NBC logos
Encyclopedia
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC
) has used several corporate logo
s over its history, yet the peacock is its most well known.
In 1942, NBC television introduced its first official logo, a microphone surrounded by lightning bolts, which was a modification of an existing logo used by the NBC radio network. Lightning bolts were also a part of corporate parent RCA
's logo, as well as that of one-time sister company RKO Pictures
. The left waves were meant for the radio network, and the right waves were meant for the television network. The video version of this logo says, "This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company", followed by the NBC chimes
. At the beginning of telecasts, another card depicting an NBC cameraman with his camera was shown. On WNBT (now WNBC
), heard was "WNBT, New York."
In late 1953, a stylized xylophone and mallet was introduced, accompanied by the three-tone NBC chimes
, first heard on NBC radio in 1927. The main chimes were 7 tones. The current tones, however, are the notes G
, E'
and C'
. There is some indication that the xylophone logo was used at 5:32 PM on December 17, 1953 to announce the Federal Communications Commission
's (FCC) approval of the new color standard, which would go into effect 30 days later. Special permission was apparently used on New Year's Day when the Tournament of Roses Parade
was aired.
In 1956, John J. Graham
created an abstraction of an eleven-feathered peacock to indicate richness in color. This brightly hued peacock was adopted due to the increase in color programming. This was also due to NBC's owner, RCA being a manufacturer of color television sets. As a result, the Peacock became a marketing tool, in the hopes that people tuning into NBC would purchase color TV sets. NBC
's first color broadcasts showed only a still frame of the colorful peacock. The emblem made its first on-air appearance on May 22, 1956.
On September 7, 1957 on Your Hit Parade
the peacock was animated and thereafter appeared at the beginning of every NBC color broadcast until a revamped animation appeared in 1961. Its musical backing was a gong while the peacock began its formup, then an announcer saying "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC" while the music crescendoed and after that a bombastic nine-note flourish while the peacock's feathers changed color and finally "filled out". According to Game Show Network
executive David Schwartz, the first announcer who spoke those famous words behind the Peacock graphic logo was Ben Grauer
, a familiar voice on NBC since 1930. There is rumored to be a variant where the peacock changes its feathers and jumps and his feathers change into multi-color words that say "NBC".
Starting in 1960, an animated logo joined the Peacock, appearing at the end of broadcasts. Beginning with N, each letter would grow from the other, forming a stacked typographic logo ending with C, forming the base. This would be known as the "NBC snake". Several editions of this exist; the earliest being the snake form in front of a multicolored background while a camera passed by with an orchestral version of the NBC chimes
, and the second consisting of the snake forming on top of a color-changing background, going from blue to green to red, on each note of the regular, automated NBC chimes.
. It was however, seen on the NBC telecasts of MGM's The Wizard of Oz
as well as on the broadcasts of the 1960 Peter Pan
, which had been videotaped at NBC. (NBC had previously telecast live versions of Peter Pan in 1955 and 1956 on the anthology Producers' Showcase
.) The "Laramie Peacock", named for the series which introduced it, used the same "living color" spiel as did the first peacock but its music piece was a soft, woodwind-based number and the announcer was Mel Brandt
. It was revised further in November 1968; the music was slightly rearranged and the animation was shortened by a few seconds, and a second version, with Vic Roby
announcing, "Now, a special program in living color on NBC," was unveiled for airing on television special
s during this same period. It was shortened further by the beginning of 1975. This peacock was retired in September 1975.
The "Laramie Peacock" has made special appearances throughout the ensuing years, mostly in a retro-kitsch context or to commemorate a significant broadcast event on NBC. Most recently, the peacock heralded the June 1, 2009 premiere broadcast of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
.
