[Kojak]

Jane Hill and Huw Edwards presented some of News 24's 2003 coverage of the Iraq War

World had some double-headed slots as well at that time. There is a clip somewhere of Anita McNaught and Mike Embley presenting (I think) The World Today. When a guest came in the studio, they sat in between the two presenters. Looked very awkward.

[Rolling News]

Jane Hill and Huw Edwards presented some of News 24's 2003 coverage of the Iraq War

World had some double-headed slots as well at that time. There is a clip somewhere of Anita McNaught and Mike Embley presenting (I think) The World Today. When a guest came in the studio, they sat in between the two presenters. Looked very awkward.

As did overnights. Here's Tim Willcox and Susan Osman:

m.youtube.com 

[Newsroom]

Jane Hill and Huw Edwards presented some of News 24's 2003 coverage of the Iraq War

World had some double-headed slots as well at that time. There is a clip somewhere of Anita McNaught and Mike Embley presenting (I think) The World Today. When a guest came in the studio, they sat in between the two presenters. Looked very awkward.

Quite a few indeed from that era. 

Maxine Mawhinney  and George Alagiah 

youtu.be 

YouTube channel 'Adam Withey' has been identified as copying content from archivists.

[itsrobert]

There was only ever one version of the WBR music from October 1997 until 2013. The second clip in your post is the 'end sting' of this theme. 

The first clip in your post, whilst similar, is not WBR. It's the business sting that was used as part of news bulletins, e.g. The World Today.

Prior to October 1997, there had been at a couple of other themes used on WBR. The first was edited from a piece of library music and I think there was a clip of it on TV Ark several years ago.

You might be right, but the first clip is taken from an old Hum Productions video that purported to be the World Business Report titles, so their error if there is one. I was certainly under the impression that the theme was remixed for the Feb 2000 relaunch (also when it started being shown on News 24), though this must be seemingly wrong. The second clip is indeed the closing sting from the WBR package, but only because the opening version I have leads straight into a bed, which I felt was unnecessary.

Yes, the Hum Productions website must have been wrong - it may have been a prototype sting or something. My friend was a sound supervisor at BBC World at the time and was responsible for mastering the CDs used in the gallery for production purposes. It quite clearly states "NOT WBR" next to that sting on the track list.

The only change to the WBR music in 2000 was that the opening sting/vamp was extended to accommodate a longer headlines sequence. Prior to that, it was only a 30" or so track as WBR was only a 15' programme back then. They also introduced a new internally edited tag at that point. Those tracks were used until 2013.

[DTV]

Yes, the Hum Productions website must have been wrong - it may have been a prototype sting or something. My friend was a sound supervisor at BBC World at the time and was responsible for mastering the CDs used in the gallery for production purposes. It quite clearly states "NOT WBR" next to that sting on the track list.

The only change to the WBR music in 2000 was that the opening sting/vamp was extended to accommodate a longer headlines sequence. Prior to that, it was only a 30" or so track as WBR was only a 15' programme back then. They also introduced a new internally edited tag at that point. Those tracks were used until 2013.

Good to know and probably makes more sense than recommissioning an edited version two months before an impending wholesale rebrand. Interesting that they had such similar tracks for the World Business segments and full World Business Report programmes - a bit of consistency that would've been lost when the 2000 BBC World music came in (and lost further when Sport Today was launched in 2001, which was very different to the World Sport sting).

[itsrobert]

Yes, the Hum Productions website must have been wrong - it may have been a prototype sting or something. My friend was a sound supervisor at BBC World at the time and was responsible for mastering the CDs used in the gallery for production purposes. It quite clearly states "NOT WBR" next to that sting on the track list.

The only change to the WBR music in 2000 was that the opening sting/vamp was extended to accommodate a longer headlines sequence. Prior to that, it was only a 30" or so track as WBR was only a 15' programme back then. They also introduced a new internally edited tag at that point. Those tracks were used until 2013.

Good to know and probably makes more sense than recommissioning an edited version two months before an impending wholesale rebrand. Interesting that they had such similar tracks for the World Business segments and full World Business Report programmes - a bit of consistency that would've been lost when the 2000 BBC World music came in (and lost further when Sport Today was launched in 2001, which was very different to the World Sport sting).

Indeed and it's always baffled me how the 1997 WBR theme lasted as long as it did. Like you say, from April 2000 the main news music was changed to David Lowe's version which included both a business and sport sting. What's more, they had a standalone 'World Sport' programme featuring Lowe's music. Yet WBR carried on with the flags era music. I guess someone in a position of power liked it so it survived.

