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'''Legacy:''' This logo is highly regarded by the community due in part to its production process, done without resorting to primarily using computer animation.
===6th Logo (
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PBS 1996 A.png
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'''Legacy:''' The many variations of this logo marked the beginning of a trend for PBS idents that continues to this very day.
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*Unlike other logos, it's not known to have ever plastered an earlier logo.
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PBS Young People 2003 ident.png
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*The satellite ID variant continued to appear between programs until 2022, shortly before the next logo was ultimately retired.
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* Even after the next logo was introduced, this remained on ''PBS NewsHour'' until November 13, 2019, ''Martha Stewart's Cooking School'' until November 17, 2019, ''Washington Week'' until December 27, 2019, ''BBC World News'' until February 28, 2020, ''Amanpour and Company'' until April 17, 2020, ''Motorweek'' until April 3, 2021, ''Firing Line'' until June 18, 2021, and ''To the Contrary'', the last program to still use it on new episodes, until November 6, 2022, and is retained on the 2020 national rebroadcasts of ''The Roosevelts: An Intimate History'' and ''The Talk: Race in America''. The extended version of Photo Album was shown among the post-program content at the end of the fourth episode of ''The War'' when it was rebroadcast in 2020, even though the closing logo is the 2020 Documentaries ID.
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PBS (2019).png
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The Public Broadcasting Service, known on air as PBS, is a publicly funded non-profit distribution service (founded on November 3, 1969) that serves a variety of television stations in the United States, as well as some areas of Mexico (a Spanish-speaking country) and Canada. PBS replaced its predecessor NET on October 5, 1970. Some of the most prominent of their original member stations were KPBS in San Diego, WNET in New York, GBH in Boston, WQED in Pittsburgh, KQED in San Francisco, WTTW in Chicago, and KCET in Los Angeles. Currently, PBS has over 350 member stations, most of which are owned by educational institutions.
Note: Most PBS logos serve as both a closing logo and a network ID.
Logo: Just the words "PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE" stacked on top of each other on a black background.
Variants:
Technique: None.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: An announcer, MacDonald Carey, saying "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service." Later programs used different announcers (at least two distinct announcers have been identified on Firing Line and Thirty Minutes With...).
Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variant: On Calebration, the opening theme plays over the logo, and there is no announcer.
Availability: Extinct.
Legacy: This logo is rather infamous as it is the hardest PBS logo to find because of its incredibly short lifespan. In all likelihood, this was developed as a placeholder logo during the NET to PBS transition, hence why the color scheme is the same as the 12th NET logo. For many years, the only circulating copy was one of very poor quality, and it had barely any information regarding its source. What was known is that it came from "Go Ride the Music", and even then many casual observers failed to connect it with Fanfare for years. However, starting in the late 2010s, more copies as mentioned above have come to light, giving the community a few additional captures of this very elusive ID. It has also been found that the original poor quality source comes from a TVARK recording.
Logo: On a black background, an abstract "P" zooms out to the top portion of the screen. The "P" turns into a P-shaped head (known internally at PBS as "Everyman"; nicknamed "P-Head" by fans) facing left with the text "PUBLIC" appearing underneath (this set and the later lines of text underneath being set in ITC Avant Garde); both move to the left side of the screen. An abstract "B" pops in to the right of the P-Head and two black dots form the holes within the "B" (the latter dot coinciding with the text "BROADCASTING" appearing below "PUBLIC"). An abstract "S" appears to the right of the "B" and two black dots cut the inner curves of the "S" as the text "SERVICE" appears below "BROADCASTING" (coinciding with the second dot). The final text stack reads:
PBS
PUBLIC
BROADCASTING
SERVICE
Trivia:
Variants:
Technique: Rather simple traditional cel animation.
Music/Sounds: A telephone-like synthesizer scale descending rapidly, followed by 5 synthesizer tones as the black dots appear; there is an echo in the final note. Composed by Paul Alan Levi, using a EMS VCS3 Putney synthesizer.
Music/Sounds Variants:
Availability: Uncommon. Due to replacement with newer logos and newer shows, it was extremely rare in recent years. However, DVD releases and streaming have made it easier to find.
