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Public Broadcasting Service

Logo descriptions by Nicholas Aczel and Kris Starring

Background: NET was a former major educational and public TV network, founded in early 1952 and incorporated in November of that year. Among their original affiliates were WNET New York, KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston, WQED Pittsburgh and various others. Originating from The Educational Television and Radio Center from 1952-1959, and later The National Educational Television and Radio Center from 1959 to 1962, when the radio portion was dropped. It was succeeded by PBS in 1970.

National Educational Television

1st Logo
(1950s-1962)

Nickname: “The NET Circle”

Logo: Just the black letters "NET" in a white circle on a gray background.
NET 1950s

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: Since NET in its early years was a limited service for distributing educational films produced by local stations nationally, and perhaps because of that there is not much in the way of design and production values, this was probably intended as a placeholder and not as an official NET logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: The only known surviving film print to contain this logo is a 1955 episode of the WTTW Chicago series Discovery at the Brookfield Zoo, available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website. Since the network was known as ETRC at the time, it is possible that this is a reprint with the NET logo tacked on.

Scare Factor: None.

2nd Logo
(1952-1960s)

Nickname: "NET Map of America"

Logo: This consists of the typewriter letters "NET", each in a segmented rounded square, on a white map of the U.S. inside a black circle on a white background, with what NET (1952-1960s)

looks like an antenna on the map. "NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION" and "EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION AND RESOURCE CENTER" are shown above and below, respectively, in really small print.

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: Most likely another placeholder.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Not sure if any old film prints at the Museum of Broadcast Communications have this logo, but it did show up, twice I might add, on Because of You: 50 Years of Channel 9 (which I mentioned was for KETC in St. Louis in that station's CLG Wiki page).

Scare Factor: None.

3rd Logo
(May 1952-October 1966)

Nickname: "The Carpet"

Logo: On a dark background with little white "stars" (kinda looks like carpet), we see the "Roof" logo in white (The words "NET" with the T connecting to a roof that hangs over the N and E, with an antenna sticking out of the roof).

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: The background looks like they just aimed the camera at the floor!

Music/Sounds/Voiceover:

Until October 1962, an announcer said "This is National Educational Television."
An alternate version of the logo featured the announcer saying, "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network.". This began in 1955 and outlived its predecessor, being used until 1966.

Availability: Extremely rare; one surviving source is a 1960 episode of the WTTW Chicago series Beginnings, available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website.

Scare Factor: Low; the darkness and announcer being scary is understandable, but it's a slightly different story with the next logo...

4th Logo
(1966-1968)

Nickname: "NET Globe-Like Birdcage"

Logo: On a black screen, several dots flash near the center of the screen (a la Screen Gems “Dancing Sticks” logo), and then we see a circle being drawn in the counterclockwise direction. A line is drawn through the circle going downwards, which quickly vanishes. A small fire can be seen starting within the circle. Another line is drawn through the center of the circle from left to right. Two lines like that on a Worldvision-like globe are drawn. Another pair, closer to the circle are drawn, like that of the first lines, and then two horizontal lines above the first horizontal line. The camera zooms backwards and we see a thick line (the top of the T) being drawn under the ball of fire, which later connects to the ball of fire. A vertical line (the beginning of the N) is then formed. The T then finishes, and then the diagonal part of the N appears. Lastly, the E is formed. The fire continues blazing until we fade out.

FX/SFX: The dots, the live-action fire, and the lines being drawn.

Cheesy Factor: The animation is rough, especially when the letters are formed.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A pinball-like theme, which turns into a bombastic but brief brass piece. Almost immediately afterward, an announcer can be heard saying "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network.".

Availability: Extremely rare; can be seen on the 1965 program Changing the World: Southeast Asia, the Other War available for viewing on the Museum of Broadcast Communications Archives website. It has also been preserved on the Ten Blocks on the Camino Real DVD.

Scare Factor: Medium; even though it is not as widely remembered as the 1968 logo and later PBS logos, this could be quite scary, as the music, spooky announcer, live-action fire, and animation could set off people.

