BBC Worldwide

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


Background

BBC Worldwide was the commercial arm of the BBC, formed on May 15, 1979. On April 1, 2018, they merged with BBC Studios to bring licensing, production and distribution into one company.



1st Logo (May 12, 1996)


Visuals: There is the CGI version of the 1988 BBC logo from the 1991-1997 BBC Video logo, except "WORLDWIDE" is seen underneath. "DISTRIBUTED THROUGH" is also seen above the logo.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The ending theme from the closing credits.

Availability: Only seen at the end of the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie.

2nd Logo (1996)

Visuals: On a grey-dark green marble wall background with two black widescreen bars at the top and bottom, there are two white lines. Above the first white line is the text "LAST CHANCE TO SEE" in Adorn Serif font. Above the "LAST CHANCE TO SEE" text is the name of the animal or plant presented in the short with a question mark in Copperplate Gothic font above the second white line. The 1988 BBC logo (in white) is shown above the second widescreen box, which reads "© [BBC (in the form of its 1988 logo)] WORLDWIDE LTD (year in Roman numerals)" in white.

Variant: At the end of the last ever Last Chance to See short, instead of the "LAST CHANCE TO SEE" text, the text "WAS THIS YOUR" in the same Adorn Serif font and the same "LAST CHANCE TO SEE" text in the same Copperplate Gothic font with the same question mark are seen.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The closing theme of the short.

Availability: It was seen on the award-winning BBC's Last Chance to See shorts, all of which were originally aired in 1996.

  • The shorts were rerun on BBC Two during schools programmes from 1999-2010, and on Channel 4 from 2004-2017.
  • They can also be found on Vimeo.

3rd Logo (1997-2009?)

Visuals: There is the 1997 BBC logo with "Worldwide" in Gill Sans to the right of it.

Variant: Sometimes, the logo is in-credit.

Technique: A still, computerized graphic.

Audio: The ending theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on several shows such as the 2001 revivals of Bill and Ben and Andy Pandy. Also seen on non-remastered prints of The Big Knights.

4th Logo (February 26, 2007)


Visuals: There is the stacked lowercase words "bbc worldwide", with some coloured bars at the bottom of the screen.

Technique: A still, digital graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only seen on the official BBC Studios Youtube channel, which was formerly this company's channel.

Legacy: A rather strange logo from the BBC, as it is the only on-screen logo coming from them to not use the actual BBC logo.

5th Logo (May 31, 2010-October 26, 2018)


Visuals: Same as the 2009 BBC DVD logo, but it is shortened, and sometimes a copyright notice appears below.

Variants:

  • "Worldwide Sales & Distribution" sometimes appears below the 1997 BBC logo.
  • Another version of the "WS&D" logo exists on non-Australian prints of early season 1 episodes of Bluey (through episodes 1 to 26), in which the text "PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH AND DISTRIBUTED BY BBC WORLDWIDE" above the logo, and the text "Bluey © Ludo Studio 2018" below it, both fade in.
  • Sometimes, "Worldwide Channels" replaces "Worldwide Sales & Distribution".
  • A short version exists.
  • Another version exists with the word "Worldwide" inside the rectangle around 2012. An in-credit variant of this also exists.

Technique: Same as the 2009 BBC DVD logo. Computerized graphic for the in-credit version.

Audio: Same as the 2009 BBC DVD logo, but it is shortened and only the fireworks sounds are heard.

Audio Variants:

  • The ending theme can be played over the logo sometimes.
  • A silent variant can be seen on episodes of Sarah & Duck on Sprout On-Demand (now Universal Kids On-Demand).
  • Sometimes on Bluey, the logo's music and the finishing of the episode's ending theme plays at the same time.
  • On some episodes of Father Brown on some local PBS stations, it was slowed down to NTSC instead of PAL.

Availability: Seen on some shows from BBC Worldwide, such as Clangers, Go Jetters!, and Dinopaws.

  • The in-credit logo can be seen on Hey Duggee, Sarah & Duck and Andy's Baby Animals among others.
  • The "Worldwide Sales & Distribution" logo can be seen on season 1 episodes of Bluey on Disney Junior, as well as the DVD releases of Series 2-5 of Horrible Histories.
  • It is also seen on UKTV Drama airings of Whitechapel, following the 2003 Carnival Films logo.

6th Logo (October 11-December 14, 2016)


Visuals: On a black background, there is the same BBC box from before with lens flares zooming out and fading in. Underneath the box are the words "Distributed by BBC Worldwide", also fading in.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Only seen on season 3 of The Great Australian Bake Off.

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