Didn't the last BBC One relaunch happen around Easter time? Maybe if we're incredibly optimistic we should be looking out for something then.
The one before that happened around October/November though - so no correlation!
It usually makes sense to rebrand at the beginning of a "new season", and my personal guess would be Autumn at the earliest.
It also depends on the scale of the revamp - if it's just BBC1 it'll probably happen sooner than if it was a revamp affecting all channels.
I personally would rebrand around a new season but the BBC pick their dates in the weirdest of ways. The actual 2 logo along with a new look to BBC1 debuted in February 1991. HUH!?! Why launch AFTER the new winter season debuts? I just don't understand.
No VT clocks on the clean feed? Or are they obsolete with everything coming off servers
The VT clocks are cached onto server, but, of course, go to black a couple of seconds before the programme starts, and are masked out by marksi's clouds on the clean feed.
I've been informed that the credits were created specifically with the BBC ECP format in mind - so that the Beeb would no longer have to squash the credits to the side each time they showed a promo.
I thought that the BBC always edit their own credit sequence for Neighbours anyway?
In recent years, the BBC have been sent a 'DIY kit' for the Neighbours credits - i.e. containing the necessary base frames (e.g. episode stills / titles shots etc) and credits list and they've merged it all together to fit the 35 second theme music arrangement that Grundy's edit for them. However, it seems the Beeb's previous attempt to make their own ECP friendly credits haven't been a success with viewers (remember 2003 and the Ramsay Street shot with ridiculously compressed scroll running up the side??). So, since 2004 they've just squashed the entire sequence into the right whenever they show ECP, which to be fair isn't all the time.
However, it seems this hasn't been the best format for the BBC, so coupled with a desire by other broadcasters to receive a shorter worldwide credits sequence, Grundy have decided to kill two birds with one stone and make a worldwide sequence that is also BBC compatible.
What remains to be seen is how the BBC ECP will work with these new credits which as the Beeb's promo format stands will NOT be fully compatible without an additional squeeze of the text (rendering Grundy's efforts useless) or unless the ECP format changes very soon, i.e. to take up less screen space than at present.
Similarly, it's still up in the air as to whether the BBC will use the extended 40 second theme tune in a few weeks' time or if they'll have to try and trim it to fit their 35 second sequence... all very confusing!
The dancers are definately going - i read it in a newspaper article - so it's not going to be a minor change like the ECP or box. But it would look strange if BBC ONE did get rid of the box, but all the other channels kept it. So....
To conclude, it would make sense to either:
Keep the red box but get new idents,
or change ONE, TWO, THREE and FOUR to match.
They'll probably stuff it up like Home and Aways are now. The generic credits used to fit Five ECPs quite nicely, but when 7 changed their ECP style the generic credits were changed too and now they are squashed too unreadable!
In respect to the boxes, it is possible to alter where they are featured on the screen, such as BBC FOUR. Who's to say that the new BBC ONE box won't be placed in the centre of the screen with a globe rotating behind it? BBC TWO also seem to be more and more liberal with what they do with their box, i.e. the '2' bird effect thing.
I think it's probably safe to say that since there have been no press releases or reports in any newspapers/on any websites that we aren't going to get a rebrand this weekend.
Although, with the raft of new programmes coming up for the Spring season, you never know.
In the "BBC TWO is changing" thread, Psythor has put that Jana Bennett told him, at his university, on 3 March, "something to the effect that they're "thinking about" rebranding BBC One too, specifically mentioning to remove the dancers, and they'll be definately keeping the red."