CBS

Background
CBS is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network. The name was originally an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name used from 1928 to 1974. CBS is also sometimes referred to as the Eye Network, in reference to the company's trademark symbol, in use since 1951.

1st ID (August 2, 1946-October 19, 1951)
Visuals: The blocky letters "CBS" are illuminated by a spotlight against a dark background.

Variant: A version with an overlay featuring some farm plants and a house exists. There are also different variants, where they are farther or closer to the text.

Technique: None.

Audio: None or the ending theme of the show, which may be coupled with an announcer saying, "This is CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System." or "This is the CBS Television Network."

Availability: It may be found on kinescope recordings of period CBS programming or archives of it on home media. The variant was featured on an episode of "Inside USA" from November 24, 1949, and was likely used because it aired during the Fall of 1949. It's unknown if this version appears has different seasons or appearances. Preserved on Fremantle's kinescope of the February 2, 1950 premiere of What's My Line?

2nd ID (October 20, 1951-1960?)
Visuals: The familiar CBS "Eyemark" is presented against a cloudy sky. Inside the center of the eye are the words "CBS TELEVISION NETWORK", with "CBS" in a tall font.

Variants:
 * Sometimes, the clouds in the background move from left to right.
 * Usually, the logo is completely still.
 * On rare occasions, a shutter may open up in the center to reveal the text, like the other ID CBS used at the time.
 * There is a sepia-toned variant.

Technique: Camera-controlled animation.

Audio: Either silence or the ending theme of the program. However, most of the time, it is accompanied by an announcer, either identifying CBS ("This is the CBS Television Network") or giving information on upcoming programming (e.g. "Stay tuned for Toast of the Town on the CBS Television Network"). Sometimes someone will tell you to "Keep your eye on this eye"

Availability: As this was mainly used as an ID, it's unlikely to see this on prints distributed by CBS. However, it is possible to find it on prints that are either not distributed or owned by CBS. Some examples include a public domain VHS of The Jack Benny Show and some mid-2000's DVDs of The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. Currently, the latest known use of this logo is on a 1960 episode of GE College Bowl.

Legacy: This is the earliest known CBS ID with the "Eyemark".

3rd ID (Late 1950s)
Visuals: In a white background, we see a CBS eyemark with a ring of  and  circles inside. In the ring, there's a "sun-like" shape with the following text in the middle:

Impact

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer saying "This is the CBS Television Network."

4th ID (1950s-1960s)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown

5th ID (September 12, 1965-Early 1970s)
Visuals: On a black background, we see a "Serif" dropping from the bottom of the screen. Then a "Serif" drops from the top of the screen, and then an "Serif" drops from the top of the screen. All the letters form "Serif" in its corporate font, and are all white. Afterwards, a gold CBS eye logo goes through "CBS", changing the letters from white to for "Serif",  for "Serif", and  for "Serif", before stopping next to them.

Trivia: According to a July 8, 1965 CBS memo, development of this open was spearheaded by George Bristol, CBS's Director of Advertising and Sales Promotion.

Variants:
 * Some B&W copies of this logo exist, due to B&W kinescopes still being in common use at the time.
 * An abridged version used on The Price Is Right from 1997-2000 exists. The second note at the beginning gets cut off before it fades out, and the announcer (Hal Simms) talks over the warbling synth and fanfare instead of having silence while speaking.

Technique: Motion-controlled animation.

Audio: A three-note synth tune by Eric Siday (who also played the Screen Gems "S From Hell" music) as the letters drop, followed by synth warbling as the CBS eye spins through the letters, and finally a three-note fanfare. An announcer will say, "CBS presents this program in color!". This announcer is usually attributed to Hal Simms, but sometimes is done by a different announcer (which usually appears on live programs, rather than prerecorded ones)

Availability: This was seen on programs from this era when CBS started going into color broadcasting regularly. This logo can be found on Hogan's Heroes and The Carol Burnett Show on DVD. Due to how iconic this logo is to CBS, this logo has made special reappearances from time to time. This made a short comeback during episodes of The Price is Right and Kids Say the Darndest Things during their original airings from 1997-2000. Since 2016, this has also been seen on special colorized airings of The Dick Van Dyke Show during December on CBS. This appears at the beginning of episodes of The Carol Burnett Show and The Red Skelton Show on Amazon Prime Video. It was also on the original 1965 broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and How The Grinch Stole Christmas! and quite possibly the original run of Space Ghost and Dino Boy.

