BBC Three idents

Last updated

BBC Three, and BBC Choice before it, have both had visually dynamic identities to appeal to the target audience of young adults.

Contents

BBC Choice

Choice of Three (1998–2000)

The 'Mouses' ident of BBC Choice, 1998 BBC Choice ident (Mouses).jpg
The 'Mouses' ident of BBC Choice, 1998

BBC Choice launched on 23 September 1998 as a digital channel aimed at the young adult market. Offering a choice of programming from specially commissioned programming to repeats from BBC One and Two. The launch identity was created by Lambie-Nairn and revolved around the idea of three objects, people, or characters with a central theme. [1] [2] Five were made and focused on:

In these idents, all three elements are seen individually close up before been seen together. The subjects are all seen on primary coloured backgrounds and feature a simple, one line logo below consisting of the BBC Logo and the name 'Choice' in upper case after the name in the font Gill Sans. [1] [2]

Promotions also followed this form, with the BBC Choice logo at the bottom of the screen throughout the promotion and programme information appearing at the end in the Gill Sans font above the logo. [1] This style is the same as all of the BBC channels at the time. The station also utilised a Digital on-screen graphic (DOG) in the top left-hand corner of the screen, which featured the BBC Choice logo. [1]

For the first few years of the station's existence, regional variations for the BBC nations existed, although originally only between the hours of 10 pm and midnight. [1] Each region retained the individual idents, with the addition of the region name below the BBC Choice logo. [1] [2] This allowed the nations to add additional programmes without disrupting the main schedules of BBC One and Two significantly. Notably, BBC Choice Northern Ireland utilised in-vision continuity prior to the idents, in which an announcer would appear in person to talk about the upcoming programmes. [1]

Single Heart (2000–2001)

On 10 July 2000, BBC Choice began to air programmes directly targeting the young adult audience, following an alteration to its remit. As a result, the original idents needed altering to match the new programming on the channel. The new idents built on the previous idea of the heart ident. The ident featured a single heart, usually the stone or fire heart, in the centre of a fluorescent background from which other hearts emanate. These include smaller hearts and an outlined heart 'beamed' out directly to the screen. [3]

The BBC Choice logotype was retained following the rebrand, as were promotion styles, the DOG and the national opt-outs for Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, the concept of a rotating triangular prism featuring the words 'Now on Choice' on each of the sides was used in promotions and to showcase upcoming programmes. [4] The website address was added under the DOG in November 2000.

Three Blocks or Three Boxes (2001–2002)

An example of the Three Blocks or Three Boxes BBC Choice ident.jpg
An example of the Three Blocks or Three Boxes

On 6 July 2001, BBC Choice rebranded again. This time, the hearts aspect was dropped in favour of three orange blocks or three orange boxes set in a blue and a green world. [1] [5] The boxes would often interact with each other, roll over and adjust their own shape. [1] [5] The BBC Choice logotype remained at the bottom of the screen throughout the idents and as the DOG, although the DOG was altered to add the BBC Choice URL below the logo. [1] [5]

These blocks or boxes were used in many aspects throughout the channel, such as Now, Next and Later pointers to upcoming programmes. [6] The promotions also changed; the logo is still remained at the bottom of the screen throughout the promotion, however information was now purveyed through the blocks or the boxes. [1] [6] [7] As each detail, such as the programme title, day and time of broadcast, was announced, a block or a box appeared in top right of the screen with the detail written next to it. [1] [6] [7] All three blocks or three boxes were shown stacked atop each other in the top right of the screen at the end of the promotion. [1] [6] [7]

The channel at this time also started to change its format: a result of the BBC wanting to rebrand and reposition BBC Choice as BBC Three. All regional variations of the channel ceased and the channel was split into two distinctive segments: BBC Choice starting from 7 pm and CBBC on Choice from 6 am. [6]

Under Construction (2002–2003)

Following the approval of BBC Three by the government, the identity began to change to reflect the new channel coming soon. First of all seen were variations of the current idents from 2001 within which a wrecking ball would hit the screen, causing it to shatter, revealing a building site behind it. [1]