Sport Today was, I think, composed by Lord David Dundas, if memory serves me correctly. So, that wasn't a Lowe version either!

DTV, can you remember - did 'World Sport' launch as a standalone programme with the Lowe music in April 2000? Or did it use a different theme prior to then? I think Sport Today launched some time in the Spring of 2001.

[DTV]

Sport Today was, I think, composed by Lord David Dundas, if memory serves me correctly. So, that wasn't a Lowe version either!

DTV, can you remember - did 'World Sport' launch as a standalone programme with the Lowe music in April 2000? Or did it use a different theme prior to then? I think Sport Today launched some time in the Spring of 2001.

World Sport (a singular 15' edition at 18:45) launched around the start of 2000 when the evening edition of The World Today was axed. As it seems to largely have served as a replacement for an extended Sport segment in that edition of TWT, I assume that it just used the same World Sport sting that was used previously (maybe an extended version of the one in this clip at 34:35). It seems unlikely they would've commissioned anything special for the three months ahead of the April rebrand. I'm afraid I don't know how the standalone World Sport was branded after April 2000, but, given they didn't give the programme its own name, it seems unlikely it was given anything particularly special in terms of branding.

Sport Today launched in (I think) April 2001, though that was just the same singular evening edition to start with - extra morning (07:45 UKT) and afternoon (12:45 GMT) editions were added in the big September 2001 schedule change. Interesting, though, how the Business-Sport balance has shifted on the channel over the years - I guess reflecting changing preferences of urban professionals over the years.

It's also sort of odd that Business and Sport were often able to just do completely their own thing branding-wise, particularly given you also got the standardly-branded World Business and Sport segments in bulletins. But all their own rebrands were off-schedule (WBR's were in Feb 2000, July 2003 and July 2006 and Sport Today adopted that weird purple look in Oct 2007) and completely different to what was going on with News 24's business and sport segments/programmes (it's not until Sport moves to Salford and Business to NBH that you get aligned branding on both channels).

[Kojak]

Jane Hill and Huw Edwards presented some of News 24's 2003 coverage of the Iraq War

World had some double-headed slots as well at that time. There is a clip somewhere of Anita McNaught and Mike Embley presenting (I think) The World Today. When a guest came in the studio, they sat in between the two presenters. Looked very awkward.

Found the video:

www.youtube.com 

And another one, this time with Martine Dennis alongside Mike Embley:

www.youtube.com 

[itsrobert]

DTV, can you remember - did 'World Sport' launch as a standalone programme with the Lowe music in April 2000? Or did it use a different theme prior to then? I think Sport Today launched some time in the Spring of 2001.

World Sport (a singular 15' edition at 18:45) launched around the start of 2000 when the evening edition of The World Today was axed. As it seems to largely have served as a replacement for an extended Sport segment in that edition of TWT, I assume that it just used the same World Sport sting that was used previously (maybe an extended version of the one in this clip at 34:35). It seems unlikely they would've commissioned anything special for the three months ahead of the April rebrand. I'm afraid I don't know how the standalone World Sport was branded after April 2000, but, given they didn't give the programme its own name, it seems unlikely it was given anything particularly special in terms of branding.

Thanks DTV. I vaguely recall the post-April 2000 World Sport branding. From what I can remember, it used the same design as the sport sting from the news bulletins, but used a slightly extended mix of the David Lowe music. It was presented from the main news set in N9. Once Sport Today launched, they started presenting it from the 'soft' set in N9 which consisted of a strange desk of three triangular tiers surrounded by 'toblerones' with printed designs on them that could be turned round to change the look of the set. One was Sport Today branding, one was generic news branding and I'm afraid I can't remember what the other one was!

[DTV]

Thanks DTV. I vaguely recall the post-April 2000 World Sport branding. From what I can remember, it used the same design as the sport sting from the news bulletins, but used a slightly extended mix of the David Lowe music. It was presented from the main news set in N9. Once Sport Today launched, they started presenting it from the 'soft' set in N9 which consisted of a strange desk of three triangular tiers surrounded by 'toblerones' with printed designs on them that could be turned round to change the look of the set. One was Sport Today branding, one was generic news branding and I'm afraid I can't remember what the other one was!

Might have been BBC Four News (later on)? I know that the Sport Today set was caught in the wideshot. Or maybe it was just spare and had insertable branding - that set was definitely used for BBC World's Vote 2001 coverage (I believe that is the only time World didn't take the main election programme? - in 2010, they even took The Campaign Show daily!).