NBC

1st Logo (1943-1947?)
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Logo: Just the letters N, B and C in a vatical position on a microphone, surrounded by bolts of lightning on a black background.

FX/SFX: The movement of the lightning.

Music/Sounds: An announcer says "This is N-B-C. The National Broadcasting Company", followed by the chime notes "G", "E", and "C" with electrical buzzing in the background.

Availability: Extinct. This may appear on kinescopes of the period.

Editor's Note: This ID will most likely seem very strange to viewers familiar with modern television. However, keep in mind that this is a rather common design for the period.

2nd Logo (1947-1993, 1999?)
Logo: Just on screen in-credit text saying, "[NAME OF SERIES] is an NBC Television Network Presentation" that's superimposed on the credits.

Variants:
 * Some shows would have the card "An NBC (Television Network) Presentation", "(Produced) in association with the NBC (Television) Network", or "In Association with NBC - TV".
 * Starting in 1967, the text is referred to as "An NBC Production".
 * Some shows would have the text "Produced by NBC Entertainment" or "Produced by NBC Productions" would appear in the 1980s and early 1990s.
 * Sometimes, another company is credited alongside NBC. The in-credit logo on Little House on the Prairie had the text "In Association With ED FRIENDLY," while episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman had the text "in Association with CARSON PRODUCTIONS". But for Late Night with David Letterman ' s final season (1992-93) with NBC, the "CARSON PRODUCTIONS" credit was eliminated following Johnny Carson's retirement from The Tonight Show in May 1992 and replaced with a credit for "WORLDWIDE PANTS INCORPORATED". (They did share credits from 1990-92.)
 * Sometimes during the '60s and '70s, it would also feature the in-credit NBC "Snake" logo.
 * On the ultra short-lived 1979 series Supertrain, the card reads "an n.b.c. production," and below was a union bug and NBC copyright.
 * On the unaired episode of Ed, a blue-tan gradient background and a serif typeface reading "Serif" was used. Considering this was an unaired episode, this was likely used as a placeholder for NBC to air.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Just the ending theme of any show playing or silent. On some shows, mainly in the 1950s, you would hear an announcer spiel: "In association with the NBC Television Network".

Availability: Common.
 * It's currently seen on several episodes of Bonanza on TV Land and Me-TV, such as the season 2 episode "Day of Reckoning", Little House on the Prairie on COZI TV, and Daniel Boone on World Harvest Television and RTV.
 * The NBC/Carson Productions in-credit logo appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (1949-1953)
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Logo: We see the words "NBC" surrounded by a square zoom up on a gray background. The letters light up one by one in sync with the NBC chimes.

FX/SFX: The zooming, the letters lighting up.

Music/Sounds: An announcer saying "NBC Television.", followed by the famous "NBC chimes" as the letters light up.

Availability: Extinct. Once again, check old kinescopes.

Editor's Note: This is by far the most classic version of the NBC chimes.

4th Logo (1955?-1956)
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Logo: We see a card with the words "THIS PROGRAM IS BEING TELEVISED IN", with COLOR below it in a larger font, and below "AND BLACK AND WHITE" in the same font as the text above the word "COLOR".

Variant: A B&W variant exists.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: An announcer saying "The following program is brought to you in compatible color, pioneered and developed by RCA."

Availability: Extremely rare. Both captures appeared on a 1956 episode of The Dinah Shore Show. Ironically, it is only preserved in black and white.

Editor's Note: Some may not be expecting the announcer, but it's harmless.

5th Logo (1956-1962)
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Nickname: "Early Peacock", "Cymbal Crash"

Logo: We see a white peacock facing left on a black BG. Its feathers, outlined in white and tipped with little diamond shapes, begin to fold up. As they meet in the center, they spread out in the opposite directions, becoming colored in the process. The feathers flash multiple colors and "bloom", becoming thicker, with the diamonds changing to teardrop shapes. The result is an 11-feathered peacock with its paper fan-shaped display feathers in various colors.

Variants:
 * The peacock was still in its earliest years. There is also a still version with the peacock appearing over the word "COLOR." On this, there is no music and just the spiel described below.
 * Another still variant has the words "AN NBC COLOR PRESENTATION" under the peacock. This was seen on the 1958 primetime version of the game show Tic-Tac-Dough.
 * B&W variants exist on prints of said colors.

FX/SFX: The peacock spreading its feathers.

Music/Sounds: We first hear a gong crash, then announcer Ben Grauer says "The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC.". This ends with a bombastic fanfare.