In December 2002, the whole ident package changed outright to two builders on the construction site seen previously. Scaffolding and blue sheeting obscure the upper case 'THREE' that would provide the backdrop to the BBC Three launch idents. The builders themselves would often interact with elements of the identity, such as placing their mug of tea on the BBC Choice logo. [1] Over the Christmas period, the channel's first Christmas idents were created featuring a builder taking his hat off to reveal a pair of reindeer antlers against the construction site lit with lights round the scaffolding. On 19 January 2003, a countdown was added to the exterior of the scaffolding, outlining the weeks and days until the relaunch. [1]

BBC Three

Blobs (2003–2008)

A BBC Three 'blob' ident BBC Three blobs.jpg
A BBC Three 'blob' ident

BBC Three launched on 9 February 2003. The new identity for the channel was devised by Lambie-Nairn and featured 'blobs' set in a blue environment with a towering three-dimensional 'THREE' in the background. [8] [9] [10] [11] The blobs were designed to be characters within the ident and not presenters and never commented on the upcoming programme. [10] Each blob was computer generated, created by Stefan Marjoram at Aardman Animations, [9] and given a voice from the BBC Sound Archive. The brown blobs parallel the CBBC green and CBeebies yellow blobs used at the time and showing a progression through age groups.

The channel's logo consisted of a BBC logo above a slanted, upper case, Three set inside a white box. [9] [10] The contents of the box itself, however, were transparent, so that the ident could be seen through the logo. [9] [10] The box structure itself is similar to the other BBC Channels, but the slanted text is different from all of the other channels, who at the time had the channel name in Gill Sans below the BBC logo. In 2005, the box colour was changed from white to blue with white text. [9] [11]

The channel's original DOG consisted of the style previously used on the BBC's channels, using the BBC logo follower by an upper case 'THREE' in the font Gill Sans. [9] This lasted until 2005, when it was replaced by a DOG proclaiming the channel as 'Channel of the Year' in upper case and in the same font as the BBC Three logo. [9] The BBC Three logo itself was adopted after this. [12]

The channel used a variety of promotions and stings. Prior to the launch, the channel made use of the song "Three Is the Magic Number", [9] based (only the lyrics are copied) upon Schoolhouse Rock! played in the background. Other trailer animations showed one blob standing in front of the figure 'THREE' shouting "Three!", before another 'THREE' rises up from underneath the original, toppling it. [13] [14] Promotions originally ended with a gradient blue stripe over the programme promotion containing the information and BBC Three white logo; this was however changed with the logo to a three-dimensional blue block seen from a corner with programme information on one side. [9] [14]

The channel occasionally used slides for continuity; one used each day at startup featured a still from one of the idents along with the simple message 'BBC Three gets going in a moment', [9] [14] however, some were used to link to upcoming programmes. These slides featured the programme picture in the centre of the screen with the 'THREE' clearly visible behind it in the background with the BBC Three logo and programme information directly below the picture. [14]

According to The Guardian, the blobs were eventually replaced because viewers found them "cold and shouty". [15] Their departure was marked with special idents featuring celebrities such as Matt Lucas voicing the blobs. [15] [16]

Media World (2008–2013)

One of the channel's new idents BBC Three 2008 ident.jpg
One of the channel's new idents

In 2008, Danny Cohen, the controller for BBC Three at the time, unveiled a new cross-platform brand for BBC Three. The new logo would feature on the revamped BBC Three website, mobile site and on the channel itself. The links between the three media would only increase with time as emphasis was placed to watch the channel on all three platforms. "The thinking behind this rebrand of the channel is that we have, in effect, created a BBC Three world in which our content can move seamlessly between TV, online and mobile", he explained. "We have a fantastic line-up of programmes and we are going to make them available wherever young people want them." [17] [18] The rebrand cost GBP 380,000, described as "relatively little" by Cohen. [15]

The look was designed by Red Bee Media [8] along with agencies MPG and Agency Republic with music and sound design by creative audio company Koink. [19] The idents themselves featured a new look BBC Three logo; a continuous pipe containing pink liquid spelling out 'three' in lower case below a BBC logo. [9] [19] In the idents, the logo is seen on its own as an object in the 'Three world'. However, the logo is occasionally seen contained within a purple box for cross channel promotional purposes. [20]

The idents themselves contain a surreal world where technology is seen in large scale, with plug sockets, phones, televisions along with other objects such as fire extinguishers, sunglasses, high heeled shoes, lipstick all linked together by pipes containing multicoloured liquid. [9] [19] [21] Pools of this liquid is also seen in a number of the idents when pipes breach. [9] [19] [21] The plainly surreal nature of these scenes conveys the nature of the programmes themselves as they take a different view of life.

