[itsrobert]

I've been a regular view of BBC News output for over 25 years - and a TV Pres fan for the same length of time - and this is honestly the worst BBC News 'rebrand' I have ever seen. Never have I experienced an example of them updating titles without also refreshing the music - certainly not for the 'main' output. Granted, the iconic WBR theme survived for many years through various title designs as did others like Dateline London. But this is the first time I can remember main branding receiving the same treatment. I wouldn't have minded had the new designs been outstanding, but these are beyond piss poor. BBC News doesn't have a brand anymore - it's a mish mash of years of half-hearted tweaks.

What makes me laugh is that some people are excusing this because of a lack of funding. However, you only have to look at what ITN has achieved - and continues to achieve - across its output on a shoestring budget and that argument doesn't hold up I'm afraid.

[DTV]

I was trying to think of whether there has been a precedent for today's new programme launches, and there is some, though not that that excuses what we've seen today. In terms of lack of individuality, the various 1995-97 programmes are all I could think of - all the branded news programmes then shared the same basic titles and music, though (largely) with their own title cards.

But BBC World's 'efforts' during the mid-clamshell-era are probably the most comparable - BBC News Extra didn't even get its own titles (using an outdated version of the standard ones) and, new format aside, World News Today's first two looks (of the four they used in their first two years) did largely consist of the words WORLD NEWS TODAY slapped on top of the standard BBC News titles. So, they do have form in certain respects.

And to be honest, that was the ugliest version of Impact

I really disagree here - Impact's third set of titles are by far the nicest - back when the BBC could do dynamic flat design well. The 2013 ones, with their plasticky globes that span and moved way too slow for the music was, in my view, the worst of Impact's three looks.

[Jonny]

It feels like virtually every change at BBC News since the move to NBH has had a whiff of temporaryness about them - always one or two elements changes in advance of something else expected to change a bit further down the line.    Maybe it was expectation rather than reality but even think when the NBH studios launched there was the feeling the continued use of the (amended) Lambie Nairn globe was ony until a new graphics package was ready.    We just didn't know that would be another 11 years or more.

I feel out of the loop. I was under the impression the botched looking red box that was applied to the 2008 titles last year was a stopgap preceding a comprehensive rebrand?

Baffled to see the 2008 Globe clumsily re-edited again with the Reith brand style and animations. 

Stretches credulity this is anything other than a temporary solution?

[Superman1986]

Do you know when the 2008 Globe titles will finally end?

[Worzel]

Solution: Get Mr Amroliwala out of the set, have him present the newscast from a podium from the centre of the newsroom with all the noise and movement and cacophony of the BBC Newsroom. Instead having him strapped to the desk. He can walk to screens around the newsroom and even talk to correspondents in the newsroom. Then when they present a BBC Verify segment it should be presented live. Especially since the programme is called Verified LIVE....

One would like to hope that the studio C setup and its under-usage is temporary until the new studio E newsroom set/studio goes live and they'll 'up pres' the output.

If what they've done with studio B is what's on the cards for the News channel, in an ideal world you'd have a studio E style 'desk' and soft area set up where studio E is currently housed with a proper studio B style 'news wall', correspondent/reporter DTL position and the Verified 3 screen area all based in the 'pit' area of the newsroom behind the studio E set, whereby the presenter could walk over to the different presentation areas to talk to different correspondents or reporters. They could utilise the trundle cam really well with that type of setup. Its also not too dissimilar to how the old Sky News centre was set up.

[Andrew]

I've been a regular view of BBC News output for over 25 years - and a TV Pres fan for the same length of time - and this is honestly the worst BBC News 'rebrand' I have ever seen. Never have I experienced an example of them updating titles without also refreshing the music - certainly not for the 'main' output. Granted, the iconic WBR theme survived for many years through various title designs as did others like Dateline London. But this is the first time I can remember main branding receiving the same treatment. I wouldn't have minded had the new designs been outstanding, but these are beyond piss poor. BBC News doesn't have a brand anymore - it's a mish mash of years of half-hearted tweaks.

What makes me laugh is that some people are excusing this because of a lack of funding. However, you only have to look at what ITN has achieved - and continues to achieve - across its output on a shoestring budget and that argument doesn't hold up I'm afraid.

What’s bizarre is that there must be 100s of variants of the BBC News theme kicking around now that have been used for various programmes over the years, so why not reuse one of those

Using the same theme with different cheap visuals makes it look like a tin pot operation that can only afford one piece of music. It’s the sort of thing one of the Local TV channels would have done.