Music/Sound Variants:
 * Sometimes, there is no music, and the announcement is provided by Bill Hanrahan instead.
 * A special variant was used on Howdy Doody. It starts out with the NBC chimes performed on a guitar with the characters singing "Everyone in Doodyville is shouting 'hooray'!/'cause we're in living color/we're in living color/we're in living color todaaaaay!".
 * On The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, a big band tune based on the NBC chimes is heard.

Availability: Extremely rare. Appears on the pilot of Bonanza on DVD. This ID was spotted recently in front of the Bonanza episode "The Frenchman" on MeTV, and may appear on other early episodes.

Editor's Note: This logo might startle some, thanks to the cymbal crash, the bombastic fanfare and loud announcer.

6th Logo (1960-1963)
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Nicknames: "The Snake", "NBC Snake", "Camera Lenses"

Logo: Superimposed on the screen as a few camera lenses rotate clockwise in the background, the NBC snake logo forms, and the text "Impact" in a small font appears inside the "C" of the snake.

Variant: On at least one syndication episode of You Bet Your Life had the word "Impact" instead of "Impact".

FX/SFX: The camera lenses rotating clockwise, the snake forming, the text appearing.

Music/Sounds: A horn jingle plays as an announcer either says, "Produced (in color) in association with the NBC Television Network", "This has been a color presentation of the NBC Television Network", or "This has been an NBC Television Network presentation".

Music/Sounds Variants: There's a very rare 1962 variant which is a different horn jingle being heard as the announcer says "This is the CBS Television...oh, g*dd**n it!". He might have made a mistake during the voiceover.

Availability: Extremely rare.
 * The film variant has been recently found on a DVD of You Bet Your Life and the normal variant has been spotted on a few episodes.
 * This also surprisingly turned up at the end of GSN's 2003 airing of the original 1963 pilot episode of Let's Make a Deal.
 * More recently, this logo has been spotted on several color episodes of Laramie on Encore Westerns, following the color Revue logo, making this a much easier find.

Editor's Note: A simplistic but interesting logo concept.

7th Logo (1960-1963?)
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Nicknames: "The Snake II", "NBC Snake II", "Camera Lenses II"

Logo: We zoom onto a camera rotating around in a clockwise direction, we also see a blue shadow of a cameraman operating a camera. We then see the logo form in the same way as the previous logo along with the minuscule "Impact" text. When the logo is nearly finished forming, we zoom out from the camera lens.

FX/SFX: The zooming into the camera, the camera lenses rotating clockwise, the snake forming, the "TELEVISION NETWORK" text appearing, and then zooming out from the camera lenses.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Availability: Very rare. The color version can be seen on some season 3 episodes of Laramie on Encore Westerns.

Editor's Note: See the previous logo.

8th Logo (1960-1966)
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Nicknames: "The Snake III", "NBC Snake III", "The Cameraman"

Logo: On a black background, we see pink, red, and magenta light spots. We see the NBC logo forming, while a cameraman moves from left to right in the background.

FX/SFX: The forming of the name, and the man moving the camera.

Music/Sounds: A jazzy horn rendition of the famous NBC theme or a dramatic horn fanfare from the 2nd logo with the announcer voice-over, depending on the variant:
 * The announcer says, "This has been a production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network.", or "This has been a color production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network." for the earlier shows (or programs) in color.
 * The same announcer says just like in the 2nd logo, "Produced in association with the NBC Television Network.", or "Produced in color in association with the NBC Television Network." (for the earlier shows (or programs) in color) or "This has been an NBC Television Network presentation".

Availability: Rare, though it's a little easier to come across than the last two logos.
 * It's currently seen on most season 3 episodes of The Virginian on INSP. This also appeared on some episodes of Bonanza on Me-TV, such as season 2's "Day of Reckoning" & season 7's "The Lonely Ranger", and several of the "lost episodes", which recently began airing on Me-TV, followed by the CBS Television Distribution logo.
 * The black and white version can be seen on The Perry Como Show on GetTV.

Editor's Note: See the previous two logos.

9th Logo (1962-1975, May 22, 1992, June 1, 2009)
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Nickname: "Laramie Peacock", "Kaleidoscope Peacock", "Psychedelic Peafowl" "Undead Peacock" (For the Nightmare: The Host and Rodney variant)

Logo: We see a kaleidoscope of many colors rotating. It wipes away, leaving us with the peacock from before, but its feathers greatly enlarged, which shrink down and form its feathers, looking the same from before, albeit with different colors.

