This is National Educational Television."

[edit] 3rd logo

The third ident was used from October 3, 1966 to February 18, 1968. First, gray dots appear and disappear rapidly. A white circle is drawn around the dots. A vertical line is drawn over the circle, but then is erased. A small fire appears in the circle. Several curved vertical and horizontal lines cover the circle to create an image of globe. Several white lines appear under the globe to make the letters "NET". The globe ultimately winds up on top of the "T". The music playing in the background during the animation is industrious-sounding. When the animation is complete, an announcer says, "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network."

[edit] 4th logo

A red block sets down from the left side of the screen, then, a yellow block rises up from the center of the screen and a blue block sets down from the right side of the screen. Afterwards, the blocks turn into the letters "N-E-T" before coming closer to each other. Then a man's voice would say "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network." As he says this, the words 'National Educational Television' appears above the NET logo. The words transform into the same logo as the October 1, 1962 "House" logo- a line, and it bends to form a roof with an antenna on it, which connects the T.

The followed the same format, that the announcer would say "This is N-E-T, the Public Television Network." As this is said, a blue line (which replaced the words above "N-E-T") was drawn above the letters, and was bent to form its usual position. This was used from 1969 until the merger with New York station WNDT-TV (now WNET) in 1970, officially disbanding the network). Both logos were used on Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (which had debuted on the exact same day that this logo first debuted) with the latter, the logo was superimposed into a building within the model set at the beginning and end of each program and still remained in reruns well into the 1980's.

The music was a synthesizer score composed by Eric Siday, who also composed the score for the similar-sounding Screen Gems and CBS color programming logos.

[edit] PBS idents

[edit] 1st logo

The first PBS ident was used from October 5, 1970 to October 3, 1971. The first logo for PBS was a black background with the words

PUBLIC

BROADCASTING

SERVICE

stacked on top of each other. A man says, "This is P-B-S, the Public Broadcasting Service."

[edit] 2nd logo

The second PBS ident was used from October 4, 1971 to September 30, 1984, although it continued to appear for older shows until January 1, 1991. This ident features cel-animated tricolor letters that assemble onscreen to form the logo, similar to the concepts used for production logos from that era, such as those from MTM Enterprises.

This logo starts with a full-screen abstract blue "P," which zooms out to the upper-middle, taking on the shape of a face in profile as it moves left. Soon after, an orange "B" and then a green "S" appear, with dots punched out to form the letters. In tandem with the letters appearing, the words "PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE" appear individually at the bottom of the screen, left-justified, and in the sans-serif ITC Avant Garde font.

This ident was designed by Ernie Smith and Herb Lubalin of the Lubalin Smith Carnase design studio, on assignment from the Lawrence K. Grossman advertising agency, whose creative chief, Ron Aigen, directed the logo search. The agency then commissioned the accompanying music, composed by Paul Alan Levi, which consists of a bold Moog synthesizer score, beginning with a rapidly descending, telephone-like scale, followed by five warm, heavy brass-like notes. This was the only logo used for PBS programming until the third PBS ident debuted in 1984.

[edit] 3rd logo

The third PBS ident was used from October 1, 1984 to October 1, 1989. The logo was developed by Chermayeff & Geismar. Using a stylized profile of the human face, which also recalls the initial P in the prior ident, it repeats the profile two times, playfully putting the "public" in public television. This abstract profile has become known as the "Everyone Symbol."^[2]

The ident starts with a purple abstract profile of the human face, facing right, set on a black background. A piece comes out to the right, and settles a short distance from the profile. The letters "PBS" appear below in a white, slab serif typeface. The accompanying music, composed by Jonathan Elias, consists of a majestic piano chord accompanied by some pizzicato tones, then a softer version of the piano chord.

[edit] 4th logo

The fourth PBS ident was used from October 2, 1989 to December 27, 1992. On a black background, a side-facing transparent blue P-head folds to the right, leaving behind a residue trail of P-Heads. The residue trail fades into the PBS logo from before, which settles itself in the center of the screen, occupying almost all of it. Several white lines wipe across the bottom of the screen, leaving the text "PBS" in the same font as before to the bottom left.

In an alternate version of the ident, the P-head appears just by fading in with the PBS text. No lines streak across the screen; therefore it is a still version of the ident. The same music, as in the ident's original version, is used. Once again, the announcer says "This is PBS.".

We see a blurry image of a pink glass P-head in front of other shapes. As the logo progresses, we see the letters "PBS" appear to the left of the P-head in the typewriter font, and the image becomes slightly clearer.

