Standardisation gone mad?

I'd like to know if anyone disagrees with all this standardisation that has happened in the last two years or so. It's a bigger problem than people think.

For instance, everywhere you look on TV today, everything has been standardised. By this, I mean things like BBC news. One week, the news got a revamp. The next, News 24, and before you know it, every single regional programme from South Today to Scotland Today (or whatever it's called). There is no escaping the beats of the BBC and the magnolia cream walls.

On the other side, you've got ITV, who attempted a complete standardisation of the network two years ago. The hearts and the music is the same wherever you go (excluding London weekdays and Scotland).

But have you noticed the end titles to most new ITV progammes? They are all the same style, with one third devoted to the credits and the rest an advert for another programme. This is the case with Coronation Street, Crossroads, The Bill, Bad Girls, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, even This Morning.

Does anyone agree with me that standardisation is taking over our tv screens?

Well, the networks such as the BBC and ITV have a reason, and that is to promote their brand. BBC News is far more recognisable now than it was say 3 years ago, before the introduction of the new look.

But I must say we do not need those stupid, and annoying trailers played during the end credits both on BBC and ITV.

For instance, everywhere you look on TV today, everything has been standardised. By this, I mean things like BBC news. One week, the news got a revamp. The next, News 24, and before you know it, every single regional programme from South Today to Scotland Today (or whatever it's called). There is no escaping the beats of the BBC and the magnolia cream walls.

Is that a bad thing? In a world where look and branding is everything, surely the fact more people would recognise the general look of BBC news (yes, I know we've had this argument before!) with the colour scheme, pips etc.. helps?

On the other side, you've got ITV, who attempted a complete standardisation of the network two years ago. The hearts and the music is the same wherever you go (excluding London weekdays and Scotland).

Not quite true - UTV, Scotland, 3 Carlton regions and now LWT don't use the 'tv from the heart of life' music theme. I'd like standardisation of say Carlton regions, if you could have the Central and Westcounty name at the end.

But have you noticed the end titles to most new ITV programmes? They are all the same style, with one third devoted to the credits and the rest an advert for another programme. This is the case with Coronation Street, Crossroads, The Bill, Bad Girls, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, even This Morning.

Does anyone agree with me that standardisation is taking over our tv screens?


It is and will continue to do so. ECP (End Credit Promos) are here to stay and will bring with them, standard end-credit sequences. Funnily enough, UTV often have different primetime viewing to the rest of the ITV network and lately have been trying various DIY techniques to remove the promo or overwrite the promo or remove the credit sequence all together! Very amateurish from what I've heard.

Cheers, Asa

Excluding London Weekdays, London weekends, Midlands, Westcountry, scotland, Northern Ireland, as well as Yorkshire and the North East before regional programmes!

In fact, from the 15 ITV Regions, only 8 now use the hearts now!

OK, OK, so not all ITV regions use the same scheme anymore. But in the case of the BBC's regional news, surely it's best to have a bit of originality? Surely it should be up to the region to decide what colour the studio is and how the music should go. I'm not saying that standardisation is a particularly nasty thing, but not so much!

It looks like the guys who attempted to get ITV companies together in one generic ident have failed again, just like in 1989!

In theory, there shouldn't really be a problem with all regions having the same idents and graphics on ITV, because we usually only ever watch one region, so it being the same as another doesn't really affect us. However, as much as I like the trailers and the generic credits, they simply have not got it right with their idents in the spinny-hearts areas!
The last bit of the ident, with the station logo and name, looks very amateur as if it's just been added later (which it probably was!), and could do with being a little more, hmm, what's the word... dynamic probably.
I also prefer for my region to be called Granada instead of ITV. I don't know why exactly, but it just seems better if they do, as well as having the Granada logo on trailers.

As for BBC Regional News, well, it's not too bad. Better than it was, because it's certainly improved since the relaunch, with the much better astons and picture/sport results backgrounds than at the start.

My moan: pathetic ITV nicking BBC's ideas:

• BBC integrate regional news in national news at 10 (opt out at 10:25) - and now - ITV blatantly copy
  
• Regional news (midlands) - BBC Midlands Today change studio to have live (or whatever) shots of Birmingham in the background - then, a few months later, Central News on ITV does the same.
  

(We can go back to the topic now if you like!)

I thought that was very on-topic!

And the funny thing is that Meridian feel they should go one better and have the newsreader looking at a monitor of the ITN Lunchtime presenter, they saying 'thanks John' and starting the local news. Tacky I think.

Cheers, Asa

Oh, well HTV News gives us the full opening titles

Well then both Midlands news programmes are equally at fault.
Midlands Today copied Central News' ident in 1998
And of course Central was way ahead in terms of news coverage (and still is in terms of viewing figures) because of the fact that Central News is now in 3 regions, whereas the BBC only managed to set up an East Midlands region about 30 odd years after Central.

As for 'faking it', if we can use that term...
The worst attempt at this has to be the recorded sports bulletins on Sky News overnight.
It is just comical.
But at least they have 2 presenters again!

Look back in history and you will find that the BBC has taken far far more ideas from commercial stations than ITV has ever taken from the BBC.
Imagine how ITN felt in the 50's when they had the fantastic idea of introducing In-vision newscasts.
Only for the BBC to go and copy them!
And also getting members of the public on the radio, another idea stolen from commerical broadcasters and put on the BBC.

So critisism could be leveled at both camps.

When going to the sport overnight (Sky News) with one presenter they could fake it better, with the newsman looking to his right & then a shot of the sportsman looking to his left. Its harder for 2 presenters to do that.

Ideally, the solution would be a sports ident in between, but it might appear out of place