5th Logo
(1968-1970)

Top: The regular variants
Middle: The "MisteRogers" variants

Nicknames: "The Roof", "The NET Logo", "Tri-Colored Roof Of Doom"

Logo: First, the left section of the screen fills with red from the bottom, the middle section fills with yellow from the top, and the right section fills with blue from the bottom. One by one, each colored section flips to form the letters "NET" on a black background. Then either one of two things would happen:

1968-1969: The words “NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL TELEVISION” appear above the NET logo and morph into a line, which bends to form a gable roof with an aerial antenna on top, which is connected to the T. The announcer says “The following program is from N-E-T, the National Educational Television network.” (opening) or “This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network.” (closing).
1969-1970: A blue line is drawn above the letters, which bends to form a gable roof with an aerial antenna on top, which is connected to the T. The announcer says “The following program is from N-E-T, the public television network.” (opening) or “This is N-E-T, the public television network.” (closing).

Variants:

The 1968 version came in both black and white and color versions.
Some shows, such as Black Journal, used opening versions of this logo.
On the first few seasons (1968-1970) of MisteRogers Neighborhood (including some early black and white ones), the NET logo was built into the apartment building that was part of the toy neighborhood in the show’s opening and closing (it was in black on B&W broadcasts to stand out better). This feature remained in reruns until the mid 1980s. A copyright notice to “National Educational Television and Radio Center” continued to be used on the show through 1971.
There could be a variation where the "antenna" on top of the "roof" rotates, sort of like a wind up toy.

FX/SFX: The flipping effects.

Cheesy Factor: The flipping effects are a very cheesy '60s and early '70s FX standard.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A violin-like synth fanfare composed by Eric Siday, similar in style to his Screen Gems “S From Hell” and CBS “In Color” jingles, and the announcer saying his part. The 1968 and 1969 versions had different announcers.

Availability: Extremely rare; the B&W 1968 logo made an appearance on the VHS release of Our Neighbor, Fred Rogers, but was cut from TV rebroadcasts of the documentary since 2003. It can be seen on several shows available for viewing at The Paley Center for Media, including the series premiere episodes of MisteRogers Neighborhood (1968 version, B&W), Black Journal (1968 version, color), and Sesame Street (1969 version, color). The 1969 opening and closing versions can also be seen on the Sesame Street: Old School Volume 2 DVD set on the test pilot episode.

Scare Factor: Low to medium; the creepy synth fanfare, the announcer, the dark background, and the poor audio and grainy film may be quite scary for those who aren't used to seeing it.
_______________________________________________________________

Public Broadcasting Service

1st Logo
(1970-1971)

Logo: Just a black background with the words:

PUBLIC
BROADCASTING
SERVICE

stacked on top of each other.

FX/SFX: None.

Cheesy Factor: The logo is TOO plain. It was probably a placeholder for the next logo.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: MacDonald Carey says "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service." That's it.

Availability: Extremely rare; it was used concurrently with the NET logo from 1970 to 1971 mid-season (as a placeholder logo) and then quickly replaced with the 2nd logo. The best way to find it is on PBS Home Video tapes.

Scare Factor: Low; though not widely seen, the announcer might get to some. But it would somewhat change with the second logo...

2nd Logo
(1971-1984)

Nicknames: "The Tri-Colored Everyman P-Heads," "The Tri-Colored PBS logo," "1971 PBS logo", "The Tri-Heads from/of Hell/Doom"

Logo: On a black background, an abstract-cut blue P zooms out to upper-mid screen. The P turns into a P-shaped head, albeit facing left, with the text "PUBLIC" written below, and both move to the left of the screen. An abstract-cut orange B appears to the right of the P-Head, and two black dots appear in the B, the latter dot coinciding with the text "BROADCASTING" appearing below the "PUBLIC." An abstract-cut green S appears to the right of the B and black dots appear twice as well, the latter dot coinciding with the text "SERVICE" appearing below the "BROADCASTING." The final text stack reads:

PBS
PUBLIC--------------
BROADCASTING
SERVICE------------

FX/SFX: The Scanimated P-Heads' animations.

Cheesy Factor: Really choppy limited animation.

Music/Sounds: A telephone-like Moog synthesizer scale descending rapidly, followed by five Moog synthesizer tones.