[edit] 5th logo

The fifth PBS ident was used from December 28, 1992 to September 1, 1996. It starts with a pink glass circle rotating while the faces of various people appear and disappear within it. Then, we zoom out through the eye of the stylized P's in an orange/pink installation art environment. The familiar "PBS" text spins in, in white and to the left of the P. The accompanying music, composed by Peter Fish, is a jazz-style boogie, with a female voice singing in the background. Then, a male voice says "This is P-B-S."

This ID is not animated with computer graphics, but rather was created traditionally on film. The stylized P is frosted glass, and the PBS text is rotated into place by rods beneath a rostrum.

This logo was the last to be used on both adults' and children's programming. Beginning in 1993, children's shows used special IDs.

[edit] 6th logo

The sixth PBS ident was used from September 2, 1996 to November 1, 1998. Its composition now included of a variety of objects: A telescope rotates in the lower left corner; a globe of the Earth appears at upper right; while at center a framed windowpane zooms in. The various objects fade away to reveal the stylized P's, which are initially yellow-green with the right section colored blue. These colors change to blue and green, respectively, while the "PBS" text fades in below. The end result resembles the 3rd ident. A female announcer, who to the world is Lauren Bacall says "This is P-B-S".

[edit] 7th logo

The seventh PBS ident was used from November 2, 1998 to September 1, 2002. It is a combination of live action and computer effects. It begins with a man or woman holding up a black, round disc printed with a white PBS logo. As he/she holds the disc in front of his/her face, several superimposed acrobats jump and somersault behind the person, in a circular pattern. The letters "PBS" appear in black to the right of the disc, with the PBS website address (www.pbs.org) below the letters. This is the first time the website address has appeared in a PBS ident.

The accompanying music is a world music/new age piece, with Lauren Bacall saying "This is P-B-S." Sometimes, the announcer will say "You're watching your public television station, P-B-S." People who have held the round disc in this ident include Jocelyne Loewen, Jake Martin, Kyle Hebert, Lynne Thigpen, Michelle Ruff, Chris Rock, Steve Burns, Gong Li, and Bacall.

This ident also introduced a minor change to the PBS logo. From hereon, the PBS profile logo always appears in a black circle, with the "PBS" text to the right.

[edit] 8th logo

The eighth PBS ident was used from September 2, 2002 to September 26, 2009. It features live-action footage filmed on a large set with a hardwood floor and shaggy brown curtains and has many variants, including "Young People" (voiceover by Edie Mirman), "Performers" (voiceover by David Kaye), "Flowers" (voiceover by Helen Mirren), "Daddy and Son" (voiceover by Kyle Eastwood), "Cowboy" (voiceover by David Kaye), and "Generations" (voiceover by Edie Mirman). It ends with the PBS logo animating over the scene. Each variant has its own special arrangement of the current PBS promo music, along with a voiceover. The voiceover is one of these four people saying "We are P-B-S," or occasionally, "I am P-B-S." This ident is still used on some programming, such as The NewsHour.

There is also a version that uses a purple-blue background instead of the original shaggy brown curtains. The words "Perspective. Analysis. Understanding." flash briefly and fade out, then "Be More" scans to the right, followed by "PBS" in white. Bob Hilton says, "This is P-B-S." This variant can only be seen on Frontline.

[edit] 9th logo

The ninth PBS ident was used from September 27, 2009 to the present.^[3] Each ends with a voiceover saying "Be more P-B-S." The "Be more" slogan is displayed, with the PBS logo to the right. "PBS" in text follows, which transitions to the website "pbs.org."

[edit] PBS Kids idents

[edit] 1st ident

Prior to 1993, PBS Kids (the current banner for PBS' children's programming) television programs used the same PBS idents seen on adult-oriented programming (or the logos of National Instructional Television). Starting that year, a new ident was commissioned specifically for children's programming.

It consists of three stylized P profiles, complete with appendages, drawn as a cartoon, set on a white background. The profiles are in different colors and patterns that change throughout the ident and eventually stop on blue, orange, and green, respectively. The profiles dance and sing "This is P-B-S! Woo-hoo-hoo!,", then stop when the 1993 Ready To Learn dog walks by the lower portion of the screen and barks. At the same time, the third profile ad libs and his red hat flies off of his head for a moment, then drops back on his head. The "PBS" text appears in black to the lower left to the profiles. The music is a pop-rock tune with the profiles singing at once.

