Nine's Wide World of Sports
Logo descriptions by TrickyMario7654, and hb1290
Photos by TrickyMario7654
Video captures by Nicolas Lagorio, LSKnine, and Zampakid, and TrickyMario7654
Background: Nine's Wide World of Sports is the long running sports anthology brand used by the Nine Network in Australia, introduced in 1982 to replace the old "Nine Sports" name. All major sport events and series covered by the network are broadcast under this brand.
Nine Sports
(1977?-1982)
Logo: TBA
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Nine's Wide World of Sports
1st Logo
(1982-March 1992)Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe", "Sports Globe"
Logo: On a black background, we see a sparkling gold Channel Nine logo without the dots to the left of it, off centered from the middle of the screen. A bunch of glowing yellow balls appear one by one, circling around the logo and creating various thin blue circles that rotate behind the logo in a way that resembles an atom. The glowing balls then start to create the dots in the Channel Nine logo one by one, flashing as they land in place, while the thin circles that surround it all wrap into an oval that encloses the logo. This oval then becomes a wireframe globe (similar to the one in the Worldvision logo), as "WIDE WORLD" and "OF SPORTS" flash in above and below the logo respectively, both colored white and in an old looking computer font.
Closing Variant: At the end of sport telecasts or productions, a truncated version of the logo is used, beginning from the point where the "WIDE WORLD" and "OF SPORTS" texts flashes in. Another closing variant also exists, which has the logo start from the point where the blue circles are almost finished wrapping around the Channel Nine logo.
Variant: On cricket and golf matches aired by Nine from c.1985 onward, special variations were used which will be described at a later date. FX/SFX: The sparkles on the Channel Nine logo (plus it's dots), the glowing balls flying around and flashing as they stop in place, the rotating circles that eventually combine into the wireframe globe, and the text flashing in.
Music/Sounds: A bunch of laser sound effects with a 9-note xylophone theme that coincides with each dot forming on the Channel Nine logo, followed by a funky fanfare played on a drum, trombone, and saxophone. The closing variant usually had the closing theme playing over it, with long time Channel Nine announcer Steve Britten (or ex-cricketer and renowned commentator Richie Benaud on cricket matches) saying: "This has been another presentation from Nine's Wide World of Sports."
Music/Sounds Variant: The previously described cricket and golf variations have the opening excerpt of "New Horizons" by Brian Bennett in place of the regular logo theme. Availability: Extinct. Was seen at the start and the end of Channel Nine sport telecasts between 1982-1992, as well as episodes of Wide World of Sports and Sports Sunday from the time period, but it usually can't be seen nowadays outside of old off-air recordings. The cricket variant had made a few appearances in recent years when Channel Nine aired an old cricket match to fill time when a current match was rained out, but after Nine lost the rights to televise international cricket matches in 2018, this variant has also become extinct outside of off-air recordings.
Editor's Note: This logo looked pretty neat for it's time, but by 1992, it was starting look rather dated. Nonetheless, it's a favorite of many, particularly to those who grew up watching sports on Channel Nine.
2nd Logo
(April 1992-December 1996)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe II", "Sports Globe II"
Logo: On a black background, several gold CGI spears fly around the screen in many directions, each of which leave a silver trail behind them that fades away shortly afterwards. The Channel Nine logo (in gold and without the dots) then zooms out from the right side of the screen, with the spears stopping in place to the left of it one by one, flashing as they create the dots in the logo. As the Channel Nine logo continues to zoom out, a silver wireframe globe draws itself in, which the logo stops in the center of. Once the globe is complete and the final dot stops in place, the Channel Nine logo begins to sparkle and shine as "WIDE WORLD" and "OF SPORTS" flash in above and below the logo respectively, this time in a more conventional font and with some shine effects.
Closing Variant: TBA
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FX/SFX: The spheres flying around, the trails left behind by them, the Channel Nine logo zooming into place, the wireframe globe drawing in, the text flashing in, and the sparkling and shining effects on the logo and text. Very good CGI for 1992.