Following the 12 February 2008 relaunch, the channel began to use in-vision continuity, with announcers such as Jose Vanders announcing the upcoming schedule in the early evening. [9] [22] [23] In addition to this, members of the public could record and upload links into programmes shown in the late evening or alongside the announcer in the early evening. [22] [23] This was however suspended in Summer 2008. [23]

The channel changed its DOG at the time of the relaunch to a full-colour version of the new logo, a controversial decision at the time. [9] The DOG was originally placed to the centre left of the screen so that viewers without a widescreen television would still be able to see the logo. However, in 2011, the DOG's of all BBC channels was moved to the far left corner of the screen. [24]

BBC Three's promotional style initially featured a scene of the 'Three world' at the conclusion of the promotion, containing the BBC Three logo, promotion information and a clip from the programme seen from a suspended television. [20] [22] The end clip was dropped after a while however, with a plainer look utilised instead. [24] Programme slides are still utilised by the channel, however it is primarily used on other channels. [24] The slide design features a picture from the programme above the BBC Three logo and programme information contained within a purple box all inside a billboard design. [24]

Discovery (2013–2016)

The idents introduced in October 2013 BBC Three ident 2013.png
The idents introduced in October 2013

A new set of idents and presentation style was introduced on 1 October 2013, retaining the logo from 2008. The idents follow the theme of "discovery", and were designed by Claire Powell at Red Bee Media. [25] The soundtrack for the idents was composed by Chris Branch and Tom Haines at Brains & Hunch. [26]

Remix of BBC Three (2016)

BBC Three's short-lived final ident introduced in January 2016, before moving to online-only just over a month later BBC Three Ident 2016.jpg
BBC Three's short-lived final ident introduced in January 2016, before moving to online-only just over a month later

On 4 January 2016, BBC Three got a new look, before the television channel moved to online only on 16 February. Due to the shift online, the two animated ident sequences introduced with this new symbol were only used on screen for a month, but much of the accompanying presentation style - including the 'tricon' (the three-bars symbol seen above) was retained in some form throughout the online-first era.

Threetime on BBC One (2019–2022)

Animated ident of Threetime on BBC One, from its 2019 launch until the BBC's wide rebrand in late 2021 BBC One Threetime ident.gif
Animated ident of Threetime on BBC One, from its 2019 launch until the BBC's wide rebrand in late 2021

A branded block of BBC Three programming, Threetime was introduced to BBC One on 4 March 2019. These programmes were introduced with a dedicated ident which animated a BBC One wordmark against a pink background, followed by a looping animated graphics sequence centred around the BBC Three 'tricon' symbol.

Threetime Update (part of BBC 2021 rebrand)

In the redesign of BBC channels' presentation on 20 October 2021, the Threetime sequence would be amended: after the BBC One channel sting, the Threetime animation would consist of a pink screen with the new BBC Three wordmark appearing in a lighter pink, in the same position on screen as the other channel logos in the new style would usually be, with a shortened version of the tricon animation sequence, also in this lighter pink, looping in the centre of the screen.

Threetime was last appeared on 31 January 2022 leading up to the return of BBC Three on TV.

Three Hands (2022–present)

The latest identity was introduced with the channel's relaunch on 1 February 2022 Bbcthree2022.png
The latest identity was introduced with the channel's relaunch on 1 February 2022

Following the decision to reinstate BBC Three as a linear broadcast channel from 2022, a new visual identity was devised. The channel's colour identity was changed from pink, which it had been since 2008, to bright green, and the 'tricon' symbol introduced in 2016 was also scrapped. New branding featuring three animated hands was created [27] - this was first spotted in use in test transmissions for the revived channel which began on 10 January 2022, but was soon removed from the sequence: the hands were officially 'released' to the public in trailers and on social media on 27 January, with BBC Three's social media channels confirming the names of the hands as 'Captain', 'Spider' and 'Pointer'. [28] Captain is a violet hand often seen walking on two fingers in the style of human legs, Spider is a dark pink hand and scuttles around on all five fingers palm-downward, representing the titular arachnid, and Pointer is a magenta hand that travels by floating and is often seen with the index finger extended. The use of three alike elements in the idents has been likened to the 1998 "Choice of Three" and 2001 "Three Boxes" sets of the BBC Choice branding by some commentators. The first night of relaunch instead used "idents" set in a fake newsroom.