Variants:
 * On Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, there is a variant where a man in white rolls a desk with a camera in from the left of the screen on a purplish-pink background. Another man in the same clothing floats down with a green rolled-up 16-millimeter screen. He unfolds it and walks around the movie screen as the movie starts with a countdown, then a blue "PICTURE START" screen, then this logo. The movie screen zooms in to fit the screen. After the music stops, the peacock sneezes, "Ah-CHOO!" and its feathers fly off as it looks around, wondering where its feathers went.
 * On The Dinah Shore Show, the peacock appears 3 times screaming "CAW!" during the opening of the show.
 * On the Star Trek: The Original Series gag reel, when the logo is about to finish, we see a hand holding a gun, shooting the peacock repeatedly, causing the peacock to flipped several times and screaming.
 * On a rare marketing reel for Nightmare: The Host and Rodney, the logo looks a lot more deformed. The colors of the feathers are different, faded, and 2 of the tips are sagging, while the peacock body looks crooked and there are 2 feathers under it. This variant is also still and the Vincent Price-like announcer has an very menacing feel to it, complete with an echo. The voice says "in livid color" (livid is a blue-gray color) instead of "living".
 * B&W variants exist on prints of said colors.
 * On 70s episodes of "Today", the words "TODAY" will appear during the 2nd half of the logo.

FX/SFX: The kaleidoscope effects.

Music/Sounds: A mellow flute and harp tune with a different (and much softer) announcer (Mel Brandt) saying the spiel from before. Sometimes, a different announcer is used, and adds "It just starts in black-and-white." at the end. This was seen on a promo for Get Smart.

Music/Sounds Variants: There are versions of the bumper with a shortened jingle. Also, the announcement can vary depending on the situation.

Availability: Rare; it was first used on the western series Laramie, hence the nickname. It can be seen on DVD's of classic NBC shows, such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The Get Smart variant can be found on the Get Smart complete series DVD. It made an appearance in front of the first episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on June 1, 2009. This can also be seen on at least one The Tonight Show tape from Buena Vista Home Video featuring Johnny Carson, as well as the VHS versions of Movin' With Nancy (starring Nancy Sinatra) and Petula Clark Spectacular. Some of the prime time episodes of Hollywood Squares that GSN aired retained the peacock as well, as well as episodes on Hulu. This logo is restored on the newest prints of Bonanza episodes (dubbed "The Lost Episodes") on Me-TV.

Editor's Note: The logo is much more mellowed out this time, but the Nightmare: The Host and Rodney variant can be creepy for some viewers.

10th Logo (1966-1975, 2009)
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Nicknames: "The Snake IV", "NBC Snake IV"

Logo: On a black background, we see the NBC snake forming itself from the bottom starting with the letter "C". As the snake forms the letters "B" and "N", the background changes its color from black, to light blue, to green, to red. Below the logo is the text "PRODUCED WITH THE NBC-TV NETWORK", "PRODUCED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK", or "PRESENTED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK", which disappears as the background turns red and the logo finishes.

Variants:
 * This logo would appear on a light purple-like background as a still shot.
 * On a promo for Star Trek, the logo is in the bottom left corner and forms from the center of that area. The "N" moves in the top left, the "B" in the top right, and the "C" in the center bottom.
 * Short versions exist that cuts part or most of the formation of the letter "C".
 * This can also appear in B&W on prints in the said colors.

FX/SFX: The snake forming, and the background changes.

Music/Sounds: The NBC chime theme from the 1950s, only sped up a little, or the ending theme of the program or promo.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On WNBC's analog shutdown, this had the original 1950's chimes.
 * On Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, a single person clapping can be heard over the chimes.

Availability: Extremely rare.
 * It was last seen on current prints of the I Dream of Jeannie episode "Uncles a Go-Go" preceded by the Screen Gems "S from Hell" and followed by the Sony Pictures Television logo last aired on WGN America and last seen on several 1964 episodes of The Virginian on Encore Westerns.
 * It was also recently spotted after The Monkees episode "Son of a Gypsy" on Antenna TV (with the Colex Enterprises logo before AND after it).
 * Currently seen on Retro TV airings of The Doctors episodes from the era (followed by the SFM Entertainment logo).
 * The logo was seen on original broadcasts of Star Trek (and likely other shows that aired on NBC that were not in-house productions) but is usually edited out nowadays.
 * The "PRESENTED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK" version also made an appearance on WNBC's analog shutdown back in 2009.
 * As for the still variant, it's extinct and was last seen on Eye Guess.
 * This logo was recently spotted on an airing of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In on Decades.

Editor's Note: This is one of NBC's well-known logos, especially among NBC fans.