Music/Sounds: Same as the previous logo, but recomposed. The laser sound effects are replaced with a heavenly choir, the 9-note xylophone theme has been redone, and the majestic drum, trombone, and saxophone fanfare at the end now sounds more professional.
Music/Sounds Variants: A few different variations of the opening theme exist, but here's some of the ones we've been able to find.
- Like the previous logo, the cricket variant uses the opening excerpt of "New Horizons" by Brian Bennett.
- On Formula One races televised with this logo in 1992, the theme from the previous logo is heard, but with the added sound effects of F1 cars revving and rattle guns in use during the fanfare. From 1993 onwards, all Formula One race telecasts used the standard logo theme instead.
- On Motorcycle Grand Prix telecasts, the sounds of motorcycles revving can be heard during the fanfare. Two different variants were known to be used in 1994 and 1995 respectively.
`1
Availability: Rare. Seen at the start and the end of Channel Nine sport telecasts between 1992-1996, as well as episodes of Wide World of Sports and Sports Sunday from the time period. Once again, you'll likely need to look at old off-air recordings to find this logo for yourself nowdays, but the standard logo can also be found on the 1997 VHS release of The Best of The Footy Show: Volume 3 (and presumably on the first two volumes too). As per the previous logo, the cricket variant had made appearances in recent years when Channel Nine aired an old cricket match to fill time when a current match was rained out until they lost the rights to televise international cricket matches in 2018. However, this variant can still be seen on several cricket-related VHS releases issued by Visual Entertainment Group/Australian Cricket Video from the time period.
Editor's Note: A great successor to the previous logo, especially with it's brilliant CGI effects and more lively theme.
3rd Logo
(January 1997-December 2000)Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe III", "Sports Globe III"
Logo: Same as the 2nd logo, but with slightly redone animation. The spears/dots and the Channel Nine logo are in a more brighter shade of gold, the trails and wireframe globe are now blue, with the latter glowing in various places. The flash in effects for the "WIDE WORLD" and "OF SPORTS" text are also much improved, and the shining effects for the text are more noticeable compared to the previous logo.
Closing Variant: TBA Variants: TBA FX/SFX: Same as the 2nd logo, but with the added glow effects on the wireframe globe.
Music/Sounds: The same theme from the previous logo, but redone in a guitar-heavy rock style
Availability: Rare. Seen at the start and the end of Channel Nine sport telecasts between 1997-2000, as well as episodes of Wide World of Sports (until the show was discontinued in 1999) and Sports Sunday from the time period. This logo can be found on the DVD release of Howzat! Kerry Packer War as an extra feature on Disc 3.
Editor's Note: TBA
4th Logo
(January 2001-2002)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe IV", "Sports Globe IV"
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5th Logo
(2002-2004)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe V", "Sports Globe V"
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6th Logo
(2004-2006)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe VI", "Sports Globe VI"
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7th Logo
(2006-2008)
Nicknames: "Nine's Not So Wide World of Sports"
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8th Logo
(2008)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe VII", "Sports Globe VII", "Return of The Globe"
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9th Logo
(2008-2012)
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe VIII", "Sports Globe VIII"
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10th Logo
(2012- )
Nicknames: "Wireframe Globe IX", "Sports Globe IX"
Logo: On a white background, a series of red CGI spheres drop down and explode into larger wireframe spheres, which then fill out into solid spheres. We then cut to several shots of CGI streaks crossing the screen, which in turn, cuts to the elements forming the classic WWOS wireframe globe logo on a tilted angle. The globe then zooms out and tilts to a regular angle, stopping in the center of the screen as the "WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS" text flies out from the bottom of the screen and stops underneath the globe.
FX/SFX: This logo is all CGI, containing no live-action clips. This is the first WWOS logo since the 2001 logo to feature no live-action clips.
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Variant: Starting from early 2016, the logo was recolored light blue and became more glossier.
Music/Sounds: A modern rock version of the classic WWOS theme.
Availability: Current. The original red variant was seen on all Channel Nine sport broadcasts between 2012-2016, while the blue variant has been used on said broadcasts since 2016.
Editor's Note: TBA