Legacy: Many individuals who grew up during this logo's time period have strong memories of it, whether fond or otherwise. The loud synthesizer music freaked out a few people in its day, but now this logo stands for nostalgia more than anything else.
Logo: On a black background, a blue P-head appears on the upper-mid screen, facing backwards. A piece, unofficially called "The Split", comes out to the right and settles itself about half an inch away. The text "PBS" appears below in a slab serif font, which was designed specifically for PBS (called "ITC Lubalin Graph Bold").
Trivia:
Variants:
Technique: Simple 2D computer effects.
Music/Sounds: A majestic piano chord, followed by six string pizzicato tones, and then a softer version of the piano chord. Composed by Jonathan Elias.
Music/Sounds Variants:
Availability: Common. It appeared on old prints of PBS shows produced from 1984-89. Can also be found on early PBS Home Video releases from the '80s; just look for a banner with the P-Head on the left and "PBS VIDEO" filling the entire rest of the banner.
Legacy: While this logo has never been seen on television for many years, it is still very highly regarded and is a favorite of many.
Logo:
Trivia:
Variants:
Technique: 3D computer animation.
Music/Sounds: A long held-out string note combined with synth bells (played on a Roland D-50 using the Fantasia preset) and chimes, followed by an announcer (possibly Mike Pengra) saying "This is PBS".
Music/Sounds Variants:
Availability: Rare. As with other vintage PBS logos, the chance of showing up on television now is almost nothing, but some PBS Home Video releases from the era may have it. Just look for a square in the top-left corner of the front of the box with "PBS VIDEO" below a P-head.
Legacy: The logo is well-liked for its nice animation and soft music.
Logo: On a pink/orange lighted background, several transparent ellipses revealing people's faces appear and disappear one at a time. Then we zoom out through a circle, which turns out to be the eye in the PBS P-Head standing on a floor, made from glass. To the left of the P-Head, the text "PBS" rotates to face the screen.
Trivia:
Variant: There is a completely still variant with a male or female announcer saying, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service." This was used for program breaks. The same still variant, without the announcer, would be substituted in place of the "Viewers Like You" credit on Ken Burns' The West.
Technique: Impressive live-action effects, with compositing being done on a Paintbox.
Music/Sounds: A funky, boogie piano tune with choir vocalizing, followed by an announcer (Chris Murney, the voice of Elisha Hunt Rhodes in Ken Burns' The Civil War) who says "This is PBS." The music was composed by Peter Fish, who has also done music for CBS News.
Music/Sounds Variant: There is a rare variant that exists without the voice-over. This was seen on the aforementioned mini-documentary Making the PBS Logo, which was used as a filler program for when there was time left at the end of any program.
Availability: Uncommon.
Legacy: This logo is highly regarded by the community due in part to its production process, done without resorting to primarily using computer animation.
Logo: On a black background, a CGI window appears with a bird's-eye view of the Earth, a plastic globe spinning on the top right, and a telescope rotating on the bottom left. A pear-colored PBS P-Head (with the split colored light blue) appears in front of the window and grows smaller as the window grows bigger. As the two meet each other, the window disappears. Inside the P-Head are transparent images of two globes, a feather and a telescope. The P-Head takes its place in the top center of the screen and turns to light blue and aquamarine as the text "PBS" fades in below them.
Trivia:
Variant: Early editions of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer that featured this logo had this fading in and out.
Technique: Neat CGI effects.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A new age tune with guitars and flutes, composed by Elias Associates, followed by an announcer (Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS."
Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants:
Availability: Uncommon. It appears on TV sometimes, but PBS Home Video tapes are an easier way to find it.
Logo: On a computer-animated green sky background, a person standing to the left covers his or her head with a black circle with the PBS P-Head on it in white. Acrobats jump from all directions off the circle. The text "PBS" appears to the right, with the URL "www.pbs.org" appearing below it. This is the last logo that used the words "This Is PBS". Also, throughout the ident, many things happen in the background: On all ten variants, there are small superimposed silhouettes of people flying in a circle behind the acrobats. On three out of ten of the variants, there are silhouettes of big wands briefly flying down behind the PBS text. And on the rest, there are silhouettes of people tip-toeing in an oval (a circle on the widescreen version) around the person.
