NBC National IDs

1st Logo (1943-1950s)
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Logo: Just the word "NBC" in a microphone, surrounded by bolts of lightning.

FX/SFX: None.

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 (1972)
The logo can be seen in this video at 0:27: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah-jtmCz368

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.

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 (1976-1977)
Logo: On a black background, we see a stylized "N" composed of two white trapezoids zoom out. A couple of seconds later, both trapezoids get colored; the left trapezoid turns red, and the right one turns blue. "NBC" appears in the bottom right corner of the "N".

FX/SFX: The Scanimate effects, which were done by Dolphin Productions.

Music/Sounds: A big band tune with bongos.

Availability: Extinct. It appeared with a Dolphin Productions watermark on their demo reels of the era. You may have a slight chance of being able to find this in an off-air recording of the time period, as it was during this time period that VCRs of all different kinds began to become commonplace.

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.

5th 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.

6th 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.

7th 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.

8th 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.

9th Logo (1996-2000s)
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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.