By 1975, NBC's visual trademark was updated as a fancy-cut N was introduced, consisting of two trapezoid
s. The design was bold, bright and contemporary. One of the technological innovations of this logo was the first electronically animated ident for an American television network and being previewed on-air for the first time in October 1975, before it became official on January 1, 1976. On the January 10, 1976 telecast of Saturday Night Live
, Weekend Update
host Chevy Chase
and Gilda Radner
mocked the new logo and its $1 million design cost (at the end of Chase's comments, Radner appeared as the "Dancing 'N'", with an NBC logo-shaped costume covering her head and upper torso). In February 1976, NBC was sued by the Nebraska ETV Network
, Nebraska's chain of PBS
affiliates, for trademark infringement, since the new NBC logo was virtually identical to the Nebraska ETV Network logo, except in the coloring. An out-of-court settlement was reached in which NBC gave Nebraska ETV Network new equipment and a mobile color unit, valued at over $800,000, in exchange for allowing NBC to retain their logo. In addition, NBC paid $55,000 to Nebraska ETV to cover the cost of designing and implementing a new logo.
The Peacock, still with eleven feathers, returned in the fall of 1979. The N and the Peacock were combined together to create a design called the "Proud N". This was the first time the Peacock was actually part of NBC's own logo. It was simplified in keeping with the letter's pared-down design. Although all eleven feathers were intact, the teardrop tips were merged into the rest of the feathers, the feet were missing, the feathers are in a simpler color scheme, and the Peacock's body became a simple triangular shape. On several occasions, the new Peacock was used independently of the N, starting with the 1979 Proud as a Peacock
advertising campaign that reintroduced the Peacock, but the N and the Peacock were usually combined together between 1979 and 1986.
Contrary to popular belief, the Peacock was not originally used as NBC's official primary logo; the 1956 and 1962 versions were used solely to identify the network's color broadcasts, while other logos, initially the xylophone logo but most commonly the NBC snake logo, identified NBC itself. Nonetheless, the Peacock became so identified with NBC that it was incorporated into the network logo in 1979 by Fred Silverman
, then President of NBC, due to prior research from 1977 in NBC's corporate planning department by Peter H. Kliegman who recommended the station identification
value of the Peacock and suggested the Peacock be utilized as a logo. The Peacock became the sole logo in 1986.
On May 12, 1986, during a broadcast of the NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration
, NBC stars of past and present stood on stage to introduce a new logo. The arranged marriage of N and Peacock ended and "The Bird" finally assumed its official place as NBC's symbol. The peacock's head was now flipped to the right - this was done to suggest as if it were looking forward to the future, not back to the past. The eleven feathers from its previous peacock logo was shortened to six to reference NBC's six divisions at that time: News, Sports, Entertainment, Stations, Network and Productions. Incorporating the six primary
and secondary color
s, this Peacock, redesigned by Steff Geissbuhler at Chermayeff & Geismar
, remains one of the world's most recognized logos. The network maintains specific guidelines for the logo, including proper colors for reproduction, using either RGB, CMYK or Pantone
colors. The usage guidelines are contained in the NBC Logo Legal Usage Guidelines which is distributed to NBC employees involved in graphics as well as outside vendors, such as advertising agencies, who may need to use the logo.
Almost all of NBC's affiliates added the new peacock to their logo but a few still kept the old peacock on their logo for a few months after the logo's introduction. The new logo was adopted universally on September 1, 1986, though for NBC's movie opens, the old logo could still be seen until Fall 1987).
The logo first appeared as an on-screen bug in the 1992–1994 television season, appearing only at the opening sequences of shows and staying on throughout shows since the 1995–1996 television season. From 1993 to 2003, the logo appeared on the bottom of the screen and a variety of effects resulting in its formation, usually during a show's opening sequence. These effects alone centered in the middle of a black screen continue to be used as a sort of screensaver
during time periods given to local stations for their commercial breaks, and can be seen on an NBC affiliate when it has technical difficulties going to their local advertising and keeps the network feed on-screen.
, the logo would be shrunk and placed to fit within the 16:9 video area. During the 2006-2007 television season, this smaller widescreen logo was only used during live broadcasts, such as Saturday Night Live
, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, Live Earth
and the July 4 fireworks special. The small logo was reintegrated at the start of the 2007–2008 television season on all widescreen programming, including prerecorded standard definition broadcasts in order to insert promos during the show. High-definition
programming used a variation of the network's logo bug
accompanied by HD text from November 2006 until December 2007. Live broadcasts in high-definition previously used a smaller NBC bug without the HD text. Today, the NBC bug is placed within the 4:3 safe picture, so the logo bug is identical on the standard definition feed as well as the high-definition feed.
