The current state of TV presentation

IMO

I feel that the BBC back around mid-2008 had nearly perfect pres on the main channels but now its fallen pretty far down. BBC1's new idents feel rather cheap though the Circles theme still remains somewhat fresh the idents fell back pretty far. Although the reintroduction of the original '2s' was pretty exciting for me, the continuity is pretty bad with the teal box.

ITV, they aren't bad, they just aren't amazing. I appreciate the soundtracks and colour picking but the general look of the idents just feel generic. The other channels really stand up for ITV's lack of imagination, ITV3's hand crafted idents look fantastic and fit the channel well-ish.

Channel 4 feels very continuous and well thought out, their style of pres works well with the programming and the idents hold up very well.

BBC One, Two and Four could do with an overhaul. Just throw everything out and start again. BBC Two especially feels like its stuck in the mid-2000s, and although its aging better than most pres packages, BBC One is feeling a little stale I'm afraid.

I'd start with trying to re-uniform the BBC TV presentation. Back when BBC One had the globe balloon, the look across the entire range of channels looked largely the same. They stuffed it up when they brought in and then removed the box at completely different times for individual channels - BBC One from 2002 to 2006 and BBC Two has kept theirs to the present day, while BBC News brought in the box in 2008.

IMO make the box size uniform in size and position across all the channels (exact same place as the current BBC News box is during the openers for the News Channel), vary the colours depending on channel and rework the pres of One, Two and Four with that in mind. Do it for promos and idents.

On C4, I believe they might be getting new pres sometime soon. I read that somewhere here a few days ago.

BBC One would look like new again if the original edits were reinstated, plus a few newer ones (like the World Cup and Pufferfish ident).

BBC Two desperately needs an overhaul. The teal box looks stale and the whole presentation system is decrepit. Bringing back the 1991 idents was a good move, but created problems in itself - we've got two variations of the number 2 on-screen now.
What BBC Northern Ireland have is better, but still not great for continuity.

I for one think ITV's pres is awful. The curly "Ann Summers" logo is hideous, the stock video idents are not in the least bit inspiring. The other channel's idents look nice enough, though the logo ruins it.

Channel 4 do a brilliant job. They've had their idents for almost 11 years, and just by a few tweaks over the years, it still looks fantastic.
The BBC could learn a lesson or two from them.

The current ITV logo is the only one that has managed to make the letters ITV look good. The idents are far better than what they replaced; I'm not sure where you've got the notion they use stock footage.

They've managed to make a strong, uniform brand, and (as far as I can tell) they've resisted the temptation to fiddle with it.

Excepting the BBC's main channels, I actually think we're at a presentation high point. Channel 4 is potentially looking at ending its current package with it still being fresh after all this time, ITV no longer looks amateurish, and brands like Dave are getting ever stronger.

The only change required is the BBC, any predictions on when they could do it. I'm saying September 2016, which seems a long time away, but that's the only time I see them realising change.....

What's special about September 2016?!

The month isn't right, but next year is BBC One's 80th birthday. The BBC Television Service launched on 2 November 1936. If they did a relaunch in September though, it would coincide with new series of Doctor Who and Strictly Come Dancing.

I can't say much more about the BBC's presentation that hasn't already been said. I personally having been a fan of BBC One's red theme since they started using the full red screens on their menus. And as Francis said, bringing back the original edits would make them feel new again. I still get caught off guard whenever I see the full versions because my immediate reaction is that they're new, simply because I haven't seem them in so long.

BBC Two is undoubtedly buggered. Even the revival of the 90s 2's haven't given it any long-term lease of life, and I think I know why. BBC Two was a very different breed of channel when those adverts were initially used; a lot of it's content was edgy and different, whereas it now simply feels like an extension of BBC One. I've been calling for BBC Three and BBC Four to merge into BBC Two for a long time in a bid to revive what made BBC Two the channel it once was - a unique mix of arts/cultural programmes and youth programming that simply didn't try too hard to appeal to its demographic (something that the BBC hasn't been able to do in a long time).

ITV have done a lot to move away from the frankly depressing 2006 look, although they really didn't have to do much to improve on it. It's undoubtedly fresher and lighter (despite the credits scheme which I still don't understand) but the idents themselves are a bit of an issue, and it depends on how you look at it. On one hand, they're so nonchalant that they're practically boring. On the other hand, they've commissioned so many of them, it should stay fresh for a long time.

Channel 4's presentation is standing the test of time, even if I am excitingly anticipating the supposed rebrand due later this year. It's the one set that stands out the most by far*, but as other people have mentioned, it's been a very long time since any new idents have been commissioned. This might be a reference to an incoming rebrand, but you can only watch an ident so many times, no matter how appealing to the eye it is.

And for what it's worth, I can give or take Channel 5's set. They're not terrible but they're got amazing, but their supposed rebrand due this week might change that. I loathe Sky's presentation (particularly the idents, in particular Sky1's idents) for their sheer laziness and for the fact that they no longer have that premium feel you used to get from a service you pay a lot of money for... I mean seriously, look at Sky Sports' presentation compared to some of the older sets. It's pitiful.

*I've never understood how, in the age of truly multi-channel television, so many channels opt for the live-action "real life" option that so many channels have adopted over the years. Surely the idea of a channel's brand is to make it stand out from the crowd, yet trying to stand out from the crowd is what they all seem to be doing, in turn doing the exact opposite.



Somebody on here cited The Sun for that claim, stating it was due a rebrand this Autumn.



It's a month away from the Circle's ten year anniversary. That's the only logic I can find.

I do think C4 have got the timing about right - watching last night and seeing Pylons and another of the originals they are beginning to tire a bit now.

ITV's presentation is the best it's been probably since they dropped the regions. The BBC's is the worst.

It could have been worse, if the licence fee freeze had happened a few years earlier we might have got stuck with the dancers for ten years!

The peak in terms of everything TV presentation related for me will always be the late 90s/very early 00s. The BBC1 dancers pretty much mark the downward spiral towards the whole flat "that'll do" mentality that is rampant in graphics design today (I'm looking at you Microsoft and Apple ). Basically its a bit like the mechanical days of the 70s/early 80s where all you usually got was a white logo on a plain blue background, only smoother.

I think I've missed this - where was the suggestion of a Channel 4 rebrand this year?