BBC One

Well done

I know that it wasen't any way.

Ident will be on BBC One 15th december

Why so early?

As has already been pointed out, the following Saturday (22 Dec) would be the more logical start date.

But no, marketing know best

If you look at this web site it's shows the patten for the last 2 years!

http://www.tvradiobits.co.uk/idents/bbctvxmas4.htm

I am well aware of the pattern, it makes no sense that's all. Especially if, in terms of presentation, New Year's Eve is considered part of Christmas but New Year's Day no longer is.

No doubt it's probably been decreed by Marketing to make the Christmas idents financially justifiable. But if they start on the 15th people will be bored with them by the 24th.

I am all for the earlier suggestion that Christmas idents should air for the same amount of time each year. My view on this is 24 December-01 January inclusive.

This may be an unpopular idea on this forum, but the 24th is far too late. From the 21st to the 31st is probably best, and as the idents hopefully change every year people will be not be bored by a 10 day airing, as we normally have standard idents for a 4 year period being bored by them is simply ridiculous. Whilst i can accept people are subjected to idents to a greater scale over the christmas period as they are at home and in front of the television more, it hardly equates to the boredom of four years of the same ident before eastenders or the news.

Not that i find it boring or monotonous just pure hipocrisy to complain of christmas idents being to early citing boredom when in fact normal idents are somewhat easier to find 'boring' due to the nature of their 'shelf-life'.

So as the idents came on 16th December last year, I assume this year will be the 15th or the 22nd?

I don't know if this is just because they don't know about the idents, but on the susan roberts academy website, it says idents[/B][U]

Edit: bbc140, do you have any news on the ident (s)

It'll probably be the same as previous; a shorter version of the main.

Friday 21st at 19.00 would be perfectly early enough.

Makes sense going on the 15th to be honest, given the fact most schools and colleges break up for Christmas then. I think thats why its done that early.

Do they? most in my area are finishing on the 21st, returning on the 7th Jan

Just to put this into context, the 15th was even considered too early to start the Christmas Ceefax/test card music throughout the 80s and 90s. The earliest I'm aware of this starting was 16 December (1985) and in most subsequent years it was either the 17th or more usually the 18th (exactly one week before Christmas Day).

There was certainly a practical argument for starting the Christmas music so far in advance of the big day because there were eight tapes and only one 15-minute slot per day on each channel. But start the Christmas IDENTS even earlier and you are losing the magic when it comes to the big day itself.

Incidentally, why do you not feel the Christmas idents should air on New Year's Day?


Then it gives you one less thing to talk about when school resumes in the New Year...in January 1986 the BBC1 robins were the talk of the playground (not joking!)