CBS Sports

From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum


NFL Presentation

Logo (1980s-1990s)

Unknown

NFL Copyright Presentation

1st Ident (1998-2003)


Visuals: On a blue and yellow background with stadium lights (a la the YES Network ID from its inception in 2002-2005), there is the 1998-2005 NFL on CBS logo (a vertical blue rectangle with "NFL" in the same font as the 1980-2015 CBS Sports logo) on top, CBS in the same font on the bottom, yellow-bordered rectangles around both, the CBS eyemark sandwiched between the words, and two 3D yellow lines on both sides of it. The logo zooms in and tilts down, with the CBS eye flipping towards the camera and overtaking the screen. When it flips over, the stars from the NFL logo are revealed to be hovering over the logo, which flips over again to face the screen as the stars move away and the NFL logo places itself on the pupil.

Variant: During the 2000 season, nearing the end, when the NFL logo was placed at the pupil of the CBS logo, the Super Bowl XXXV logo replaced the logo while it slowly zooms in. The ID is also shortened.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A fanfare that FOX, ESPN, and ABC also used, and is a variation of the NFL copyright ID theme used at the time.

Audio Variant: The 2000 season variant has the announcer saying either "Welcome to the following presentation of the National Football League from CBS Sports" or "Thank you for watching this presentation of the National Football League on CBS Sports", then as the Super Bowl XXXV appears, the announcer also says "Home of Super Bowl 35."

Availability: Seen on some tapes and YouTube videos of NFL on CBS broadcasts of the era.

2nd Ident (2003-2006)


Visuals: There is a metal football helmet in front of several classic NFL clips, followed by metal sparks in the background. The logo ends with bright orange and yellow flames that reveal a black silhouette of the 1998-2005 NFL on CBS logo.

Variant: During the 2003 season, the ending part is replaced with a background of what appears to be a locker room with a metal football helmet with the NFL on CBS logo embossed to it, an American flag, and a Vince Lombardi Trophy. The Super Bowl XXXVIII logo with a CBS eyemark below appears on the top-left corner.

Trivia: This logo contains elements of the 2003-2005 NFL on CBS graphics.

Technique: Live-action footage.

Audio: The 2003-2014 NFL copyright theme.

Audio Variant: The logo's often accompanied by the announcer spiel "CBS Sports welcomes you to the following presentation of the National Football League" or "CBS Sports thanks you for watching this presentation of the National Football League.".

Availability: Seen on NFL on CBS broadcasts of the era.

3rd Ident (2006-2013)


Visuals: On a black background that zooms out, there is the NFL logo slowly zooming out, eventually connecting with a blue circle with 4 brackets "(" like shapes encircling it (like the Fox Sports logos but with a circle instead of an oval). The circle keeps zooming back until it is in the middle of the screen, and it turns around to reveal the then-new NFL on CBS logo.

Variants:

  • Starting in 2010, instead of the circle rotating, one of the brackets "connect" with the rest of the NFL on CBS logo, which is now more industrial looking, with parts of the logo flickering like an old lightbulb. There is also a blue haze in the background revealing what looks like thin horizontal lines.
  • In 2012, until the AFC Championship Game of the season, the text "HOME OF SUPER BOWL XLVII" can be seen under the NFL on CBS logo.

Technique: CGI, with some elements of the graphic packages of the era being featured.

Audio: The 2003-2014 NFL copyright theme.

Audio Variant: The announcer spiels "CBS Sports welcomes you to the following presentation of the National Football League" or "CBS Sports thanks you for watching this presentation of the National Football League." are often used with this logo.

Availability: All variants were seen on NFL on CBS broadcasts of their respective eras.

4th Ident (2013-January 2016)

Visuals: The camera zooms away from an elevated platform with brightly-shining lights to reveal the NFL shield. The camera steadily pans around and gradually gets faster with the platform shining a light on the camera, revealing a slightly updated NFL on CBS logo.

Variants:

  • During the Super Bowl XLVII, the camera moves down to reveal the NFL logo from the black background, showing a football stadium background, a platform, and two glass panels. After 8 seconds, the camera moves to the right, revealing the NFL on CBS logo. The Super Bowl XLVII logo surprisingly doesn't appear. For the video of this ID, see here.
  • In 2015, the shield was made gold and black to commemorate Super Bowl 50 aired in February 2016 by CBS, and the NFL on CBS logo is replaced by the Super Bowl 50 logo (the number "50" in a bright gold font and the Super Bowl trophy on a silver rectangle with "SUPER BOWL" engraved in it and a silver base with the CBS logo on it).

Technique: CGI.

Audio:

  • 2013-2014: The 2003-2014 NFL copyright theme.
  • 2014-2016: The NFL copyright theme of the time.

Audio Variant: The announcer spiels from the previous logos are sometimes used with this logo.

Availability: Seen on NFL on CBS broadcasts of the era. The 2015 variant appeared on pre-Super Bowl 50 NFL on CBS broadcasts of the 2015-16 NFL season.