Availability: Ultra rare; appeared on older prints of PBS shows produced from 1971-1984 for many years, but due to replacement with newer logos and newer shows, it is on the chopping block of extinction on TV as of 1990, but can be found on PBS Home Video releases of 1971-1984 PBS programs up until 1990, including Castle, hosted by David Macaulay. A surprising find of this logo was seen on an episode (circa 1999-2000) of Saturday Night Live hosted by Freddie Prinze Jr., in which it opened a spoof of Charlie Rose. This was very surprising, considering past sketches spoofing PBS shows have used more recent PBS logos. The logo can also be found on the DVD sets The Best of the Electric Company and Sesame Street: Old School. In the latter case, this logo even replaces the NET and 1970 PBS logos on the respective episodes! It has also been preserved on the VHS and DVD of The Scarlett Letter and a DVD for KERA's coverage of the 1981 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Two other sightings of this logo include KETC's 50th anniversary special and WTVS' analog-to-digital sign-off (although in the latter, only the last part of the logo plays, [the part where dots appear in the S with "SERVICE" appearing below] before cutting to WTVS' program intro tag from the 1970s, both with generic piano music played over the logos).

Scare Factor: Medium bordering on high. The creepy Moog synthesizer music and primitive animation are certain to unnerve more than a few unsuspecting viewers, especially if viewed in a completely darkened room or succeeding credits with a black background. Nevertheless, this logo has a huge following, so much of a following, that, in 2007, one of the CLG members named David Gill did a documentary of his own called 1971 PBS I.D. Monologue- Part 1, which can be seen on YouTube.

3rd Logo
(1984-1989)

Nicknames: "Split Profile", "The Everyman/Everyperson P"

Logo: On a black background, a blue P-head appears on the upper-mid screen, facing backwards. A piece comes out to the right and settles itself about half an inch away. The text "PBS" appears below in a slab serif font, which was designed specifically for PBS.

Variants:

On the series premiere of Square One TV, after the logo forms, the P-head and letters multiply off into the distance, with voiceovers singing "and on...and on...and on..." (taken from a song from the episode) until it fades.
On one Saturday Night Live sketch from the '80s, which parodies a PBS show, a 3D variant was used. It is highly unlikely that it was used on PBS itself.
Another version was made, where the letters PBS were in yellow instead of white, so as to enhance the color quality of the identity.

FX/SFX: The P-head appearing and stretching.

Cheesy Factor: Simple animation.

Music/Sounds: A majestic piano chord, followed by six pizzicato tones, and then a softer version of the piano chord.

Availability: Scarce; appeared on old prints of PBS shows produced from 1984-89. Can also be found on early PBS Home Video releases from the '80s; just look for a banner with the P Head on the left and "PBS VIDEO" filling the entire rest of the banner. The 3D variant can be seen on Saturday Night Live: The Best of Phil Hartman on VHS and DVD.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the music is fairly dramatic and the logo does not give much warning to its appearance, so some may be startled by it. But much tamer than the previous logo because of the use of acoustic instruments instead of synths.

4th Logo
(1989-1993)

Nicknames: "Transparent Blue P-Head", "Merging Glass P-Head"

Logo: On a black background, a side-facing transparent blue P-head folds to the right, leaving behind a residue trail of P-Heads. The residue trail fades into the PBS logo from before, which settles itself in the center of the screen, occupying almost all of it. Several white lines wipe across the bottom of the screen, leaving the text "PBS" in the same font as before to the bottom left.

Variant: In an alternate version of the ident, the P-head appears just by fading in with the PBS text. No lines streak across the screen; therefore it is a still version of the ident. The same music, as in the ident's original version, is used. Once again, the announcer says "This is PBS.".

FX/SFX: The P-head folding, the lines wiping. Great animation for its time.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A bell/string tune, followed by an announcer who says "This is PBS.". The announcer is said to be Liam Neeson.

Availability: Rare; as with other vintage PBS logos, the chance of showing up on TV now is almost nada, but some PBS Home Video releases from the era at libraries may have it. Just look for a square in the top-left corner of the front of the box with "PBS VIDEO" below a P-head.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the dark vibe of the logo may get to some, but the music and animation are cleaner this time.