11th Logo (1972)
Logo: On a blue background, we see a weird spinning object. The object turns out to be a compressed NBC "Snake" logo. The logo decompresses and turns blue, and the background turns black.

FX/SFX: All of the animation in the logo, which was done by Computer Animation Industries using Scanimate.

Music/Sounds: A UFO sound that gets louder, and then an ascending tone when the NBC logo decompresses. When the NBC logo is formed a six-note theme plays.

Availability: This logo was never used. It was found on a demo reel for Computer Animation Industries.

Editor's Note: This logo features good animation for 1972.

12th Logo (January 1, 1976-1981)
Nickname: "N of Doom"

Logo: We have a white background, which zooms out, revealing an abstract "N" on a black background. The text "Dolphin Productions/New York" in white fades in on the bottom of the screen. The left section of the "N" fills with red, and the right section fills with blue, becoming the NBC logo of the time. The text on the bottom of the screen fades to "NBC".

FX/SFX: It's nothing more than zoom effects and fading. This was done at Dolphin Productions in New York; the footage here was taken from a watermarked Dolphin demo reel, which explains the "Dolphin Productions/New York" at the bottom of the screen at one part.

Music/Sounds: A loud jazzy fanfare with congas.

Availability: Extinct. This was seen as a network ID starting on January 1, 1976. NBC replaced it with the "Proud N" starting in 1979, but NBC News and NBC Sports retained this logo until 1981.

Editor's Note: While definitely very simple by today's standards, this logo holds the groundbreaking distinction of being the first completely computer animated national television network ID.

13th Logo (1982-1983)
Logo: On a plane consisting of tiles of peacocks with 11 feathers, the text "NBC" rotates and flies out, followed by the text "JUST WATCH US NOW". Then the camera pans to the NBC peacock with the "N" from the previous logo, made by blue lines. Then, the peacock with the "N" zooms in.

FX/SFX: The flying of the text, the zooming.

Music/Sounds: The shortened version of the last part of the jingle "We're NBC, Just Watch Us Now". Sometimes, an announcer (Danny Dark) says, "This is NBC, the network that swept in Emmys.", followed by a chorus singing "We're NBC, Just Watch Us NOW!"

Availability: Extinct. Check old off-air recordings of the period.

Editor's Note: None.

14th Logo (1983-1984)
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Logo: On a moving NBC wallpaper, we see the NBC logo zooming in.

FX/SFX: The wallpaper, the zooming in.

Music/Sounds: Danny Dark says "This is the NBC television network!" over an excerpt of the network's "Be There" theme. After the voiceover, the theme concludes with the jingle "You can N-B-C there, be there!"

Availability: Extinct. Once again, check old off-air recordings.

Editor's Note: The "Be There" campaign is a favorite of many.

15th Logo (1986-1990s)
Logo: Exactly like the 1986 NBC Productions logo, but slowed down and missing the word "PRODUCTIONS".

FX/SFX: Same as the 1986 NBC Productions logo.

Music/Sounds: A Broadway-sounding tune, with the NBC chimes near the end. Danny Dark announces, "This is the NBC television network!" One variant has a jazzy instrumental version of the "Come Home to NBC" promo music.

Availability: Extinct. It was used as a bumper in the 1980s. Check old tapes.

Editor's Note: None.

16th Logo (1993-2002)
Nickname: "The Fireflies", "NBC XAOS"

Logo: We see a rush of white "fireflies" (what they are referred to from now on). The fireflies take on the six primary colors and transform into the NBC peacock. When the peacock is formed, white fireflies continue to fly around in the black background.

Trivia: This was animated by Mark Mahlberg.

FX/SFX: The animation of the fireflies, which still holds up today. In fact, it's so good, it doesn't even look like something you see in 1993!

Music/Sounds: A tranquil synth theme with a backing that sounds a bit like the NBC peacock theme from the '60s.

Availability: Again, it's extinct. However, given its long lifespan (it served in various capacities during the '90s, such as a network ID or serving as NBC's "special presentation" ID, which it did as late as 2002) you might see it on tape somewhere. Another capacity it served was to signal the switch of Philadelphia's WCAU from CBS to NBC in the early hours of September 10, 1995. Also of note: this was one of many NBC IDs that made its debut in 1993, alongside several others (such as ones by John Kricfalusi of Ren and Stimpy fame, and another by Peter Maxx); according to one YouTube comment, this ID was overshadowed by the other ones, though it lasted the longest out of all of them.

Editor's Note: While this ID would certainly be unexpected to a first-time viewer, it is nevertheless a very good ID.