6th ID (Late 1960s)
Visuals: In a background, the CBS eye mark is seen, along with a yellow "CBS" in the middle.

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer saying "This is CBS.".

7th ID (We've Got It All Together) (1970-1971)
Visuals: In a black background,we see a white CBS eye. In the middle, we see a red "CBS" in a stylish font.

Technique: None.

Audio: Likely an announcer saying "This is CBS."

8th ID (Where the Good Times Are) (1971-1972)
Visuals: In a black background, we see a dark green CBS eye. In the middle, we see a white "CBS".

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer (Harry Kramer) saying "This is CBS."

9th ID (Have We Got a Fall for You) (1972-1973)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Unknown.

10th ID (1972-1980)
Visuals: Just a still of the CBS eye (in green, blue,, or ) with "CBS" in the middle of it.

Variant: An animated version exists, where in a black background, we see an outline of the CBS eye in. A flash of lightning strikes on the logo, then the whole eye slowly turns. The letters "CBS" appear in white.

Technique: None.

Audio: The announcer saying, "This is CBS."

Audio Variants:
 * The announcer might vary, but they say the same thing.
 * The animated variant has a catastrophic theme's ending playing, we hear a thunderclap and an announcer saying " *insert show* is next on CBS."

Availability: Later uses of this logo could be a little more common due to home media kicking off to the consumer crowd.

11th ID (The Best Is Right Here) (1973-1974)
Visuals: In a black background, we see the CBS Eyemark in and a white circle bouncing to the theme. The circle bounces on the last three notes of the music left to right, revealing the letters "CBS" in white.

Variant: A different version was used, where in a black background, we see the white circle revealing the letters "CBS" in blue. There is no eyemark in this variant.

Technique: Cel animation by Edstan Studio.

Audio: The end of the promo.

12th ID (See the Best... CBS) (1974-1975)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: An announcer says "This is CBS."

13th ID (Catch the Brightest Stars) (1975-1976)
Visuals: On a black background, we see a white CBS eyemark, with the letters "Courier" in in the middle.

Variants:
 * The color of the text might vary.
 * An animated variant exists, where in a starry background, the text "CATCH THE BRIGHTEST STARS" in a white glowing font zooms away from a distance then stops. The other letters disappear except "C B S". They come together, making the starry background disappear. When the letters "CBS" have formed, a bright glow appears for a second then fades out, revealing the eyemark.

Technique: None for the regular variant. For the "CATCH THE BRIGHTEST STARS" variant, backlit animation by Edstan Studio.

Audio: An announcer says "This is CBS."

Audio Variants:
 * The announcer may say: ".. on CBS."
 * The "CATCH THE BRIGHTEST STARS" variant has a loud flute that goes away when the letters merge. There is an announcer that says "Try and reach the Seven Central on CBS!". We also hear windy sounds when the letters "CBS" merge.
 * The second animated variant has a sparky sound accompanied with an announcer saying "Tomorrow, starting at 9 at central on CBS."

14th ID (The Hot Ones) (1976-1977)
Visuals: On a black background, we see a spark drawing the circle of the CBS eye. As the spark has drawn 1/4 of the circle, another line is drawing up, drawing the eye. When the line that draws the eyes has drawn 3/4 of the eye, a smaller circle is drawn, representing the pupil. The eye is now finished, but the lines go a second lap. The letters "CBS" suddenly spark up from nowhere.

Technique: 2D animation by Edstan Studio.

Audio: A sparky sound accompanied with an announcer saying "Tomorrow, starting at 9/8 central on CBS."

15th ID (There's Something in the Air) (1977-1978)
Visuals: Unknown.

Technique: None.

Audio: The announcer says: "This is CBS."

16th ID (Turn Us On, We'll Turn You On) (1978-1979)
Visuals: On a pink/blue gradient background, The CBS logo comes to a dot clock. We zoom in to the television on the left of the dot clock.