The logo bug is also presented opaque in full color during a show's opening credits, with the bug sometimes accompanied by .com
text. The Biggest Loser live finale episodes continued to use the version with the NBC calls below the Peacock until its September 2009 conversion to HD, due to that program's production in SDTV being based out of Burbank instead of New York.
The logo is sometimes accompanied with NBC text, usually below the peacock but this is not always the case; the network's logo bug did not incorporate the text until 2002, and it was removed in the fall of 2006 from programs besides NBC Nightly News
and Early Today
, NBC Nightly News finally got the 2006 bug starting March 26, 2007 to coincide with the program's first high definition broadcast, with the web address for MSNBC
later added to the right side on the Nightly News. Some NBC Sports
programs, such as golf and olympic sports, use a bug that has the Olympic rings below the peacock. This version is also used on regular programming, starting with the beginning of the television season during seasons with the Winter Olympics, or the beginning of a calendar year with the Summer Olympics.
and Dateline NBC
. The left version was less embossed than the previous version and did not display NBC beneath it. After the beginning of the 2009 TV season on September 28 as part of the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the Olympics variant of the on-screen logo is used on all programming, except news programming.
Since December 2007, NBC occasionally places a text advertisement for an upcoming show above or next to the NBC peacock. The ad is present on both the SD and HD feeds.
In 2008, NBC updated its logo once again. All NBC promos and idents end with the peacock feathers blooming out of the peacock's body, forming the logo. The feathers flash in tune to the NBC chimes. Sometimes, the chime was played in different instruments, however, the main instrument for the chimes is the xylophone. Instruments may not even be used, such as the sounds of a telephone in the key of the chimes used in the 2008 promo of The Office, or the sounds of a cash register in the key of the chimes used in the 2008 promo of Deal or No Deal. Two versions of the 2008 logo animation exist. One which is the 3D glass version used in most promos. The second which the 2D logo version which is used in some promos, and also used as a generic ID. Sometimes the .com URL is beside the logo.
Since late 2009, with the "More Colorful" slogan change, the end of promos and idents feature the NBC peacock in the left side of the screen, flickering through all the colors and ending up on the regular logo, usually with a main character of the TV series next to the logo.
In May 2011, NBC began to adopt a new version of the logo with a 3D glass effect to be used in promotional advertising and idents. However, the elements of the More Colorful re-brand was still in use.
Starting in November 2007 during the week of Green Week, NBC, along with all other NBC Universal owned networks, began using green logos and logo bugs as part of Green is Universal, NBC Universal's company-wide environmental initiative, which is also utilized for Earth Week during the week of Earth Day in April, along with St. Patrick's Day for holiday purposes. During the Earth Week logo iteration in April 2008, the Olympic Rings remained their usual gold color (or grey in the logo bug) due to compulsory display standards disallowing any endorsement of another cause beyond the Olympic movement. The November 2009 version of the logo displayed only the Peacock, putting aside the rings completely for the week within the logo bug.
hat for Christmas with text on top of it promoting an NBC show. Unlike past variations, the logo stayed in full color for the length of the program.
on HDTV programming was moved from the left corner of the screen to the left side of the 4:3 safe aspect ratio
area. Also at this time the advertising text that was once above the bug has been moved to the right of the bug. The bug was moved to this position to make downconverting the network HD feed for SDTV after the June 12, 2009 analog TV shutoff easier. SDTV viewers will still see the bug in its usual position in the left corner.
In the NBC fall preview for special for 1965, the peacock introduction began as normal with announcer Mel Brandt's standard introduction, but when the peacock fades, Brandt says "It just starts in black and white!"
This is because the special begins with almost the complete pre-title teaser of Get Smart
s pilot episode, which was shot in B&W.
In 1967, NBC was the first American TV network to show The Beatles
' film A Hard Day's Night
, but as it was filmed in black and white, NBC had to temporarily replace the peacock: A caption showing I Dream of Jeannie
and The Jerry Lewis Show is pushed off the screen by an animated top-hatted penguin waddling on-screen and flapping its flightless wings (imitating the peacock), accompanied by announcer Mel Brandt drolly saying "I Dream of Jeannie and the Jerry Lewis Show will not be seen tonight. Instead... (music cue) The following very, very special program is brought to you in lively black and white, on NBC." At the end of this the penguin takes off its top hat and unzips its chest. The Beatles jump out, performing, then run away chased by fans.
