TV Live Forum

Hi All,

Continuing on from the BBC Select thread from TV Live on whether a new BBC logo was being rolled out. I noticed yesterday when switching channels that BBC Alba had quite a few CBBC Alba logos on TV and one stood out as the BBC logo font looked different.

To me, the logo looks as if the font is Reith and is heavier in weight than the Gill Sans BBC logo in the corner on iPlayer.

Here are some screengrabs from a CBBC Alba episode I could find on iPlayer that has the logo on show:
and zoomed in:

If you want to see for yourself see 00:40 on https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0...-episode-1

Am I going mad or is this the same BBC logo that is being used in the BBC Select and BBC Kids International services?

I believe that has been there since they launched Alba blocks of CBeebies and CBBC a couple of years ago, it was pointed out on TVF at the time, they just didn't use the correct logo.

I had a look the other day since I was curious as to whether they were still using it, and I do think they have two physical versions, one which is correct and that incorrect version.

The blocks are overdue a Reith refresh.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but even if the BBC logo was about to be Reithed, I wouldn't be disgusted about it

PATV Scunthorpe post_id=1756 time=1617274235 user_id=1021 Wrote:I believe that has been there since they launched Alba blocks of CBeebies and CBBC a couple of years ago, it was pointed out on TVF at the time, they just didn't use the correct logo.

I had a look the other day since I was curious as to whether they were still using it, and I do think they have two physical versions, one which is correct and that incorrect version.

Interesting, I would have thought if the wrong BBC blocks were being used that the font would have been the same as MG Alba. This looks close to Reith so spiked my interest.

I suppose the different logos and formats isn't surprising, as this is the BBC and consistency isn't their strong suit.

It was flagged up on Clean Feed @ The TV Room in 2019 (before BBC Select existed), so I don't think this is intentional.
https://twitter.com/cleanfeed_ttvr/statu...3195857920

I forgot about this and genuinely thought it was an April Fools!

There have always been dodgy versions of the BBC logo flying around - usually because designers are either are too lazy to access the BBC masterbrand files or they think that they can just make one on the spot (they can't). Historically these often involved square boxes or wrongly sized Gill Sans lettering in the wrong weight. Given the shift in corporate font to Reith, I imagine that it is the same process, just with a different typeface and even more disastrous results.

As ever, I remain incredibly sceptical that any of these rogue logos are part of some deliberate rebrand strategy and will remain sceptical until somebody produces firm evidence to the contrary. Past BBC logo changes have generally been in one fell swoop, as opposed to slowly being rolled out over years starting on ultra-peripheral brands. And if the BBC were going to Reithify the blocks and roll them out slowly, surely they would have done that when they started Reithifying entire brands rather than after getting half way through the process.

It's also worth noting that the actual, correct CBBC logo itself is in violation of the MLN's BBC logo guidelines which explictly state that, when put in a box, there must be at least 0.5 the width of one block between the logo and the edge of the box on all sides.

Every time something like this gets posted my heart stops.

Designers, please remember: Fake BBC logos are bad for your health.

The problem with the "new" logo is that there's a lot of rogue logos that look like it out there and it's that sort of consistency that gives folk concern, it's a lot different than merely trying to recreate the current logo.

Do we think there will be inevitably a time where the BBC logo does get Reithed, or are we of the opinion that it'll stay as it is?

Personally, I don't see a problem with the Gill Sans version and think it looks fine at the minute (along with it being very recognisable), but it may well look too dated in a decade or so's time.

As I said over on TV Forum in the TVF Confessions thread. I am the only one who actually likes the BBC Reith font in all of its forms and cannot what to see how it would be applied to the "master" logo

AaronLancs post_id=1917 time=1617294330 user_id=846 Wrote:As I said over on TV Forum in the TVF Confessions thread. I am the only one who actually likes the BBC Reith font in all of its forms and cannot what to see how it would be applied to the "master" logo

Don't get me wrong, I do love Reith. It looks classy. I just wonder how long you'd spent changing over letterheads and stationary for, essentially, a minor typography change.

Matrix post_id=1957 time=1617299585 user_id=797 Wrote:14 times

I agree here. Reith is great, would be a pain to change everything over.

There must be some kind of irony with my first post on here being to complain about a BBC Logo.



There are too many motion graphics being produced for BBC Select to set it aside as a single aberration.

The BBC Kids logo is another indicator that this change is intentional and at least for now, focused on international markets.





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Also of note, is the use of the same typeface between the BBC Kids logo and the BBC iPlayer Kids branding...