[edit] 2nd ident

Six new idents for PBS Kids began airing on September 20, 1999, replacing but still using the "P-Pals" ident. Each featured the iconic kids from the actual PBS Kids logo, Dash and Dot. On all versions, the PBS Kids logo appears at the end on a background of some kind of a pattern. On the first variant, Dot runs up to the screen and a thought bubbles appears with the letters "PBS" in it. The second variant is of Dash scratching his head and thinking of "PBS." The third variant has Dot transitioning forms: a cat, an octopus and an astronaut. The fourth is similar to the one prior to it. It has Dash in three forms: a caveman, a scuba diver and a robot. The fifth variant has Dash ice-skating in a snow globe which is held by Dot. The final version has Dash looking in his fish bowl to find Dot as a fish and swallows himself as a fish. These idents are no longer shown on new programs, but are continually seen on older versions of programs.

[edit] 3rd ident

Several new idents were produced in 2008. Themes for the idents include: telescopes, rock climbing, picnics, gardens, and magnets among many others. These idents are in high-definition.

[edit] PBS Kids GO! idents

Prior to October 11, 2004, all PBS Kids programs used the started series idents. Starting in the fall of that year, another series of new idents were commissioned for use on programming with a focus on telling children to be active. They consist of kids doing several forms of exercise on a set with a block motif. At the end, one of the kids pushes a lever, or pushes a button (or activates some kind of mechanism), which reveals PBS Kids GO! logo: a speech bubble with the words "PBS Kids GO!" in it. The accomanying music is a flute and glockenspiel tune, ending with says "GO!" Most of the idents have a whistling tune as well. As with other current PBS idents, there are several variations, like one with kids riding on a bicycle, one with kids making the logo appear on the computer, or one with kids building the logo with blocks. There have been several sets of these idents.

[edit] PBS Kids Sprout idents

PBS Kids Sprout got its first ident in 2005, which consists of a green flower with the words "PBS Kids" written on it and the word "sprout" under it in children's handwriting.

[edit] PBS Kids Preschool Block

Within the PBS Kids Preschool Block, there are many different idents after each program. They do not include the PBS Kids boy or girl as of September 1999, except for the last few seconds when Dash is shown in the PBS Kids logo. Some include still pictures of real children, but they do occasionally move a little bit. These idents usually have a general theme, such as dinosaurs, bees, a picnic, or someone taking pictures with a camera. In later seasons, they were replaced by what Dash and Dot are doing before his/her ident appears.

[edit] PBS Home Video idents

At first, PBS distributed copies of its programs on its own, under the "PBS Video" label. There was no special ident for PBS Video. The tapes were simply copies of PBS' master tapes. Then PBS introduced its "PBS Home Video" label, going through commercial distributors: Pacific Arts (1989-1994), Turner Home Entertainment (1994-1996), Warner Home Video (1996-2009), and currently Paramount (2004-). PBS Home Video idents are usually modeled after past TV idents.

[edit] 1989–1998

The first PBS Home Video ident was used from 1989 to 1998. The large 3-D glass profile is set on a black background, filling the screen as it did on the TV ident. Initially, a cloudy sky pattern fills the profile, which then fades to a blue stylized P against the cloudy sky background. Lines shoot into the profile's eye, and "PBS HOME VIDEO" appears below in the familiar slab serif typeface. The text is filled with a "water" pattern. The accompanying music is a classical tune, along with an announcer saying: "The following presentation is from PBS Home Video." On some tapes, a PBS television ident appears afterward. The ident would itself at the end of the videotape, except that there was no announcer, and the music had a different, abrupt ending.

[edit] 1998–2009

The second PBS Home Video ident was used from 1998 to 2002. This ident was revised A blue circle, a green circle, and a red circle (each containing a stylized P) appear against a white background. The circles merge together and turn purple once they touch, and turn black when "PBS HOME VIDEO" ("PBS DVD" on DVD releases) fades in. A much more mellow variant of the 1998 TV ident's music played over the logo. On a few feleases, there are 4 variants, a blue one, a red one, a green one and a purple one.

[edit] 2009-present

The third PBS Home Video ident has been used since 2004. It begins on an ethereal blue/purple/red CGI background, then the PBS logo appears within a circle with "Be more" on the left, "PBS" to the right. Sometimes, only "PBS" appears.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Screen captures of PBS idents past and present, as well as footage of vintage promos (currently down; Last archived version here)
• PBS, PBS Kids, PBS Sprout, and PBS DVD logos from 50's through 2009

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