In 1968, an episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
started with the 1965 peacock logo. At the very end of the logo, the peacock sneezes, sending its feathers flying off-screen. This clip was later re-used in 1985 to open an episode of TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
starring Dick Clark & Ed McMahon
. The sneezing peacock was only an animation added onto the end of the original clip of the 1965 peacock because the peacock's feathers became brighter when he sneezed.
In 1993, NBC commissioned several artists (including Al Hirschfeld
, Peter Max
, John Kricfalusi
, J.J. Sedelmeier, David Daniels, Joan Gratz, and Mark Malmberg) to devise personal variations of the peacock for promotional use. Animated versions of the Hirschfeld, Sedelmeier, Gratz, and Kricfalusi peacocks acted as stings. Also, the Kricfalusi, Gratz, Sedelmeier, and Malmberg peacocks continue to air until 2002.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
) has used several corporate logo
Logo
A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...
s over its history, yet the peacock is its most well known.
Microphone logo (1942-1953)
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
's logo, as well as that of one-time sister company RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
. The left waves were meant for the radio network, and the right waves were meant for the television network. The video version of this logo says, "This is NBC, the National Broadcasting Company", followed by the NBC chimes
NBC chimes
The NBC chimes, named for the radio and television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4, and C4 , sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time, and reverberating for...
. At the beginning of telecasts, another card depicting an NBC cameraman with his camera was shown. On WNBT (now WNBC
WNBC
WNBC, virtual channel 4 , is the flagship station of the NBC television network, located in New York City. WNBC's studios are co-located with NBC corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in midtown Manhattan...
), heard was "WNBT, New York."
Xylophone logo (1953–1960)
NBC chimes
The NBC chimes, named for the radio and television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4, and C4 , sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time, and reverberating for...
, first heard on NBC radio in 1927. The main chimes were 7 tones. The current tones, however, are the notes G
G (musical note)
Sol, So, or G is the fifth note of the solfège starting on C. As such it is the dominant, a perfect fifth above C.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle G note is approximately 391.995 Hz...
, E'
E (musical note)
E or mi is the third note of the solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle E is approximately 329.628 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in frequency.-Designation by octave:...
and C'
C (musical note)
C or Do is the first note of the fixed-Do solfège scale. Its enharmonic is B.-Middle C:Middle C is designated C4 in scientific pitch notation because of the note's position as the fourth C key on a standard 88-key piano keyboard...
. There is some indication that the xylophone logo was used at 5:32 PM on December 17, 1953 to announce the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
's (FCC) approval of the new color standard, which would go into effect 30 days later. Special permission was apparently used on New Year's Day when the Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
was aired.
Original peacock logo (1956–1962)
John J. Graham
John J. Graham was an American graphic artist who designed and created both the NBC peacock logo and the NBC "snake" logo ....
created an abstraction of an eleven-feathered peacock to indicate richness in color. This brightly hued peacock was adopted due to the increase in color programming. This was also due to NBC's owner, RCA being a manufacturer of color television sets. As a result, the Peacock became a marketing tool, in the hopes that people tuning into NBC would purchase color TV sets. NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's first color broadcasts showed only a still frame of the colorful peacock. The emblem made its first on-air appearance on May 22, 1956.
On September 7, 1957 on Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
the peacock was animated and thereafter appeared at the beginning of every NBC color broadcast until a revamped animation appeared in 1961. Its musical backing was a gong while the peacock began its formup, then an announcer saying "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC" while the music crescendoed and after that a bombastic nine-note flourish while the peacock's feathers changed color and finally "filled out". According to Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
executive David Schwartz, the first announcer who spoke those famous words behind the Peacock graphic logo was Ben Grauer
Ben Grauer
Benjamin Franklin Grauer was an US radio and TV personality, following a career during the 1920s as a child actor in films and on Broadway. He began his career as a child in David Warfield's production of The Return of Peter Grimm. Among his early credits were roles in films directed by D.W....