[ViridianFan]

Just watched the 3 clips Ginnyfan posted and like many others I’m left disappointed.

This may sound stupid but they dont look like the opening titles of a news program but more like the end animation of a trailer end board. The Daily Globe in particular looked like a poorly made mock of the BBC one circle era trail end board.

As others have mentioned would you look say them and think BBC news, without the music no.

These have to be temporary especially when there a no graphics for the screens just the usual BBC news globe.

I agree bbc verified should be a section within the programme not the name for a 3 hour block. You could also read it as only that 3 hours of news has been verified stories. I know this is not the case.

In a similar vein bbc news now, makes it sound that only that black is bbc news. The daily global is obviously just a different way to say the world today. Also unfortunate that it made me think of global radio group who the bbc have lost people to

[Newsroom]

I've been a regular view of BBC News output for over 25 years - and a TV Pres fan for the same length of time - and this is honestly the worst BBC News 'rebrand' I have ever seen. Never have I experienced an example of them updating titles without also refreshing the music - certainly not for the 'main' output. Granted, the iconic WBR theme survived for many years through various title designs as did others like Dateline London. But this is the first time I can remember main branding receiving the same treatment. I wouldn't have minded had the new designs been outstanding, but these are beyond piss poor. BBC News doesn't have a brand anymore - it's a mish mash of years of half-hearted tweaks.

What makes me laugh is that some people are excusing this because of a lack of funding. However, you only have to look at what ITN has achieved - and continues to achieve - across its output on a shoestring budget and that argument doesn't hold up I'm afraid.

Ah Rob, my old mate from forums past and  present. You've always hit the nail on the head and we've always shared the same train of thought.

I'm so happy you've chimed in. I agree with you 100%.

[itsrobert]

I've been a regular view of BBC News output for over 25 years - and a TV Pres fan for the same length of time - and this is honestly the worst BBC News 'rebrand' I have ever seen. Never have I experienced an example of them updating titles without also refreshing the music - certainly not for the 'main' output. Granted, the iconic WBR theme survived for many years through various title designs as did others like Dateline London. But this is the first time I can remember main branding receiving the same treatment. I wouldn't have minded had the new designs been outstanding, but these are beyond piss poor. BBC News doesn't have a brand anymore - it's a mish mash of years of half-hearted tweaks.

What makes me laugh is that some people are excusing this because of a lack of funding. However, you only have to look at what ITN has achieved - and continues to achieve - across its output on a shoestring budget and that argument doesn't hold up I'm afraid.

What’s bizarre is that there must be 100s of variants of the BBC News theme kicking around now that have been used for various programmes over the years, so why not reuse one of those

Using the same theme with different cheap visuals makes it look like a tin pot operation that can only afford one piece of music. It’s the sort of thing one of the Local TV channels would have done.

I totally agree, Andrew. It baffles me too. When these new strands were announced last week, I did - for a fleeting moment - wonder whether they might not have commissioned any new theme music for them. I suspected they might have reused something, but I really didn't expect them to use the exact same title music as every other bulletin.

Like you say, there are literally hundreds of versions of the Lowe music now and I'm sure they could have dug something out of the archive and reused it. They could even have resurrected the BBC World News 2010 themes - The Hub, Impact, GMT - and they would have been infinitely better than this. In fact, there was even a theme from the 2010 WN rebrand that never made it to air - Frontline with Lyse Doucet.

[House]

Live with Lucy Hockings actually strikes me as having a better name, titles and music for the programme they’re trying apparently trying to produce now. News Now and the Daily Global both come across as deleted scenes from W1A or Alan Partridge rather than serious news programmes.

---

The use of the set in Studio E/C strikes me as deliberately trying to make all news channel content streaming-friendly - the simpler the better for smaller devices. No catwalks (except for WBR), interviews done on split screen rather than presenter turning to a screen etc.

Presumably it's because using the close up shot of the presenter is the only way you can frame them without making it very obvious they're scrolling Autocue themselves using the controller on the desk.

And the presenter having to scroll it themselves means they're glued to the desk, so no catwalks etc.

That doesn’t explain why interviews are done to camera rather than to a screen, though, given these are usually not autocue-driven. They’ve also not been afraid to hide the auto cue controller on the desk given it’s visible sometimes in wide shots.

One argument that works in favour of the current arrangement is its very hard to actually tell whether we’re in Studio C with the ‘core’ programming or if we’ve broken off to studio J as the backgrounds behind presenters are indistinguishable. If they used the studio more, it would be far more obvious that the UK had opted out to a balcony/broom cupboard.