Australian Broadcasting Corporation: Difference between revisions

The '''A'''ustralian '''B'''roadcasting '''C'''orporation was established in 1932 as the Australian Broadcasting Commission, though its origins can be traced back to the establishment of the Australian Broadcasting Company in 1924. The ABC is a public-funded broadcaster akin to the [[BBC One|BBC]] in the United Kingdom, funded through grants from the Australian Government, yet tasked with maintaining political independence. Like the BBC, they started as a radio broadcaster and originally charged listeners a license fee, though this was abolished in 1948. The ABC launched their television service in 1956, a few months after what would become the [[Nine Network National IDs|Nine Network]] made Australia's first TV broadcast. The ABC adopted the original Lissajous figure as their logo in 1963 following a design competition. The figure took on its more familiar classic design in 1975 to mark the ABC's launch of colour transmission. In 1983, as part of a major restructure, the Australian Broadcasting ''Commission'' was renamed the Australian Broadcasting ''Corporation''. By 2001, ABC had begun broadcasting on digital television, launching a new metallic logo to coincide as well as the new ABC Kids channel, making ABC the first major network in Australia to have a digital multichannel. This channel was short lived, however and was shut down in 2003 to cut costs. In 2002, the ABC marked its 70th anniversary with a modification of its new logo, returning to a more traditional design. In 2005, ABC launched its second digital multichannel, ABC2 (later ABC Comedy, now known as [[ABC TV Plus]]), this was followed by a second attempt at a digital kids' channel, ABC3 (now  [[ABC ME]]), which launched in 2009. Around this time, the main ABC channel was renamed to ABC1, to compliment ABC2. However, this rename would be short lived, as by 2014, the channel had returned to its original name. At the same time, the classic Lissajous figure was reinstated as a primary logo 13 years after it was retired on-air, along with the iconic three-note jingle which hadn't been used on air since 2005. The main channel was rebranded '''ABC TV''' as of 1 January 2021 to compliment the rebranding of ABC Comedy as ABC TV Plus.

[[File:ABC (1956, Source - First Broadcast of ABC).png|300px|frameless|center]]

<br>

surrounded by 8 curves that spin in a counter-clockwise direction. The logo would then zoom out to the bottom right corner.

'''Technique:''' 2D animation.

[[File:ABC (1959).png|300px|frameless|center]]

[[File:ABC (1961).png|300px|frameless|center]]

* Airport: This follows a man in uniform going around interacting with airport staff, while an airliner is being refuelled and prepared for take-off.

* Artist: On the side of a busy city street, a portrait artist sketches a man's face in profile.

* One subset of idents would each spotlight a city or town with an ABC station based there. Each place would be given a tagline in the ident's narration. The places highlighted include:  

** Sydney, "gateway to the pacific"  

** Perth, "western gateway to the nation" and "home of VFL football"  

** Hobart, "picturesque southern most capital"

** Melbourne, "garden city of the south"  

** Brisbane, "first city in the sunshine state"  

** Shepparton, "host to the Goulburn Valley"

** Mount Isa, "contributing to the wealth of the nation"  

** Kalgoorlie, "rich in the history of the commonwealth"  

** Bendigo, "gateway to northern Victoria"  

** Mildura, "Victoria's vineyard and citrus centre"

** Newcastle, "located in the rich Hunter Valley"  

** Mackay, "sunshine seascape"

** Taree, "part of the Manning river system"  

** Broken Hill, "the silver city"  

[[File:ABC (1975-1978).png|300px|frameless|center]]

<Tabber>

[[File:Screen_Shot_2020-05-18_at_6.55.05_pm.png|300px|center]]

<Tabber>

<Tabber>

* On programs aired during nighttime, the squares have a purple tint and a swirling Milky Way galaxy fades in behind the logo.

* For programs broadcast via satellite, the words "BY SATELLITE" appears circled in below the logo.

<Tabber>

'''Logo:''' We see several silver ribbons swirling around on a dark blue background. They form an unidentifiable shape at first, but as the camera zooms in the centre, spins around, and zooms out, we see a solid formation of the ABC logo (a series of twisting lines) set against a brown floor. "ABCTV" fades in above.

<Tabber>

* Feathers: We see white feathers in a row moving from left to right on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a pine cone.

* Handrail: We see a handrail going down on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a shadow walk past the handrail.

* Ashes: We see wood on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see fire spreading among some ashes.

* Motor Boat: We see waves of water on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a hand pulling a motor.

* Afternoon Tea: We see a door closing on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a hand pouring a pot of tea into an unseen tea cup.

* Leaves: We see leaves dangling from a tree moving slightly on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see leaves from a plant.

* Snake Skin: We see a wooden fence with raindrops falling on it on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see black snake skin with yellow spots.

* Outback Train: We see some white marble on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a train quickly zooming past us, leaving only the sky in view.

* Transistor Radio: We see a ceiling fan spinning on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle, we see a hand operating a transistor radio.

* Skyscrapers: We see marble moving with left to right on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a view of skyscrapers.  

* Flowers: We see an artistic image of flowers on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see flowers with dew falling from them.  

* Bush Fire Hose: We see a bush fire on the top and bottom rows and in the middle row, we see someone holding a hose.

* Baby: We see a white baby shirt hanging on a clothes line on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a baby's hand on its cot.

* Ballet: We see images of ballet clothing on the top and bottom rows moving from left to right, and in the middle row, we see a hand tying ballet shoes.

* Gold Panning: We see rocks in a pot of water on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a hand panning for gold in a water filled pot.  

*Rainforest: We see what looks like mist on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see what appears to be some sort of plant.

* Reflection: We see some sort of handles on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a reflection of a pier rippling.  

* Rodeo: We see some leaves on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see some boots on a fence.  

* Outback: We see sand and a lizard walking on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see bark.  

* Boiling Water: We see a grey forest with smoke on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see a boiling pot of water.

*Special Variant 2: We see what appears to be a backstage set on the top and bottom rows, and in the middle row, we see another image of the backstage set. After the ABC logo fades out, the word "special" writes itself in in black, then the same word appears in white.  

* Bicentennial: We start off with the Australian Bicentennial logo (consisting of a green banner with two yellow lines in it shaped in the continent of Australia) on a black background. It then flips downwards, eventually turning into the ABC logo. At the same time, the same background from the 'Special' ident fades in.  

'''Availability:''' Most of the idents are obviously extinct. The Bush Tea ID makes a surprise appearance on ''The Best Of The Late Show Volume 3'' VHS (as part of a joke to pretend that the show cut to a documentary about birds). The Bicentennial ID was also used as a home video logo for the release of From ''The Outback to the Sea - Images of the Australian Bicentennial Year''.

<Tabber>

<Tabber>

* From January 1996 until July 1998, the footage is filmed in a single shot and is in black and white. The ABC logo fades out towards the end and after the video fades out, the words "it's your abc" appear.

* Starting in late November 1996 or early December 1996, additional text appears below "it's your abc", giving the info on who was in the ident or where the ident was filmed.

<big><div style='text-align: center;'>Celebrating 70 years</div></big>

<div style='text-align: center;'>abc.net.au</div>

* Beginning in around the third quarter of 2002, the logo is made smaller and re-positioned to the right side of the screen; the text "everyone's" appears on the left alongside the logo.

* Originally, a cover of "I Am Australian" by The Seekers, sung by a female singer. the "ABC Stories" IDs use an instrumental version of this.

* Later idents use various generic music cues.

* The "With You For Life" ident opens with a music box version of the ''Play School'' theme, before segueing into a slow, soulful version of Dusty Springfield's "I Only Want to Be With You".