, a familiar voice on NBC since 1930. There is rumored to be a variant where the peacock changes its feathers and jumps and his feathers change into multi-color words that say "NBC".
NBC snake logo (1960–1975)
NBC chimes
The NBC chimes, named for the radio and television network on which they have been used, consists of a succession of three distinct pitches: G3, E4, and C4 , sounded in that order, creating an arpeggiated C-major chord in the second inversion, within about two seconds time, and reverberating for...
, and the second consisting of the snake forming on top of a color-changing background, going from blue to green to red, on each note of the regular, automated NBC chimes.
Second peacock logo/"Laramie Peacock" (1962–1975)
In 1962, on the Laramie series, a second version of the Peacock opening was introduced in which the bird fanned its bright plumage against a kaleidoscopic color background. As with the 1956 Peacock, this logo only appeared at the start of NBC color broadcasts; as all NBC broadcasts eventually became color, it was generally used only to open those shows that were produced by NBC itself, such as The Tonight Show Starring Johnny CarsonThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night....
. It was however, seen on the NBC telecasts of MGM's The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
as well as on the broadcasts of the 1960 Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1954 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
, which had been videotaped at NBC. (NBC had previously telecast live versions of Peter Pan in 1955 and 1956 on the anthology Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 p.m. ET for three seasons, beginning October...
.) The "Laramie Peacock", named for the series which introduced it, used the same "living color" spiel as did the first peacock but its music piece was a soft, woodwind-based number and the announcer was Mel Brandt
Mel Brandt
Melville Brandt was an actor and NBC staff announcer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York.Brandt joined the network around 1948. His radio announcing credits included The Adventures of Frank Merriwell, Author Meets the Critics, and The Eternal Light...
. It was revised further in November 1968; the music was slightly rearranged and the animation was shortened by a few seconds, and a second version, with Vic Roby
Vic Roby
Victor Mills "Vic" Roby, Jr. was a radio and television announcer, voice-over artist and public affairs show host, and served for years as a staff announcer with NBC.-Early life and career:...
announcing, "Now, a special program in living color on NBC," was unveiled for airing on television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
s during this same period. It was shortened further by the beginning of 1975. This peacock was retired in September 1975.
The "Laramie Peacock" has made special appearances throughout the ensuing years, mostly in a retro-kitsch context or to commemorate a significant broadcast event on NBC. Most recently, the peacock heralded the June 1, 2009 premiere broadcast of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show that featured Conan O'Brien as host from June 1, 2009 to January 22, 2010 as part of NBC's long-running Tonight Show franchise...
.
Fancy-Cut N logo (1975–1979)
Trapezoid
In Euclidean geometry, a convex quadrilateral with one pair of parallel sides is referred to as a trapezoid in American English and as a trapezium in English outside North America. A trapezoid with vertices ABCD is denoted...
s. The design was bold, bright and contemporary. One of the technological innovations of this logo was the first electronically animated ident for an American television network and being previewed on-air for the first time in October 1975, before it became official on January 1, 1976. On the January 10, 1976 telecast of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, Weekend Update
Weekend Update
Weekend Update is a Saturday Night Live sketch that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typically presented in the middle of the show immediately after the first musical performance...
host Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
and Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
mocked the new logo and its $1 million design cost (at the end of Chase's comments, Radner appeared as the "Dancing 'N'", with an NBC logo-shaped costume covering her head and upper torso). In February 1976, NBC was sued by the Nebraska ETV Network
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications
Nebraska Educational Telecommunications is a state network of non-commercial educational public broadcasting radio and television stations in Nebraska and is based in Lincoln. It is operated by the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission...
, Nebraska's chain of PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
affiliates, for trademark infringement, since the new NBC logo was virtually identical to the Nebraska ETV Network logo, except in the coloring. An out-of-court settlement was reached in which NBC gave Nebraska ETV Network new equipment and a mobile color unit, valued at over $800,000, in exchange for allowing NBC to retain their logo. In addition, NBC paid $55,000 to Nebraska ETV to cover the cost of designing and implementing a new logo.
