RTÉ One

Background

RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) and the most watched TV channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ 1 upon the launch of RTÉ 2 in 1978.

RTÉ 1

1st ID (1980-1985)

Visuals: On a dark blue-black gradient background, an italic white "1" takes up the center of the screen. It starts to zoom out to the center and move to the right side a little, as a circular square made of 4 yellow ribbons (a stylized version of the St. Brigid's Cross) rotates into frame with a white trail. As it surrounds the "1", the italic yellow text "RTE" zooms in as the trail fades away. The logo then cuts to black.

Accompanying clock ident: An analog clock, chroma keyed to have a bright yellow color, is seen with blocks representing the hours and "RTE1" seen below the logo. From 1980-1984, the clock was on a black background, but from 1984-1986, the background is now blue. Additionally, the clock was different from 1980-1983, having a large yellow ring holding the thin clock hands in place, rather than having a small center and large clock hands.

Variants:

• Early on, the logo is completely yellow and on a black background. The text rotated into place.
• The logo is usually still.

Technique: CGI. The early variant used what appeared to be a model surrounded by a plate.

Audio: Either an announcer or none.

2nd ID (1985-1986)

Visuals: On a dimly-lit dark blue background, a close-up of 4 gold ribbon shapes are seen for a second before it unfreezes, having them zoom out when moving away from each other. As they do, the shapes revolve around to the other side and also tilt around as well, forming the same abstract Brigid's cross from before. As they settle, "RTE1" then fades into the center of it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Just an announcer.

3rd ID (1986-1987)

Visuals: On a black background that glows blue, 3 beams of light in red, lime, and blue fade in and rotate for a little. Then, they stop rotating and start to retract, with the beams also moving so that they collide with each other. When they fully retract, they turn into the silver text "RTE" and an abstract version of St. Brigid's Cross in orange appears at the top of the "T", forming RTE's logo at the time. The logo then rotates a little upwards, with some of its parts protruding further, and the cross transforms into an orange "1" and forms the top bar of the "T".

Trivia: The logo, chosen by David Holden, the Director of Public Affairs for a time, was from a group of different commissioned works. It, as well as the channel redesigns, were made to promote channel unity in an era of foreign and satellite channels dominating the television space.

Accompanying clock ident: A digital clock is seen to the left on a grey/blue gradient background, as well as the RTE1 logo displayed in the bottom right corner, which strangely has 2 different shades of white on it. The numbers are represented by Arabic numerals and dashes. The use of this logo would overlap the next logo's use as well.

Variants:

• To celebrate their 25th anniversary, a silver ribbon appears under the logo, transforming into the silver striped numbers "25" loosely connected with the stripes around it.
• Much like its predecessor, the logo was usually still, often with the "25" underneath it.

Technique: CGI or none.

Audio: An ethereal choir can be heard with a whoosh while the beams are retracting. A 3-note synth tune plays when the logo appears, then in a louder tone when the "1" forms. An announcer speaks afterwards. The still version just has the announcer.

Legacy: The logo was given a mixed reception when it launched, as the design of the symbol looked fussy and overly complex compared to the previous logo.

4th ID (1987-1988)

Visuals: On a blue background, a silver "R" flies in towards the middle of the screen, as a silver "T" flies in from the middle. As they connect, the hole for the "R" flies in from the left and an "E" and its bar fly in from the right. They all connect forming the logo from the previous logo, which rotates forward. The "1" then rotates in from the top corner of the screen and lands on the top bar of the "T", completing the logo. The sides then turn black.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: An orchestral fanfare beginning with a timpani roll as well as some trumpet notes. It then becomes more powerful when the 6-note theme plays. An announcer plays afterwards.

Legacy: This logo animation would also be used for RTÉ 2.

5th ID (1988-1989)

Visuals: On a dark green gradient background, a dark green "1" can be seen. The text "RTE" in gold appears from behind and spins around it once, before placing itself in front of the "1".

Accompanying clock ident: From 1988-1992, the clock, which is in white, is placed in front of the RTE 1 logo on a black/orange gradient background. The RTE1 logo does look rather different than the other logo, being italicized and in a flat gold color, and is set off to center left, while the clock is center right.

Technique: CGI or none.

Audio: A calm Gaelic-styled tune with woodwinds and a choir to it, then the same announcer from the previous logos.

6th ID (1989-1992)

Visuals: On a rippling gold background, the camera pans over the background to reveal the text "RTE" engraved on the floor, filled mostly with black. Then, a gold "1" fades in at the center and spins around to the front.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as the previous logo.

7th ID (1992-1995)

Visuals: On a chiseled stone background of what appears to be an Irish artifact, a ghastly image of a Brigid's cross passes across the surface of it from top right to bottom left, leaving a trail of light in its path. The text "RTE" then wipes in and zooms out, and a shining white "1" appears above it.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Same as the previous two logos.

RTÉ One

1st ID (1995-1998)

Visuals: On a blue water background, bellowing clouds roam above the surface as a ghostly white Brigid's cross can be briefly seen at the far end rotating, before they clear up to reveal the new RTÉ logo (the text "RTÉ" in blue with a green line above the "É" to represent its acute) underwater. As we face it, the water ripples so it changes to "ONE", releasing a light trail from itself as it does, and the water changes its color to green/blue. A green/blue circular shape appears behind the "O", and the RTÉ logo ripples in under the "E". The background continues to ripple.

Accompanying clock ident: The last clock ident used before they changed to a 24-hour format, the clock is designed to resemble the RTE One logo's circular shape with 3 blue sections and a green one in the top right, as well as having white hands. The RTÉ logo is seen in the bottom left corner, while the RTÉ One logo is in the bottom right. All of this takes place on a rippling water background similar to the one used in the logo.

Technique: CGI animation with live-action elements, all rendered through Alias 3D software. This was made by The Moving Picture Company.

Audio: A more relaxing Irish-sounding tune with a flute playing at the end. The announcer is also featured.

2nd ID (1998-August 31, 2003)

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Visuals: There are some footage related to Ireland (either a landscape, building or people doing something), then the screen blurs and turns blue as "ONE" and the RTÉ logo fade in.

Variant: Some idents don't have the background turn blue once the logos fade in.

Technique: Live-action and CGI.

Audio: Depends on the ident shown.

3rd ID (September 1, 2003-November 2, 2006)

Visuals: Again is some footage related to Ireland. A glowing line then appears at the left and the words "RTÉ" (in its corporate font) and "ONE" come out of it.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: It depends on the ident shown.

4th ID (November 3, 2006-December 31, 2013)

Visuals: Like the previous 2 logos is some footage related to Ireland. The RTÉ One logo is already at the left side of the screen.

Variants: Special Christmas idents exist.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: Depends on the variant.

5th ID (January 1, 2014-)

Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but the new RTÉ One logo is in the center.

Variants: Like the previous logo, special Christmas idents exist.

Technique: Same as the previous logo.

Audio: Same as the previous logo.