Technique: CGI by Triple-I (Information International Inc.) on a Foonly F1 supercomputer with TRANEW software.

Audio: The campaign's song "Turn Us On" by an unknown composer.

17th ID (Looking Good) (1979-1980)
Visuals: On a gradient background, we see the CBS eyemark outlined in. In the middle, we can see "CBS" in in the middle of the eye.

Technique: Camera controlled animation designed by Jane Simpson at Triplane Film + Video, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA, and animated by Tony Valdez at Lumeni Productions, Inc. in Glendale, CA on an Oxberry Animation Stand.

Audio: The campaign's song "Looking Good", composed by Karen Snow and recorded at a studio in New York, NY.

18th ID (Looking Good Together) (1980-1981)
Visuals: Just like before, only the gold colors aren't as shiny and "CBS" is in a different font.

Technique: None.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Same as before.

19th ID (Reach for the Stars) (1981-1982)
Visuals: In a -black gradient background, we see the CBS eyemark with a blue outline, along with a white "CBS" in the middle.

Variant: In a -black gradient background, we see a silver ring with the text "Times New Roman" on it and a stylized USA flag inside it. After a few seconds, a few flares fly up from the bottom of the screen, transforming the ring into the CBS eyemark in.

Technique: None for the regular variant. The "REACH FOR THE STARS" variant has live action and motion-controlled animation. Designed by Jay Teitzell, John LePrevost, and Lewis Hall, Animated by Dream Quest Images, and produced by Sheryl Gold.

Audio: In the regular variant, an announcer says "This is CBS.".

Audio Variant: The "REACH FOR THE STARS" variant has the end of the promo's theme composed and performed by an unknown jingle writer.

Availability: Older TV broadcasts or recordings from the early 1980s are likely to have this logo.

20th ID (Great Moments) (1982-1983)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: The campaign's song "Great Moments", composed by Jake Holmes.

Availability: Unknown.

21st ID (We've Got the Touch) (1983-1984)
Visuals: There are two variants, both of which have different footage of people doing everyday things. Then, it ends with five bands waving, in the following colors: yellow,, , , and yellow. Then, the text "WE'VE GOT THE TOUCH" and the CBS eye, both in bronze, zoom out and shine.

Technique: Live-action and CGI.

Audio: The campaign's song "We've Got the Touch", sung by Richie Havens.

22nd ID (We've Got the Touch) (1984-1985)
Visuals: On a background, we see a yellow outline of the Eyemark with "Times New Roman" in its familiar font in the center, in white.

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer says "This is CBS".

23rd ID (We've Got the Touch) (1985-1986)
Visuals: Same as before but the background is now solid blue with lines running horizontally.

Variants: Unknown

Technique: CGI by Omnibus Computer Graphics on a Foonly F1 and DEC VAX-11/780 using Wavefront software.

Audio: Just an announcer saying "This is CBS".

Availability: By this point, VCRs and other forms of recording media became popular with the consumer market. Due to this, this logo as well as the ones after it is more common to find if you know where to look.

24th ID (Share the Spirit) (1986-1987)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI designed by Sheryl Gold and animated by Cranston/Csuri Productions using a VAX-11/750 and an early Sun SPARC computer.

Audio: The campaign's song "Share the Spirit".

Availability: Exitnct.

25th ID (CBSPIRIT) (1987-August 1988)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by Pacific Data Images on a Ridge32 supercomputer.

Audio: The campaign's song "CBSpirit Oh Yes" by an unknown composer.

26th ID (Television You Can Feel) (August 1988-November 16, 1989)
Visuals: On a black background, we see a metallic blue Eyemark with "Times New Roman" in its pupil. The Eyemark shines.

Technique: CGI by Metrolight Studios.

Audio: As with all CBS logos, an announcer says "This is CBS."

Availability: Same as the previous logos and the next few.

27th ID (Get Ready) (November 17, 1989-1990)
Visuals: We see a and pink-tinted rendition of the CBS Eye with "Times New Roman" in a tall, thick serif font on a  gradient background. Streaks of light pass by on the background as the logo shines.