Proud N logo (1979–1986)
Proud as a Peacock
"Proud as a Peacock" was the advertising campaign used by the NBC television and radio networks from 1979-1981. The campaign was used to promote NBC's programming and to introduce the "Proud N", a logo that would be used until 1986.-The campaign:...
advertising campaign that reintroduced the Peacock, but the N and the Peacock were usually combined together between 1979 and 1986.
Contrary to popular belief, the Peacock was not originally used as NBC's official primary logo; the 1956 and 1962 versions were used solely to identify the network's color broadcasts, while other logos, initially the xylophone logo but most commonly the NBC snake logo, identified NBC itself. Nonetheless, the Peacock became so identified with NBC that it was incorporated into the network logo in 1979 by Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
, then President of NBC, due to prior research from 1977 in NBC's corporate planning department by Peter H. Kliegman who recommended the station identification
Station identification
Station identification is the practice of radio or television stations or networks identifying themselves on air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name...
value of the Peacock and suggested the Peacock be utilized as a logo. The Peacock became the sole logo in 1986.
Current peacock logo (1986-present)
NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration
NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration is an American television special that aired on NBC on May 12, 1986. The executive producer was Alexander Cohen and the writer and co-producer was Hildy Parks. The same team assembled such famous-faces TV specials as Night of 100 Stars...
, NBC stars of past and present stood on stage to introduce a new logo. The arranged marriage of N and Peacock ended and "The Bird" finally assumed its official place as NBC's symbol. The peacock's head was now flipped to the right - this was done to suggest as if it were looking forward to the future, not back to the past. The eleven feathers from its previous peacock logo was shortened to six to reference NBC's six divisions at that time: News, Sports, Entertainment, Stations, Network and Productions. Incorporating the six primary
Primary color
Primary colors are sets of colors that can be combined to make a useful range of colors. For human applications, three primary colors are usually used, since human color vision is trichromatic....
and secondary color
Secondary color
A secondary color is a color made by mixing two primary colors in a given color space. Examples include the following:-Light : red + green = yellowgreen + blue = cyan blue +...
s, this Peacock, redesigned by Steff Geissbuhler at Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar
Chermayeff & Geismar is a prominent New York-based branding and graphic design firm. It was founded in 1957 by Yale graduates Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar...
, remains one of the world's most recognized logos. The network maintains specific guidelines for the logo, including proper colors for reproduction, using either RGB, CMYK or Pantone
Pantone
Pantone Inc. is a corporation headquartered in Carlstadt, New Jersey, USA. The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System , a proprietary color space...
colors. The usage guidelines are contained in the NBC Logo Legal Usage Guidelines which is distributed to NBC employees involved in graphics as well as outside vendors, such as advertising agencies, who may need to use the logo.
Almost all of NBC's affiliates added the new peacock to their logo but a few still kept the old peacock on their logo for a few months after the logo's introduction. The new logo was adopted universally on September 1, 1986, though for NBC's movie opens, the old logo could still be seen until Fall 1987).
The logo first appeared as an on-screen bug in the 1992–1994 television season, appearing only at the opening sequences of shows and staying on throughout shows since the 1995–1996 television season. From 1993 to 2003, the logo appeared on the bottom of the screen and a variety of effects resulting in its formation, usually during a show's opening sequence. These effects alone centered in the middle of a black screen continue to be used as a sort of screensaver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
during time periods given to local stations for their commercial breaks, and can be seen on an NBC affiliate when it has technical difficulties going to their local advertising and keeps the network feed on-screen.
2000s
In 2000, NBC revamped its network identity. A new station ID was introduced, with the NBC logo reflecting through giant glass feathers. It is also the first station ID to show the NBC.com URL.Flag variation (2001-2002)
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001, NBC introduced a special version of the peacock that replaced the colors with a furled American flag waving within the logo (including within the logo bug), which was used until the 2002 Winter Olympics.Adaptation for widescreen presentation (2004-2006)
Starting in 2004, if a show was presented in widescreenWidescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
, the logo would be shrunk and placed to fit within the 16:9 video area. During the 2006-2007 television season, this smaller widescreen logo was only used during live broadcasts, such as Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
and the July 4 fireworks special. The small logo was reintegrated at the start of the 2007–2008 television season on all widescreen programming, including prerecorded standard definition broadcasts in order to insert promos during the show. High-definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
programming used a variation of the network's logo bug
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
accompanied by HD text from November 2006 until December 2007. Live broadcasts in high-definition previously used a smaller NBC bug without the HD text. Today, the NBC bug is placed within the 4:3 safe picture, so the logo bug is identical on the standard definition feed as well as the high-definition feed.