See also

Related Research Articles

BBC Three Television channel operated by the BBC

BBC Three is a British free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC, on-air regularly from 7.00pm to around 4.00am, timesharing with CBBC. It was first launched in 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres like animation, comedy, current affairs, and drama series. The television channel closed down in 2016 and was replaced by an online-only BBC Three streaming channel. After six years of being online-only, BBC Three returned to linear television on 1 February 2022.

Good Food Former British television channel

Good Food was a cookery channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, latterly as part of the Discovery, Inc. network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its final format on 22 June 2009. Good Food was available on satellite through Sky and through IPTV with TalkTalk TV, BT TV. From 2015 to 2018, Good Food was temporarily rebranded as Christmas Food during the festive season.

Blighty (TV channel) Television channel by UKTV

Blighty was a British pay television channel broadcasting as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel was originally launched on 8 March 2004.

BBC One Rhythm & Movement idents

The BBC One 'Rhythm & Movement' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities designed by Lambie-Nairn and used on BBC One from 29 March 2002 to 7 October 2006. They replaced the balloon idents, and spelled the end of the much recognised globe identity by the BBC, which had been used in various ways since 1963.

The history of BBC television idents begins in the early 1950s, when the BBC first displayed a logo between programmes to identify its service. As new technology has become available, these devices have evolved from simple still black and white images to the sophisticated full colour short films seen today. With the arrival of digital services in the United Kingdom, and with them many more new channels, branding is perceived by broadcasters to be much more important, meaning that idents need to stand out from the competition.

Computer Originated World BBC symbol

The Computer Originated World (COW) was the method of creating the BBC1 symbol that was used between 18 February 1985 and 16 February 1991. It was later used by the international, commercial television service BBC World Service Television from its launch until 26 January 1995.

BBC One Circle idents

The BBC One 'Circle' idents were a set of on-screen channel identities used on BBC One from 7 October 2006 to 4 December 2016. They also featured on the BBC Studios channel, BBC America. The idents contained images of circles being formed by nature, or people and their actions.

The ITV television network in the United Kingdom began as a group of regional stations, each with their own identities. Each station used its own idents to create an individual identity until the late 1990s when ITV began to introduce a consolidated presentation package as part of a dedicated effort to unify its identity. This article looks at the history of presentation of ITV.

BBC Select (1992–1995) Overnight BBC subscription television service

BBC Select was an overnight television service run by the BBC during the hours when BBC1 or BBC2 had closed down, usually between 2am and 6am. The channel showed programming intended for specialist audiences, such as businessmen, lawyers, nurses and teachers, and was designed to be viewed after broadcast via a video recording. It was funded by a subscription, and most programming was scrambled.

W (British TV channel) TV channel of UKTV network

W is a British pay television channel owned by BBC Studios, that was launched on 15 January 2003 as UK Bright Ideas. On 15 February 2016, the channel was rebranded as W. The channel currently broadcasts dramas, game shows and documentaries.

Really is a British free-to-air digital television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, currently owned by Discovery, Inc. The channel launched on 19 May 2009 as UKTV's channel for female audiences. The channel shows a mixture of lifestyle, medical, real life, crime and paranormal programming. It is available on satellite through Sky and Freesat, cable through Virgin Media and also on digital terrestrial provider Freeview.

Channel 5 is a British free-to-air television network launched in 1997. It is the fifth national terrestrial channel in the United Kingdom and is owned by Channel 5 Broadcasting Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American media conglomerate Paramount Global, which is grouped under Paramount Networks UK & Australia division.

BBC Two Personality idents

The BBC TwoPersonality idents were a set of idents used on BBC Two from 19 November 2001 until 18 February 2007. The idents were produced by the Lambie-Nairn branding agency, who had created the previous look. The idents feature an ivory sans serif white '2' in a yellow environment and performing a variety of tasks, and a purple boxed BBC Two logo.