17th Logo (1995-2000s)
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Nickname: "The Ice Sculpture"

Logo: A man uses a chainsaw to make an ice sculpture of the NBC peacock.

FX/SFX: Live action.

Music/Sounds: A rock tune, followed by the NBC Chimes played on electric guitar.

Availability: Extinct. It was used in-between programs in the mid-late 1990s. Check old off-air recordings.

Editor's Note: None.

18th Logo (1995-2001)
Nicknames: "Peacock in the Sky", "The Plane", "Cloudy Peacock", "NBC Peacock IV"

Logo: On a sky background, an orange biplane flies over. The camera then cuts to the seat of the plane as it flies. Then, the camera cuts to the wheels. The camera then cuts to the seat again. We then cut to the wheels and then the front of the plane. The plane then reveals a cloud version of the 6 feathered NBC Peacock with the head looking at the right and then turns into color. When the logo forms, there's no corporate text at all, but the URL "www.NBC.com" may appear surrounded by a black oval.

Variant: On Access Hollywood, the URL is absent.

FX/SFX: The flying of the plane, the plane forming the peacock, and the peacock turning into color.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic theme with the sounds of the biplane's engine followed by a bell version of the 3 note NBC theme.

Availability: Extinct.
 * This was only seen on pre-2001 episodes of Access Hollywood.
 * It also doubled as a network ID c. 1995.

Editor's Note: Another interesting concept with decent animation.

19th Logo (1995-2001)
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Nicknames: "The Flipping Peacock", "NBC Peacock V"

Logo: We see the 6-feathered NBC peacock over a revolving set of many-colored feathers in the background. The logo appears to be flipping as if it were a book. It then makes a stop at the near end. There's no corporate text at all in this logo, but the URL from before may appear below.

Variant: On Access Hollywood, the URL is absent.

FX/SFX: The flipping of the peacock.

Music/Sounds: On Access Hollywood episodes from 1997-99 distributed by 20th Television: a majestic rendition of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral flourish. As a station ident, a series of chimes that leads into a bombastic fanfare. For the 1999-01 episodes of the said show distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution: it used the NBC Studios music used in 1999.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: Another beautifully animated logo with a just as beautiful score (at least on the station ident variant).

20th Logo (2000-August 20, 2004)
Logo: TBA

FX/SFX: Nice CGI!

Music/Sounds: TBA

Availability: Was only seen as a station ID. Also appeared on 2004 NBC Fall Preview.

Editor's Note: TBA

21st Logo (2004)
Nicknames: "M&M's Color Adventure", "The Great Colour Quest"

Logo: Depending on the variant.

FX/SFX: Nice computer animation and animated by (the now-defunct) Rhythm and Hues Studios!

Music/Sounds: Depending on the variant.

Availability: Extinct. Only seen on the M&M's promotion "The Great Colour Quest".

Editor's Note: TBA

22nd Logo (2009-2011)
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Nickname: "NBC Thursday Night"

Logo: We see various clips of characters from NBC's Thursday night line-up, separated by bars of colors from the NBC peacock logo.

FX/SFX: The colored bars.

Music/Sounds: A female announcer says "The following programs are brought to you in living color on NBC", afterwards a rendition of the NBC chimes is heard on an xylophone.

Availability: Was seen right before Community Thursday nights on NBC.

Editor's Note: A nice throwback to the last two logos, but it feels unnecessary to say “in living color”, since most, if not all modern TVs have color, however it was probably used as a gimmick for full HDTV, especially since this logo was used on the same year the US transitioned to digital from analog. Either way, this is still a good logo.

23rd Logo (2011-2013)
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24th Logo (2013-2018)
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Nickname: "Rainbow Paint"

Logo: On a silver and white gradient background, the rainbow liquid paint splatters each other with colors including electric lime, razzle dazzle rose, absolute zero, red, neon carrot and laser lemon. On the neon carrot ball painting, we pan to the right and then the paint forms the peacock shell before the "NBC" text fades in.

FX/SFX: The paint splattering. Nice CGI.

Music/Sounds: A piano synth tune with the NBC chimes at the end.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

25th Logo (2018- )
<youtube width=240 height=185>BJo8cce541o Logo: On a black background, we see the NBC logo unfolding, similar to the classic Laramie logo. The peacock then morphs into the current logo, as the text "NBC" slides in from below. "PRESENTS" fades in.

FX/SFX: The peacock morphing.

Music/Sounds: A synth version of the NBC chimes.

Availability: Common. Can be seen on NBC programming.

Editor's Note: None.