BBC Oneness - idents and presentation

There not stood the test of time either. There dull and worthless.

Not sure I’d agree with that. The hippos for example probably the most memorable in the package it not only really well, it is quirky and gives the viewer something they wouldn’t normally see. The package ties the brand well together and gives a lot of appropriate options for the different type of programming that makes up BBC One.

I caught the end of The Boss on BBC One daytime last week, and was surprised to see it credited as a BBC Studios production. Aren't most BBC game shows made by indies now? Or does BBC Studios now count as an indie?


I see UKGameshows have attempted to clear it up.

The picture editor who cut 1 Canada Square's strobe to the cymbal crash should stand up and take a bow.

I miss the circles and the music

I was just watching the original 2006 versions of the idents, and it reminded me how superior those original soundtracks were to what came after 2009. I think those new soundtracks and the bad edits are what made me less of a fan of that set.

Ah yes, back in the days when the BBC could rebrand competently.

It would be interesting to know how old that particular recording of the National Anthem is, seeing as it was used on BBC One for so many years before the News Channel came along in 1997 then of course up to the present day it gets a daily airing on Radio 4 at handover to the World Service. It's definitely the same recording, no doubt it's been transferred to many formats over the years as technology has progressed!

I think the "BBC" no longer exists... BBC Studios make the programmes (for the BBC and for hire now thats why it's all under the BBC Studios banner), Ericsson formerly Red Bee formerly BBC Broadcast do the second B in the broadcasting... Every other department is it's own thing, BBC Global News, BBC Worldwide, BBC Studioworks, BBC Workplace I'm not sure the "BBC" alone does anything now?

No, as it's not independent of a broadcaster

There's still lots of central functions and departments that are part of the 'BBC' and not seperate entities - the management and day to day running of the radio and TV channels, engineering, all the online stuff for example.


Some functions have come in-house in the last couple of years from both Ericsson and Atos. Ericsson's responsibilities in playout are much less than before and Atos are now just doing IT and no broadcast functions

What about BBC Me?

I’ve been giving this some further thought.

When the circles launched they had beautiful cinematography and soundtracks, but long form-ups that the continuity announcers tended to talk over before the logo even appeared.

Then in 2009 the idents were cut to bits so the logo could appear right at the start but ruining the execution of the circle animation appearing over an actual circle, introducing naff replacement soundtracks and generally looking a bit poor in comparison.

So, considering that the originals were beautiful but too long, and the edits were shorter but ruined the story or cinematography, I wonder: were they fit for purpose as idents in the first place? Maybe they were just too far from the traditional idea of an ident to work day in day out before each programme. Less of an ident and more of a short film (certainly in the case of Mission Control and Helicopter, the former particularly ruined by the re-editing)