BBC Two Two ident Station identification used on BBC2

The BBC Two 'Two' ident was the station identification used on BBC2 between 30 March 1986 and 16 February 1991. It was the last non-corporate look for the channel, and the only look until 2018 that did not feature a numeral '2' in the design.

BBC Two Window on the World idents

The Window on the World idents were a set of idents used by BBC Two from 18 February 2007 until late 2014. They were created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media. The idents featured a number 2 cut out of, or made out of parts of the everyday environment.

BBC Two Launch ident

The Launch ident was a television station identification used by BBC Two between their launch night in 1964 and the introduction of colour in 1967.

Throughout the years, Children's BBC, and later CBBC and CBeebies, have used a number of different identities. The branding of the stranded service is distinctive both in the past and at present.

BBC Four, and its predecessor BBC Knowledge, are both channels operated by the BBC as cultural and knowledge based channels. Their visual identities therefore have been a result of this aim.

The presentation and the identities of the BBC News Channel, the international counterpart BBC World News and the BBC Parliament coverage channel use specific identities that demonstrate their remit and purpose.

HGTV (British and Irish TV channel) Television channel about homes and gardens

HGTV is a British free-to-air television channel interior home and garden-orientated lifestyle television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, currently owned by Discovery, Inc. The channel originally launched on 1 November 1997 as UK Style and then was rebranded to Home on 30 April 2009 and was rebranded to its current form on 21 January 2020. HGTV is broadcast 24 hours a day on Sky and TVPlayer. UK Style was transmitted by terrestrial provider ITV Digital 24 hours a day until the company's collapse in 2002. After a slight rebrand to UKTV Style, the channel made a return to terrestrial screens for a time in the mid-2000s as part of the now-defunct Top Up TV system. Home became available as a free-to-air linear service on Freeview from 1 March 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Walker, Hayden. "BBC Choice". TVARK: The Online Television Museum. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "BBC Choice September 1998 – July 2000 Idents". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  3. ↑ "BBC Choice July 2000 - July 2001". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "BBC Choice July 2000 - July 2001 Miscellaneous". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 "BBC Choice July 2001 - February 2003 Idents". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "BBC Choice July 2001 - February 2003 Miscellaneous". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 Wood, Andrew. "Miscellaneous BBC". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  8. 1 2 Lucas, Gavin (23 January 2008). "BBC Three – Rebranded". Creative Review. Archived from the original on 2012-10-12. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Walker, Hayden. "BBC Three". TVARK: The Online Television Museum. Archived from the original on 2012-05-06. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Contains videos of BBC Three presentation.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "BBC Three February 2003 - February 2008 Idents". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  11. 1 2 Wood, Andrew. "BBC Three 2003 Idents". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  12. ↑ "BBC Three February 2003 - February 2008 Promo 1". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Contains example of DOG in corner of image
  13. ↑ "BBC Three February 2003 - February 2008 Promo 1". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2012-07-18. Retrieved 5 December 2011. Contains example of promo as seen through progressive images.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Wood, Andrew. "BBC Three 2003 Miscellaneous". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 Holmwood, Leigh (22 January 2008). "BBC3 says goodbye to its blobs". Guardian.
  16. ↑ "New BBC Three season - full details". British Comedy Guide. 22 January 2008.
  17. ↑ "BBC Three Winter/Spring 2008 Press Pack". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  18. ↑ Welsh, James (Jan 22, 2008). "In Pictures: BBC Three's new idents". Digital Spy.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "BBC Three February 2008 - Present Idents". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  20. 1 2 "BBC Three February 2008 - Present Promotions". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  21. 1 2 Wood, Andrew. "BBC Three Idents". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  22. 1 2 3 Wood, Andrew. "BBC Three 2008 Miscellaneous". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  23. 1 2 3 "BBC Three February 2008 - Present In vision continuity". The TV Room. Archived from the original on 2013-02-04. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 4 Wood, Andrew. "BBC Three Current Miscellaneous". The Ident Gallery. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  25. ↑ "BBC Three". Red Bee Media. October 2013. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "BBC Three Idents". YouTube. Red Bee Media. 9 October 2013. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "BBC Three 2022 Presentation", The Ident Gallery
  28. ↑ BBC Three, Twitter, 2021-01-27
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.