Technique: CGI by Pinnacle Effects.

Audio: An announcer saying "This is CBS," as usual.

28th ID (Get Ready, The Look of America is CBS) (1990-1992)
Visuals: On a white background, we see the Eyemark in front of rotating cyan/yellow/purple shapes. A yellow streak wipes in "C B S".

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Same as before.

29th ID (This is CBS, It's All Right Here) (1992-1995)
Visuals: A lavender CBS eye zooms out, from an extreme close up and at an angle, over a black background filled with colorful Aurora lights. It gets a comfortable distance away from the screen, and a "C B S" in Helvetica Neue appears below. A lens flare brightens everything up, turning the CBS eye sky blue and the text white.

Variants:
 * On the night of August 30, 1993, this ID played as normal, except David Letterman did the V/O spiel. Dave faded in midway through the animation and shrugged. Dave fades out by the end of the ID.
 * A special variant aired in November 1994 to promote the miniseries Scarlett. The Eyemark is now colored gold, and "SCARLETT" flies over the logo.

Trivia: A picture of this logo is seen in Scott Pelley's office on the CBS Evening News.

Technique: CGI from Pittard Sullivan.

Audio: A four-note jingle, with a delay between the first two notes (which is filled with what sounds like a harp), followed by twinkling sounds (the network usually cut away by this point) This is coupled with an announcer (there were two different ones) saying "This is CBS.". The four-note jingle has since served as the network's musical logo, akin to the NBC chimes.

30th ID (I am...CBS People) (1994-1995)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

31st ID (WJZ-TV's 1995 switchover variant) (January 2, 1995)
Visuals: On a black background, the CBS eye swirls towards the viewer. When it gets a moderate distance away, it stops, and "CBS" (fashioned like the network ID of the era) wipes in below.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rising note (like in the Nelson Entertainment logo), followed by a "ding". It's also the same jingle heard in the early '90s WPBT logo.

Availability: Its only known appearance was in the early hours of January 2, 1995, used to denote that Baltimore's WJZ-TV had switched to CBS.

32nd ID (You're on CBS) (1995-1996)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Live-action and CGI.

Audio: Unknown

33rd ID (Welcome Home) (1996-1998)
Visuals: On a white background, we see a black CBS eyemark logo. It turns yellow as the text "Serif" in a Didot font zooms out letter-by-letter on the eye before fading out, which each letter appearing next to it. After "Serif" disappears, "Serif" appears below.

Trivia: This slogan was also used by Australia's Nine Network from 27 September, 2009 to 23 December, 2017.

Technique: 2D computer animation from Pittard Sullivan.

Audio: A jazzy rendition of the CBS jingle, with an announcer saying "CBS. Welcome home."

34th ID (The Address is CBS, Welcome Home) (1998-1999)
Visuals: There are two variants:
 * Variant 1: Unknown.
 * Variant 2: Over a background with several lines and curves, we see numerous glass CBS eyes swirling towards the center. Then, the CBS eye appears in the center before flashing. Then, the text "welcome home" appears below.

Technique: 2D animation by REZN8.

Audio: A majestic fanfare, with an announcer (Don LaFontaine) saying "The address is CBS. Welcome home."

35th ID (The Address is CBS) (1999-2000)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

36th ID (It's All Here) (2000-2001)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

37th ID (It's All Here) (2001-2002)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

38th ID (It's All Here) (2002-2003)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

39th ID (It's All Here) (2003-2004)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

40th ID (It's All Here) (2004-2005)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

Availability: Extinxt.

41st ID (Everybody's Watching CBS) (2005-2006)


Visuals: On a dark orange or light blue background, we see the distorted lines that say "Everybody's Watching" as it reveals the rotating CBS eyemark, then shifts to the CBS wordmark. Then, the wordmark zooms in from the "S" in "CBS" and it reveals mini CBS eyeballs forming a distorted line on the very bottom, with the words "Everybody's Watching" on the top, the signature CBS eye in the middle, and it's wordmark on the bottom of the eye.

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: Unknown

42nd ID (We Are CBS) (2006-2007)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI by Troika Design Group.

