NBC Studios

Background
NBC Productions was founded in 1947 by RCA (NBC's former parent company), but it didn't have a logo until 1982. In 1995, NBC launched a partnership with television director James Burrows to create 3 Sisters Entertainment, who produced series for the network. Out of these five, the most successful out of the venture were Will & Grace and Caroline in the City (co-produced and owned by CBS Productions). In 1996, the company was renamed NBC Studios. In July 2004, NBC Studios was merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studios.

1st Logo (1982-1986)
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Nicknames: "Cheesy Peacock", "Peacock Blur", "The Proud Peacock", "'80s Peacock", "NBC Peacock"

Logo: On a black background the 1979-1986 NBC Peacock turns into place. It is a blur of color as it does so, but clears up as it stops. Under the peacock are the words:

NBC PRODUCTIONS

Variants:
 * This logo also appeared superimposed on a blue background.
 * A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
 * On the Peter the Great miniseries, a still in-credit logo was seen with "NBC" above it.

FX/SFX: The peacock turning/focusing.

Music/Sounds: A light synth version of the NBC 3-note chimes beginning in 1985, a low tone version was used once as well. In other cases, it uses the show's ending theme or none.

Availability: Rare. Since the NBC logo appears in reruns of other shows, it would stand to reason that this one would be kept as well.


 * It's seen on some co-produced shows, such as seasons 1 & 2 of Punky Brewster, It's Punky Brewster, and season 1 of the short-lived cartoon Kissyfur, among others.
 * The version with the blue background appeared on the first two season DVD releases of Punky Brewster (intact on Peacock) and the 1985 NBC TV special Let's All Be There, and on the short-lived 1985 NBC comedy Sara, starring Geena Davis; on these shows, it came after the UBU Productions card, and between the two was an IAW card in a stacked formation and lowercase Broadway font in white on a black screen.

Editor's Note: The peacock turning/focusing is a little cheesy but other than that this logo is just fine.

2nd Logo (November 9, 1985-May 24, 1986)
Nicknames: "The Proud N-Peacock", "'80s Peacock II", "The NBC Peacock II"

Logo: On a pine green, light gray and black gradient background is the 1979-1986 NBC "Proud N" logo with the "N" in black borders. On top is "in association with" and below that, in front of the "Proud N" logo, "NBC Entertainment". All of the words are a shiny gold color.

Variant: A later version has "Productions" in place of "Entertainment". It's also darker and a little bit narrow in appearance.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Just the show's closing theme.

Availability: Near extinction.
 * This was the first real, non-in-credit NBC Productions logo ever used on Saturday Night Live, starting with episodes from the 1985-86 season on four episodes on Hulu and Netflix, but they have been taken off the respective sites.
 * The "NBC Entertainment" version is seen on the "Chevy Chase/Shelia E" episode while the "John Lithgow/Mr. Mister" episode has the "NBC Productions" variant.
 * It should be retained on episodes if they're re-run on TV again. Most reruns, however, will have the next logo.

Editor's Note: A neat concept using both of NBC's well-known symbols.

3rd Logo (May 12, 1986-September 16, 1996)
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Nicknames: "'90s Peacock", "The 1986 Peacock", "The Remake of the Peacock", "The Restored Peacock", "NBC Peacock III"

Logo: Against a black background, a red CGI mound appears. As it rises, more rainbow colors are revealed. Then from the top of the screen, the head/neck of the NBC peacock swings in, and the mound spreads to become its feathers. This peacock is the current version, and it backs away with a color trail around it. Below, the words:

NBC P R O D U C T I O N S

in its typeface, NBC Futura (which is NBC's proprietary font), fly-in, also with a CGI-like appearance. When they move back into their places, they take on a more "solid", 2D color.

Trivia: This logo was based on the NBC on-air ident and NBC Sports ident, both from 1986.

Variants:
 * A videotaped variant exists that moves somewhat slower than the filmed counterpart. This has appeared on Saturday Night Live reruns of the era and early episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
 * A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
 * On Tapeheads, the name is written in one line, but the peacock remains above NBC.
 * Some shows have a slight-shortened version which begins as the Peacock eases back. It's seen on some shows such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
 * On The Nerd, an unsold TV pilot that was produced in 1989, but did not air until 1996, season 1 of The Single Guy, seasons 3-4 of Homicide: Life on the Street and most NBC shows from 1994-96 due to split-screen credits, the logo was still.
 * On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien from sometime in late 1994, the logo is still on NBC's then-new generic split-screen closing credits on the right-hand side with a copyright notice.
 * In 1994, a still version of the logo has the peacock's feathers shown in their true colors.

FX/SFX: The peacock forming, words zooming out, and the CGI colors turning solid. Pretty good CGI for 1986. Designed by Marks Communications and animated by Pacific Data Images.

Music/Sounds: A piano version of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral hit; a low tone version was used on Lifetime Movie Network's airings of Her Last Chance. Normally, though, it's the ending theme of the show or generic network themes starting in 1994. The NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration uses the NBC Chime theme from the 1950s.