5th Ident (February 7, 2016-January 2019)


Visuals: In a blue background with 2 red vertical stripes and 4 thinner gray/white stripes, there is the NFL shield in 3D along with the words "CBS SPORTS" and "NATIONAL FOOTALL LEAGUE" and the numbers "50", "40", "30" and "20" along the gray/white stripes appearing and disappearing, while some parts of the background and the NFL shield rise upwards (with the shield's center rising before its white outline), all. At the same time, the camera pans upwards, making the NFL shield face the screen upright. The left and right sides of the background then flip back, followed by the middle, which reveals the script logos of the following teams in order:

  • San Francisco 49ers
  • Miami Dolphins
  • Arizona Cardinals
  • Buffalo Bills
  • Los Angeles Rams
  • New York Jets
  • Seattle Seahawks
  • Oakland Raiders
  • Chicago Bears
  • Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Minnesota Vikings
  • Tennessee Titans
  • Detroit Lions
  • Houston Texans
  • Green Bay Packers
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
  • New England Patriots
  • Denver Broncos

Each logo is in individual rectangle shapes that fall backwards as the camera zooms in and then up, revealing the 2016-2020 NFL on CBS logo, which is basically the 2016-2020 CBS Sports logo with "NFL" replacing "CBS SPORTS", with clips of various NFL players and more blue and red lines on the left and right sides.

Super Bowl 50 variant (February 7, 2016): The background is now black and gold, the NFL team logos are replaced with the Roman numerals of the 13 most recent Super Bowls played at the time from 37 ("XXXII") up to 49 ("XLIX") in gold, and the NFL on CBS logo is replaced with the Super Bowl 50 logo with another rectangle with the CBS logo under it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The 2014-2019 NFL copyright theme.

Audio Variant: Along with the normal announcer spiels, the Super Bowl 50 variant has the announcer saying "Super Bowl 50!" when the Super Bowl 50 logo appears.

Availability: It debuted on CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl 50 and appeared on NFL on CBS broadcasts before Super Bowl LIII.

6th Ident (February 3, 2019-January 2021)


Visuals: There is the camera backing away to reveal the NFL 100 logo turning around to fit between two navy blue rectangle shapes (with the one on the right closing as it happens), as four red rectangles between them spin around, revealing the logos of NFL teams. The camera does a 180 turn to the right which reveals the back of the structure, and the NFL on CBS logo moves in from the bottom right to position itself on the middle of the screen facing the camera, and a few more navy blue rectangles position themselves under the logo, looking like a pedestal.

Super Bowl LIII Variant: During Super Bowl LIII, the NFL shield is between the two blue rectangles, the four red rectangles showing the NFL team logos are now two navy blue rectangles showing the New England Patriots (top left) and Los Angeles Rams (top right) script logos, with two more grey rectangles below them. And taking the place of the NFL on CBS logo is the Super Bowl 53 logo with a grey base with the CBS logo. The pedestal, like the 2019 season logo, has two navy blue rectangles.

2020 Variant: In the 2020 season, the NFL shield itself replaces the NFL 100 logo, and the Super Bowl LV logo with "CBS" underneath replaces the NFL on CBS logo. There is only one navy blue rectangle under the CBS logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A new copyright theme with a 4-note ending.

Audio Variant: In 2020, the 2014 copyright theme returns after the Super Bowl 53 variant was the last use of it in its first tenure.

Availability: It debuted on CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl LIII and appeared on all NFL on CBS broadcasts before Super Bowl LV.

7th Ident (February 7, 2021-)


Visuals: On a white background, there is a maze-like structure with white walls with a red top that have the script logos of the 32 teams of the NFL, and a navy blue floor that becomes white thanks to a flipping effect as the camera zooms backward and then slightly outwards from the "maze". The logo transitions, showing that the "maze" is a 3D NFL shield fitting inside the pupil of a white CBS logo and the navy blue floor flipping to white in the beginning of the logo is the background of the field with the 3D "NFL" letters which also had the flipping effect. There is a right to left wiping effect, showing a blue, white and red 3D "S" on the left part of the screen with the new 2021 CBS Sports logo in the white and blue part and the red part forming, and a blue background with the letters "NF" in white on the right (the F only has a white outline while the N is solidly white). The logo transitions again via the sclera of the CBS logo expanding, showing that it is one of the S's in the "CBS SPORTS" logo, the camera now shows the full "CBS SPORTS|NFL" in navy blue, red, and finally royal blue with the CBS Eye (also in royal blue) to the left of "CBS". The "CBS SPORTS" portion moves to the right, making "SPORTS" disappear behind the vertical bar which was already happening when the transition was complete, with the finished product being "CBS|NFL" with the eyemark to the left, the 2021 NFL on CBS logo. As the "SPORTS" disappearing process happens, the white background shrinks into another white CBS pupil (but with a red circle encircling the NFL on CBS logo) inside a blue sclera.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The 2019 NFL copyright theme.

Availability: It debuted on CBS' broadcast of Super Bowl LV. Can be seen before and after NFL on CBS broadcasts.

NFL on Nickelodeon Copyright Presentation

Logo (2021-)

Visuals: There is a very brief transition from an image of grass on a football field with yardage markers against a light green background to an image to a light blue background with green and blue colored football helmets with four of the helmets leaping (three of the leaping helmets do a 360-degree turn and one leaping helmet does a 180-degree turn before resetting itself), a long arrow from the left of the screen pointing to the right wiping in and out, and a panel of plus signs spinning left and right. Some of the image of the football field's grass can be seen from the bottom-left corner of the screen. As this background appears, a 2D NFL shield slams itself against the background with puffs of smoke forming around it before disappearing and small orange, white, and light blue splotches circling it. The sequence then transitions to a light-green background with pulsing footballs and yardage markers as a 3D Nickelodeon logo flips itself from the bottom to the center of the screen.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The 2019-present NFL copyright theme with faint "whoosh" sounds as the NFL shield slams itself against the background and the Nickelodeon logo forms and Nate Burleson's voiceover saying "Nickelodeon welcomes you to the following presentation of the National Football League" or "Nickelodeon thanks you for watching this presentation of the National Football League".

Availability: Seen before and at the end of Nickelodeon simulcasts of NFL on CBS Wild Card games or selected regular season games.

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