The logo bug is also presented opaque in full color during a show's opening credits, with the bug sometimes accompanied by .com
.com
The domain name com is a generic top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from commercial, indicating its original intended purpose for domains registered by commercial organizations...
text. The Biggest Loser live finale episodes continued to use the version with the NBC calls below the Peacock until its September 2009 conversion to HD, due to that program's production in SDTV being based out of Burbank instead of New York.
The logo is sometimes accompanied with NBC text, usually below the peacock but this is not always the case; the network's logo bug did not incorporate the text until 2002, and it was removed in the fall of 2006 from programs besides NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News
NBC Nightly News is the flagship daily evening television news program for NBC News and broadcasts. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is located in the center...
and Early Today
Early Today
Early Today is an American morning news programme airing on the NBC television network. The program goes out live at 4:00am Eastern Time Zone for those few stations which start their local news at 4:30am, and is transmitted in a continuous half-hour tape delay loop until 10:00am ET, when Today...
, NBC Nightly News finally got the 2006 bug starting March 26, 2007 to coincide with the program's first high definition broadcast, with the web address for MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
later added to the right side on the Nightly News. Some NBC Sports
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is the sports division of the NBC television network. Formerly "a service of NBC News," it broadcasts a diverse array of programs, including the Olympic Games, the NFL, the NHL, MLS, Notre Dame football, the PGA Tour, the Triple Crown, and the French Open, among others...
programs, such as golf and olympic sports, use a bug that has the Olympic rings below the peacock. This version is also used on regular programming, starting with the beginning of the television season during seasons with the Winter Olympics, or the beginning of a calendar year with the Summer Olympics.
2006-2009
Shortly after the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season, almost all NBC programming moved their variation of the NBC logo to the left corner of the screen, including graphics for Today, Meet the PressMeet the Press
Meet the Press is a weekly American television news/interview program produced by NBC. It is the longest-running television series in American broadcasting history, despite bearing little resemblance to the original format of the program seen in its television debut on November 6, 1947. It has been...
and Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC
Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...
. The left version was less embossed than the previous version and did not display NBC beneath it. After the beginning of the 2009 TV season on September 28 as part of the lead-up to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the Olympics variant of the on-screen logo is used on all programming, except news programming.
Since December 2007, NBC occasionally places a text advertisement for an upcoming show above or next to the NBC peacock. The ad is present on both the SD and HD feeds.
In 2008, NBC updated its logo once again. All NBC promos and idents end with the peacock feathers blooming out of the peacock's body, forming the logo. The feathers flash in tune to the NBC chimes. Sometimes, the chime was played in different instruments, however, the main instrument for the chimes is the xylophone. Instruments may not even be used, such as the sounds of a telephone in the key of the chimes used in the 2008 promo of The Office, or the sounds of a cash register in the key of the chimes used in the 2008 promo of Deal or No Deal. Two versions of the 2008 logo animation exist. One which is the 3D glass version used in most promos. The second which the 2D logo version which is used in some promos, and also used as a generic ID. Sometimes the .com URL is beside the logo.
Since late 2009, with the "More Colorful" slogan change, the end of promos and idents feature the NBC peacock in the left side of the screen, flickering through all the colors and ending up on the regular logo, usually with a main character of the TV series next to the logo.
In May 2011, NBC began to adopt a new version of the logo with a 3D glass effect to be used in promotional advertising and idents. However, the elements of the More Colorful re-brand was still in use.
2007
In 2007, three different logos were used in November and December, all using the Peacock logo:Green is Universal variation (November, April, and St. Patrick's Day)
Christmas variation (December 2007)
From December 10 to December 26, the peacock was shown in full color with a SantaSanta Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
hat for Christmas with text on top of it promoting an NBC show. Unlike past variations, the logo stayed in full color for the length of the program.