Audio: Unknown

43rd ID (We Are CBS) (2007-2008)
Visuals: On an orange background that changes to an orange-purple gradient, or a sky blue background, we see several lines of light come together to form the CBS logo, with "CBS" in a custom font used until 2009. The Eyemark pulsates rays of light to the tune of the 3-note CBS jingle.

Technique: CGI by REZN8.

Audio: A different rock rendition of the CBS jingle, with Don LaFontaine saying "You're watching CBS."

Availability: Was most often seen at the start of the KOL Secret Slumber Party and Kewlopolis blocks.

44th ID (Only CBS) (2008-2009)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown

45th ID (Only CBS) (2009-2010)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown

46th ID (Only CBS) (2010-2011)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

47th ID (Only CBS) (2011-2012)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

48th ID (Only CBS) (2012-2013)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

49th ID (Only CBS) (2013-2014)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

50th ID (Only CBS) (2014-2015)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

51st ID (Only CBS) (2015-2016)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

52nd ID (Only CBS) (2016-2018)
Visuals: Unknown

Technique: Unknown

Audio: Unknown

53rd ID (2018-2020)
Visuals: On a white background, we see the CBS Eyemark shining, and then cutting to smaller view as the "CBS" text zooms into place.

Variant: In 2019, pictures of incidents were seen.

Technique: 2D computer animation by Sibling Rivalry.

Audio: A piano tune with an orchestral piece in the key of B-flat major, before transgressing into D major, ending with a calm version of the three-note CBS jingle. An announcer says "You're watching CBS".

Audio Variants: A version of this appeared in 2019, with the announcer saying "You're watching CBS" in a different tone.

Availability: It was seen before the start of programming on CBS until 2020.

54th ID (This is CBS) (2020-)


Visuals: On a dark blue background, we see two blue circles overlap each other with an outlined circle, also in blue, zooming towards the center, form an eye. The three circles zoom in as the CBS Eyemark logo, also in blue, zooms out. The eye moves to the left, and then the letters "CBS" appear, in sync with the last three notes of the "This is CBS" jingle by Antfood.

Variants:
 * Five-second, six-second and three-second versions of this ID exist.
 * On the three-second short version, the animation of the overlapping circles is sped-up. This is seen on programming that starts after the first program in that night's lineup ends.
 * On the reveal, the letters that are in sync with the jingle are slower.
 * The app version starts when the Eyemark zooms out. This can be viewed in portrait and landscape views.
 * At the end of CBS' "This is Together" promo during Super Bowl LV, the tagline "LIVE + ON DEMAND + STREAMING" appear one at a time alongside with the letters in sync with the last three notes of the jingle. This also applies to some promos (with audio variants in some shows; with the tagline removed in late 2022 to put room for the "Streaming on Paramount+" plug).
 * The On Demand version shows parts of the deformed Eyemark after the ID, in which shows the disclaimer "WHILE WATCHING THE SHOW, FAST FORWARD AND OTHER FUNCTIONS MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE.", just like in previous CBS On Demand versions.
 * A 30fps version exists on Antfood's Vimeo page.

Technique: 2D computer animation, designed by Gretel.

Audio: A new, modern arrangement of the five-note "This is CBS" jingle, with reverse reverb applied to the beginning. Composed by Antfood.

Audio Trivia: According to Antfood's case study, their goal was to unify the CBS brand by creating a five-note melody based on the classic "This is CBS" voiceover. They used CBS manufactured instruments, including a Rhodes piano and Fender guitars. This can be seen here.

Audio Variants:
 * On the three-second short version, there is less reverb at the beginning.
 * On the six-second version, the reverse reverb as slightly different and the last note has an echo.
 * On the reveal, the jingle is slower.
 * It is silent in the app variant.

Availability: Seen before the start of programming on CBS and as a pre-roll on streaming and on demand prints of CBS shows.

ID (1972)
Visuals: On a blue background, we see a bunch of lines moving. They morph into a circle, and the letters "CBS" in black zoom in.

Technique: Scanimate by Computer Animation Industries.

Audio: A pleasant twelve-note guitar theme, with a UFO sound that ascends when the letters "CBS" zoom in, then a synthesized chime.

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