5th Logo
(1989-1998)

Nicknames: "Pink/Purple PBS Alternate ID," "Blurry P-Head"

Logo: We see a blurry image of a pink glass P-head in front of other shapes. As the logo progresses, we see the letters "PBS" appear to the left of the P-head in the

typewriter font, and the image becomes slightly clearer.

FX/SFX: The "PBS" appearing. Other than that, none.

Cheesy Factor: The blurriness, which may not have been intentional.

Music/Sounds: Same as the fourth logo.

Availability: Appeared on older prints of PBS shows like Triumph of the Nerds,Square One TV, and NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.It can be found on an Antarctica tape after a Newton's Apple segment on parachutes.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the music combined with the somewhat intimidating image might not sit well.

6th Logo
(1993-1996)

Public Broadcasting Service "Orange CGI P-Heads" (1993) - CLG Wiki

Nicknames: "Orange CGI P-Head", "Glass P-Head", "Pink P-Heads"

Logo: In an pink/orange lighted environment, several transparent ellipses revealing people faces appear and disappear one at a time. Then we zoom out through a circle, which turns out to be the eye in the PBS P-Head standing on a floor, made from glass. To the left of the P-Head, the text "PBS" rotates to face the screen.

Variants: Here are some of the variations that have been seen of late, with a list of PBS stars in each variant in chronological order:

News and Information: This variant of the same PBS logo, anchors for The NewsHour and hosts of public-affairs shows appear and disappear one at a time same as several transparent ellipses with an same announcer says "This is PBS.".
Kids and Family: The same 1993 PBS logo features the same transparent ellipses revealing characters from Sesame Street, Barney and Friends, Lamb Chop's Playalong and 3-2-1 Contact appear and disappear one in a time with an announcer says, "This is PBS.".
PBS Stations: Also, the PBS 1993 logo has same transparent ellipses revealing local PBS station logos appear and disappear one at a time with an same announcer says, "This is PBS, broadcasting over 400 public television stations across the US.".
How-to/Cooking/Gardening: The same PBS logo has the same transparent ellipses revealing clips from PBS how-to shows appear and disappear one at a time with an same announcer saying, "This is PBS.".
General Programming: The full version of this same logo features the same transparent ellipses revealing PBS kids show characters, scenes from Sesame Street, hosts from PBS public-affair shows, Wall Street Week clips, some local hosts from PBS stations, an clip from Washington Week in Review clips from how-to shows, some scenes from Mystery and some people faces appear and disappear one at a time with the full version of the same music with an same announcer says, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service.".

FX/SFX: The animation, the zoom out, the letters turning.

Cheesy Factor: The zoom-out and animation look sped up. Otherwise, it looks nice (contrary to its first nickname, it was not computer animated, it was created on film with models; the P-Heads were frosted glass and the "PBS" text was rotated with rostrums).

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A funky piano and choir boogie tune, followed by an announcer (Schell) who says "This is PBS.". The music was composed by Peter Fish, who has also done music for CBS News.

Availability: Uncommon; again, it has fleeting appearances on PBS today, but your best bet to find it is '90s PBS Home Video tapes at your local library. Also, from October 1992 to August 1993, this logo was used concurrently with the 4th logo.

Scare Factor: Minimal; the weird music and fast pace of the logo might catch some off guard.

7th Logo
(1996-1998)

Nickname: "The PBS Windowsill"

Logo: On a black background, a CGI window appears with a birds-eye view of the earth, a plastic globe spinning on the top right and a telescope rotating on the bottom left. The yellow PBS P-Head appears in front of the window and grows smaller as the window grows bigger. As the two meet each other, the window disappears. The P-Head take it's place in the top center of the screen and turns to blue as the text "PBS" fades in below them.

FX/SFX: The CGI effects.

Cheesy Factor: The dissolve effect used to make the window and its surrounding objects disappear as they penetrate through the P-heads.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A new age tune with guitars and flutes, followed by a female announcer (Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS.".

Availability: Same as before; appears on TV sometimes, but PBS Home Video tapes at the library are an easier way to find it.

Scare Factor: Low; might surprise you the first time you see it, but it's harmless.