New Year's Day variation (December 2007)
From the 27th of December and until January 1, 2008, a party hat was put on the peacock for New Year's Day. Similar to the holiday variation, it has text on top of it and stays in full color for the program's length.HDTV 4:3 Safe Bug Redesign
On May 22, 2008, the NBC peacock bugDigital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
on HDTV programming was moved from the left corner of the screen to the left side of the 4:3 safe aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
area. Also at this time the advertising text that was once above the bug has been moved to the right of the bug. The bug was moved to this position to make downconverting the network HD feed for SDTV after the June 12, 2009 analog TV shutoff easier. SDTV viewers will still see the bug in its usual position in the left corner.
St. Patrick's Day variation (2010)
On St. Patrick's Day NBC showed the same green peacock as was used in 2007.Halloween variation (2010)
From October 29 until October 31, the peacock's normal colors have been swapped out for just orange and black.Valentine's Day variation (2011)
From February 7 to February 14, the peacock's normal colors have been swapped out for two shades of red and four shades of pink. This variation was seen at the end of some Valentine's Day promos.Hop variation (2011)
In March 2011, to promote the new movie Hop, the peacock's normal colors have been swapped out for two shades of blue, two shades of green, and two shades of orange.Other variations
Sometime in the 1950s the logo was replaced with a card saying, This Program Is Being Televised In COLOR And Black And White.In the NBC fall preview for special for 1965, the peacock introduction began as normal with announcer Mel Brandt's standard introduction, but when the peacock fades, Brandt says "It just starts in black and white!"
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
This is because the special begins with almost the complete pre-title teaser of Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
s pilot episode, which was shot in B&W.
In 1967, NBC was the first American TV network to show The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' film A Hard Day's Night
A Hard Day's Night (film)
A Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British black-and-white comedy film directed by Richard Lester and starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was written by Alun Owen and originally released by United Artists...
, but as it was filmed in black and white, NBC had to temporarily replace the peacock: A caption showing I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie
I Dream of Jeannie is a 1960s American sitcom with a fantasy premise. The show starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie, and Larry Hagman as an astronaut who becomes her master, with whom she falls in love and eventually marries...
and The Jerry Lewis Show is pushed off the screen by an animated top-hatted penguin waddling on-screen and flapping its flightless wings (imitating the peacock), accompanied by announcer Mel Brandt drolly saying "I Dream of Jeannie and the Jerry Lewis Show will not be seen tonight. Instead... (music cue) The following very, very special program is brought to you in lively black and white, on NBC." At the end of this the penguin takes off its top hat and unzips its chest. The Beatles jump out, performing, then run away chased by fans.
In 1968, an episode of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
started with the 1965 peacock logo. At the very end of the logo, the peacock sneezes, sending its feathers flying off-screen. This clip was later re-used in 1985 to open an episode of TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes
TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes is a television series and a group of television specials that aired in the United States by NBC and, later, ABC from the 1980s to the mid-2000s...
starring Dick Clark & Ed McMahon
Ed McMahon
Edward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
. The sneezing peacock was only an animation added onto the end of the original clip of the 1965 peacock because the peacock's feathers became brighter when he sneezed.
In 1993, NBC commissioned several artists (including Al Hirschfeld
Al Hirschfeld
Albert "Al" Hirschfeld was an American caricaturist best known for his simple black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars.-Personal life:Born in St...
, Peter Max
Peter Max
Peter Max is a German-born Jewish American artist. At first, works in this style appeared on posters and were seen on the walls of college dorms all across America. Max then became fascinated with new printing techniques that allowed for four-color reproduction on product merchandise...
, John Kricfalusi
John Kricfalusi
Michael John Kricfalusi , better known as John K., is a Canadian animator. He is creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show, its adults-only spin-off Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon", The Ripping Friends animated series, and Weekend Pussy Hunt, which was billed as "the world's first interactive web-based...
, J.J. Sedelmeier, David Daniels, Joan Gratz, and Mark Malmberg) to devise personal variations of the peacock for promotional use. Animated versions of the Hirschfeld, Sedelmeier, Gratz, and Kricfalusi peacocks acted as stings. Also, the Kricfalusi, Gratz, Sedelmeier, and Malmberg peacocks continue to air until 2002.