Trivia:
Variants: Each time you see this logo, different people are holding the circle with the P-head on it, and the acrobats doing all kinds of tricks around the P-Head circle. Here's a list of the men and women you see (also including the tricks the acrobats do):
Technique: Computer effects combined with live-action.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A brief synth swell and a 3-note flute fanfare, then a new age percussion tune (with men vocalizing), followed by the announcer from the previous logo (Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS." If we listen carefully, we can also hear a trombone and strings in the background as well. There is also a variant that exists with Bacall saying, "You are watching PBS." This was used for program breaks.
Availability: Rare.
Legacy: The many variations of this logo marked the beginning of a trend for PBS idents that continues to this very day.
Logo: Against an orange background, we see the PBS circle in a light yellow color with the P-head being the same orange color as the background. The "P" Circle slowly eases back and fades out as four green circles appear and spread around the screen revealing smaller light yellow circles inside. Four more circles appear and the outer circles merge with the other circles before they begin spreading out. The PBS "P" Circle, now in the standard black and white colors, appears with a blur effect. Small circles form "pbs.org" below in a white calibri font.
Variants:
Trivia: As with the previous branding, this was designed by Lee Hunt Associates.
Technique: 2D computer animation.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A three-note ascending tune (D, E, A); most likely played on sitar, Gibson Les Paul or a Rickenbacker 325 (put through a wah-wah pedal) and a voiceover saying "This is PBS."
Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants: On the blue variant, one of two tunes was used:
Availability: Extinct.
Logo: We see a letterboxed clip show of live-action footage, filmed on a large set with hardwood floor and a background of bushy raw sienna-colored curtains. Culturally and generationally diverse people are employed in the variants, each giving various performances on-camera. As the last clip plays, we see the “Circle P-Head” logo animating with the word "PBS" in PMN Caecilia on the right and the slogan “Be more” on the left. The text has been modified a bit after the past 18 years. Throughout the bumper, a bug for the URL "pbs.org" is seen in the lower left corner.
Variants: Here are some of the variations that have been seen of late, with a list of the clips in each variant in chronological order:
Technique: Mostly live action, combined with CGI for the logo animation. This logo was done by PMcD Design.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A majestic orchestral tune with a choir. Composed by Tonal Sound and Elias Associates. The same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over (see above for examples).
Availability: Common, still preserved on reruns of older PBS programming.
Logo: We see a video of a person or people having activities. Suddenly, the PBS logo appears with "Be More" on the left and "PBS" on the right. The word "PBS" then changes to the URL "pbs.org". A voice-over says "Be More, PBS." as the logo animates.
Trivia: Perhaps due to its appeal to a variety of audiences for the network, this is PBS's second longest-lasting ID, after their Everymen logo.
Variants:
Technique: Same as the 12th logo. Done by EyeballNYC.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A 5-note tune, created by music company Expansion Team. Like the ninth logo, the same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over.
Availability: Common. Still used on reruns of most PBS first-run shows, though this has been gradually been phasing out in favor of the next logo. The variants are used randomly, as with the previous logos, on many programs, including NOVA, This Old House, Motorweek, and The Woodwright's Shop; however, on certain programs you can always expect to see the following variants:
Logo:
Trivia: This logo incorporates elements of the 1971, 1993, 2002, and 2009 logos, with emphasis on blues, live-action variants, and a quick zoom-out through the eye of the P-head.
Variants:
Technique: Most variants are in live-action, while the PBS logo itself has rather simple animation. Done by Lippincott.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over:
Availability: Current.
Legacy: The corporate brand unification the company has been pushing with this logo and the design itself seems to be garnering less favorable (initial) reactions compared to previous logos. Time will only tell if the community will warm up to this logo. Nevertheless, its variant set, including and excluding special IDs, appears to be the most diverse ever offered by the network thus far.
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