8th Logo
(1998-2002)

Nickname: "Circle P-Heads"

Logo: On a sky background, a person standing to the left covers his or her head with a black circle with the PBS P-Head on it in white. Acrobats jump from all directions off the circle. The text "PBS" appears to the right, with the web address www.pbs.org appearing below it.This is the VERY last logo that used the words "This Is PBS".

Variants:

Man in gold shirt; female acrobats do a backflip.
Man in blue shirt; different female acrobats do a backflip.
Woman in blue shirt; male acrobats do a "side spin".
Woman in dark red shirt; male acrobats curl into a ball and spin around.
Man in light red shirt; same acrobats from 3rd variant.
Older woman in red shirt; same acrobats from 4th variant.
Woman in light red shirt; same acrobats from 4th variant.
Man in dark blue shirt; same acrobats from 2nd variant.
Woman in red shirt; same acrobats from 3rd variant.

FX/SFX: The computer effects used to shrink the acrobats and superimpose them around the circle.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A new age percussion tune, followed by the female announcer from the previous logo (Lauren Bacall) who says "This is PBS.".

Availability: Still shown very much, while no longer used as the main, due to it being more recent this logo can usually be found on reruns and even some new shows produced. It can also be found on PBS Home Video tapes such as "An Ice Cream Show". Also, if your city carries the digital channel PBS World, the logo may be kept intact on reruns of shows from the time, such as '98-'02 episodes of Scientific American Frontiers.

Scare Factor: None.

9th Logo
(2002- )

Nicknames: “Be More”, “We Are PBS”, “I am PBS”

Logo: How do I describe a logo that changes its look almost entirely with every variant, and has many things happening very quickly? Basically, we see a letterboxed clip show of live-action footage, filmed on a large set with hardwood floor and a background of shaggy brown curtains. Culturally and generationally diverse people are employed in the variants, each giving different performances on-camera. As the last clip plays, we see the “Circle P-Head” logo animating with the word "PBS" on the right and the slogan “Be more” on the left. The text has been modified a bit after the past 18 years. Throughout the bumper, a bug for the URL pbs.org is seen in the lower left corner.

Variants: Here are some of the variations that have been seen of late, with a list of the clips in each variant in chronological order:

Young People: A teenage girl presses her hands on her boyfriend’s cheeks and gives him a kiss; a mother plays with her baby’s feet; a dad and his little boy are holding guitars; mom and daughter are side by side; a mom runs pulling a red wagon holding her two little girls (Edie Mirman: “We are PBS.”).
Performers: A man sits on a stool holding a guitar; a dressy man plays his trumpet; a teenage boy is "bopping" to his headphones; a young dancer spins in her dress; an elderly man takes a bow (David Kaye: “We are PBS.”).
Flowers: A close-up of a smiling woman’s head, then we see her holding a large bouquet of flowers, a close-up of the flowers, and finally a close-up of the woman holding the flowers (Helen Mirren: “I am PBS.". The music is given a “Baroque” arrangement).
Daddy and Son: A dad and his little boy are holding guitars; a close-up of them playing; and the dad and son on a playground swing (Kyle Eastwood: “We are PBS.” The music is arranged as horn-spiked guitar-rock).
Generations: A mother holds her baby; an old man smiling; a young man takes off his cowboy hat. (Edie Mirman: “We are PBS.”)
There is also a version of the logo that has no live-action footage. A burst of light comes in from either side of the screen, and we see an outline of the "P-head" logo (in a style similar to the 1984 logo). Other lighting effects occur, and at the end the circle "P-Head" logo animates, with "PBS" on its right side and "Be more" on its left. There is no voice-over.
On Carrier, the voice-over says “This show will return in a moment over most of these local stations. We are PBS.”.
There is another version with a voice-over saying "The following PBS show is closed captioned.".

FX/SFX: Mostly live action, except for the logo animating at the end.

Music/Sounds/Voiceover: A majestic orchestral tune. The same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over (see below for examples).

Availability: Currently in use on most PBS first-run shows. The variants are used randomly. The logo can also be seen on PBS Video tapes.

Scare Factor: None; you might get caught off guard depending the music, though.

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