Availability: Common.
 * It debuted at the end of the NBC 60th Anniversary Celebration.
 * It was seen at the end of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air last seen on TBS and ABC Family (now Freeform), and originally seen on the third and fourth seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street.
 * Last seen on reruns of SNL on E! and the end of Malibu Fox (not the 1993 film).
 * This also appeared on the 1st 2 seasons of the NBC/UPN sitcom In the House, as well as the short-lived 1989-1991 soap opera Generations when BET last reran that show in the '90s. This also appeared on the short-lived 1992-93 NBC sitcom Out All Night as well. It was also seen on the 1987 NBC Saturday Morning Preview Specials.
 * This can also be found on the Season 1 DVD of JAG released by CBS, H&I airings keep this logo intact.
 * This was found on the majority of 1980-1996 SNL episodes on Netflix and Hulu but were taken off the respective sites.
 * This logo has also been added, following the Broadway Video logo, on select 1975-85 reruns of Saturday Night Live when broadcast on NBC.

Editor's Note: A well-animated logo with a refreshing change with the peacock.

1st Logo (August 26, 1996-July 29, 2004)
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Nicknames: "Color Beams", "NBC Peacock VI"

Logo: Against a black background with three sets of light beams, we see an extreme close-up of a three-dimensional peacock design (much like above), which appears facing downward, which rises, and goes back to the center of the light beams, as the text "NBC STUDIOS" in the same font as above, blur in from above the screen and land right under the peacock. Three sets of red and blue beams radiate behind the bird.

Variants:
 * For syndicated programs, the text would sometimes read "NBC ENTERPRISES".
 * A variant of the "ENTERPRISES" version has the orange beam in the middle much more visible, and the red beam on the right slides to the left before ending up in its usual position.
 * The more common "short" version cuts when the peacock goes backward and the company name blur in, and goes under the peacock.
 * Some episodes of Spike TV's Most Amazing Videos and reruns of Passions have a copyright stamp attached.
 * The "short" version just shows the still peacock, and the light beams move somewhat. This can be as short as a second long.
 * On Sleepwalkers (the 1997 TV series), the text "in association with" is seen under the logo.
 * On the short-lived animated sitcom God, the Devil and Bob, there is a still version of this logo.

FX/SFX: The rising peacock, and the blurring letters lowering.

Music/Sounds:
 * 1996-2000: The regular music for the previous logo is sped up.
 * 1999-2004: An orchestrated rendition of the NBC chimes.
 * In some cases, it used the last logo's music.
 * Season 1 of The Pretender had part of the MTM music play over this logo, TNT airings had this logo silent.
 * Sometimes, the ending theme of the show was played, original NBC airings used generic music.

Availability: Common.
 * It's seen on Profiler on all DVD releases and Start TV airings, seasons 5-7 of Homicide: Life on the Street on DVD and when last aired on Centric (now BET Her), the first two seasons of Will & Grace on WE tv, Logo TV, and DVD, seasons 4-7 DVD releases of Saved by the Bell: The New Class, 1996-1999 episodes of Saturday Night Live (1999- episodes would start using the SNL Studios logo in place of this), The Pretender on all DVD releases and Decades, and H&I (with the current 20th Television logo following this), and Malibu Fox when they are rerun. It's also seen on pre-2004 episodes of World's Most Amazing Videos, and its Spanish language counterpart that airs on Telemundo, Videos Asombrosos.
 * This also appeared on subsequent post-season S2 episodes of the sitcom In the House, whenever that show gets rerun.
 * The "ENTERPRISES" variant can be seen on City Guys on BET, Malibu CA, One World, and the 1996 TV movie Pandora's Clock (including the DVD release, in which this is even followed by the 2001-04 NBC Enterprises logo!). Also seen on Ed from 2001-2004, Titans from 2000-01, and the final season of California Dreams. The USA Network's USA High had the version with the moving beams.

Editor's Note: Another decently animated logo with impressive CGI effects.

2nd Logo (October 12, 2000-July 28, 2004)
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Nicknames: "Shining Colors", "The Shimmering Peacock", "NBC Peacock VII"

Logo: We see the standard NBC Peacock logo emerging from the bottom of the screen. The logo border is in chrome and the feathers are crystal-like and tinted for each of its colors. As the logo rises upward and out, a pair of searchlights bounce light onto the feathers, making a reflection of the vibrant colors outward. The words "NBC STUDIOS", which are also crystallized, appear below the logo.

Variants:
 * The syndication logo was ID'ed as "NBC ENTERPRISES" with "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the peacock.
 * There is also an HDTV widescreen version.

FX/SFX: The NBC Peacock emerging, the shimmering, and the "sparkle" from the crystals.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1999 theme from the last logo, or a lower-pitched, quicker rendition of the 1999 theme or the ending theme, NBC airings use generic themes.

Availability: Uncommon. It appeared on several shows during the period.
 * Appears on seasons 3-6 of Will & Grace and Crossing Jordan.
 * It was also seen at the end of It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie.
 * The "ENTERPRISES" variant was seen on a few episodes of the U.S. version of Weakest Link and was used on early fall 2001 episodes of Access Hollywood.

Editor's Note: Yet another well-known CGI concept and animation, and a great way to end NBC Studios' line of logos.

Final Note: In 2004, NBC Studios merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studio (later known as "Universal Media Studios", now Universal Television).