BBC2 Rebranding

[Johnny Yesno]

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/oct/10/bbc-news-forced-to-play-old-content-on-live-channel-for-an-hour

An internal memo that has since been shared widely appears to show that the issue was down to, among other issues, the OpenMedia system, software that BBC News uses to manage scripts and audio.

Ha, there were references to this in W1A, weren't there?

[Replies From View]

Seriously though I don't see why things like this have to cost millions of pounds.  There was a time when the BBC had internal design bods who'd do stuff for their usual fee, like Raymond Cusick who took Terry Nation's vague description of the Daleks and actually created the physical design.  I agree that Cusick should have retrospectively received some additional money (and recognition) because the Dalek design became such a classic and made the BBC so much money, but there's no reason BBC idents shouldn't be designed in-house. 

They are idents.  To people who aren't trapped within the delusions and pretensions of the design world, there is nothing about any of this that is worth millions of pounds.  A local primary school could do an animation project and the results could be used as the new BBC 2 idents.

[Phil_A]

Seriously though I don't see why things like this have to cost millions of pounds.  There was a time when the BBC had internal design bods who'd do stuff for their usual fee, like Raymond Cusick who took Terry Nation's vague description of the Daleks and actually created the physical design.  I agree that Cusick should have retrospectively received some additional money (and recognition) because the Dalek design became such a classic and made the BBC so much money, but there's no reason BBC idents shouldn't be designed in-house. 

They are idents.  To people who aren't trapped within the delusions and pretensions of the design world, there is nothing about any of this that is worth millions of pounds.  A local primary school could do an animation project and the results could be used as the new BBC 2 idents.

Is anything like that done in-house now? Do the facilities even still exist within the corporation to do something like that? Seems unlikely given how they dispensed with pretty much everything else - music, visual effects, costumes, even the bloody studios themselves - fucked it all off, didn't they.

[Replies From View]

Is anything like that done in-house now? Do the facilities even still exist within the corporation to do something like that? Seems unlikely given how they dispensed with pretty much everything else - music, visual effects, costumes, even the bloody studios themselves - fucked it all off, didn't they.

Yeah no need for any of it, only a British Broadcast Corporation, mate.  All we need is a flag, a signal that's going out of an aerial, and whatever it is that makes a corporation legally exist.

[mothman]

Yes, why spend money having all these services in-house when they can be outsourced for less than twice the price?

[Sebastian Cobb]

Why didn't they rebrand as an old couple in an armchair tutting at things because the average age of their viewers is now in the 60s?

BBC1, BBC2 and ITV are all above 60, with Channel 4 being the one for youngsters of 55. E4 is 42.

[Chriddof]

Are people really more likely to watch BBC programmes if they change the idents? Why not reuse some older ones if you need to shake things up?

I can tell you haven't watched much of BBC2 in recent years because that's what they've been doing up until now. Up until the relaunch they were constantly reusing various idents from as long ago as 1991. For their "retro" afternoon slots of classic repeats, they were showing idents from the 80s (which they may still do, I'm not sure).

[Uncle TechTip]

Yes they should let the design team loose and allow them to produce something as striking as this Xmas ident:

https://youtu.be/khbfL4bNcO8?t=368

[Isnt Anything]

I can tell you haven't watched much of BBC2 in recent years because that's what they've been doing up until now. Up until the relaunch they were constantly reusing various idents from as long ago as 1991.

Yup. For FN5s benefit, they brought back the classic 90s Lambie-Nairn ones (as well as lots of others) in the summer of 2014 just for the 'BBC2 is 50' celebrations. They got such a good response from people compared to whatever forgettable shite they were then using that the decision was made to go back to them permanently .... well for four years anyway. :)

[Blumf]

Just noticed this wiki site for logos
http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/BBC_Two

Has a good selection on the TV channels, I quiet like BBC 1's first 'logo' (more of a tuning/test image):
http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/BBC_One

[Johnny Yesno]

That is superb. They should totally go back to that.

[Blumf]

Looking at it, it kinda prefigures the BBC 1 globe. I wonder if that was inspired by the circle and line.