PBS/Summary

Background
PBS replaced NET, a former major educational and public TV network, founded in early 1952 and incorporated in November of that year. Among their original affiliates were WETA Washington D.C., WNET New York, KCET Los Angeles, WGBH Boston, WQED Pittsburgh, KLRN San Antonio, KLRU Austin, Maryland Public Television, The Agency for Instructional Technology, Mississippi ETV, KTCA Minneapolis/St. Paul, KPBS in San Diego,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.

Regular idents
===1st logo (August 30, 1970-October 3, 1971)===

Nicknames : "The Text", "The Text of Boredom", "Multi-Colored/Tri-Colored Text", "The World's Most Generic Logo"

Logo : Just a black background with the words:

 PUBLIC   BROADCASTING   SERVICE  stacked on top of each other in red , yellow, and blue.

FX/SFX : None.

Cheesy Factor : This logo is too plain. Not to mention the quality is also pretty bad, but considering only one video of the logo exists (save for the Calebration variant), a HQ one might still exist.

Music/Sounds : None, or the opening theme. At the end of each program with this logo, MacDonald Carey says, "This is PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service."

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. Though PBS officially went on the air on October 5, 1970, the logo itself actually debuted just over a month earlier, on the Grateful Dead concert program Calebration. It also appeared on the initial broadcasts of the NET Fanfare episode "Go Ride the Music", featuring Jefferson Airplane and Quicksilver Messenger Service, as well as the fourth season of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, the second season of Sesame Street, some of the earliest known extant episodes of WNET's Soul!, and the first Masterpiece Theatre serials from The First Churchills to Pere Goriot. If you know of any available program that has this logo, feel free to bring it to our attention here.

Scare Factor : None. But it would somewhat change with the second logo...

===2nd Logo (October 3, 1971-October 1, 1984)===

Nicknames : "Be More II", "Be More, PBS", "PBS P-Head IX", "Circle PBS P-Head IV"

Logo : We see a video of a person or people having activities. Suddenly, the PBS logo appears with "Be More" on the left and "PBS" on the right. The word "PBS" then changes to the URL "pbs.org". A voice-over says "Be More, PBS." as the logo animates.

Variants :
 * Rubik's Cube: A man is walking in a street when he encounters a gigantic exotic Pine Green object that looks like a Rubik's-Cube slanted on it's corner, which twirls around quite to the man's amusement. The music is played on percussion, electric piano and celesta.
 * Spacesuit: An Ecru-clad woman and her son are in a mall. The kid looks through an astronaut helmet. The music is played on an electric piano.
 * Doodling Pad: A boy in a forest-green jacket is walking in a shallow lake with his doodling pad. The music is played on a harp and concertina.
 * Stargazing: A family is looking through a telescope at the stars in the sky. The music is played on a piano and cellos.
 * Guitarist: Calvin Keys is playing the tune on his guitar while someone films it on camcorder.
 * Generations: A man and his grandson are looking at old pictures of their African ancestors in a scrapbook. The music is played on drums, piano, and electric guitar.
 * Orchestra: A symphony orchestra performs the tune. The camera sees the violin, bass clarinet, marimba, cymbal and tuba.
 * Supermarket: TBA. The music has the CPB logo's music playing as a backing track, albeit either a bit muffled or in a slightly different arrangement, and the main melody is played on woodwinds.
 * Generic: Sometimes, there is no live action footage; instead the logo is placed on a custom background with bubbles. The background is used in four different colors: blue , green , orange, and magenta . Most often, the blue or magenta versions are used at the end of broadcasts which use this. On some shows, an announcer says, "You're watching PBS". The music is orchestrated either with the standard strings-and-keyboard arrangement (for the blue version) or with a harp (for the magenta version).
 * Masterpiece: A variant appears on episodes of Masterpiece. Clips from episodes of the anthology series are shown over the blue background before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover says, "Masterpiece, only on PBS." The music is played on strings and keyboards.
 * Antiques Roadshow: A variant appears on episodes of Antiques Roadshow. Clips from episodes are shown together over the amber background before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover says, "Antiques Roadshow, only on PBS." The music is played on keyboards and guitar.
 * Public Affairs: A variant appears on episodes of Frontline and Washington Week, as well as on the special America After Charleston. Depicted over the blue background, in chronological order, are Gwen Ifill, Judy Woodruff, Hari Sreenivasan, and Charlie Rose, before the PBS logo appears as usual. The voiceover is the same as on the generic variants. The music is orchestrated in a hard rock version.
 * Generic (We'll Be Right Back): As with the previous logo, the generic logo (often using the blue or green version) is sometimes shown at the start of program breaks, with a voiceover saying, "This PBS program will return in a moment." The music is played either on strings and keyboards (for the green version) or in an electronic arrangement (for the blue version).

Effects : Same as the 8th logo.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over : A 5-note tune, created by music company Expansion Team. Like the eighth logo, the same tune is always used, but is rearranged for some variants and has a different voice-over.

Availability : Currently in use on most PBS first-run shows. The variants are used randomly, as with the previous logos, on many programs, including Nova and This Old House; however, on certain programs you can always expect to see the following variants:
 * Rubik's Cube: Seen at the end of American Masters and in rotation at the end of Vicious.
 * Spacesuit: Seen at the end of Charlie Rose: The Week and The Brain with David Eagleman.
 * Doodling Pad: Seen at the end of Earth's Natural Wonders.
 * Stargazing: Seen at the end of Hometime.
 * Guitarist: Seen at the end of Washington Week (until July 24, 2015), To the Contrary, most episodes of Austin City Limits, and Bluegrass Underground. Also seen at the end of concerts broadcast on PBS.
 * Generations: Seen at the end of Tavis Smiley and The Civil War.
 * Orchestra: Seen at the end of some current episodes of Austin City Limits.
 * Supermarket: Seen at the end of A Chef's Life and The Great British Baking Show.
 * Generic (Blue): Seen at the end of PBS NewsHour and in rotation at the end of Vicious.
 * Generic (Magenta): Seen at the end of Charlie Rose following the 2012 election and in rotation at the end of Vicious.

Scare Factor : None.

Election IDs
====1st logo (1992)====

Logo : We see American flag layers waving. A blue background with a circular hole fades in as it zooms out, revealing itself to be a P-Head. As it continues to zoom out, it starts to move to the left as the number 9 appears to the right from behind. The word "ELECTION", in a gold serif font, starts appearing from the center between the P-Head and 9 as the flag stripes move in both vertical directions to reveal a light blue/yellow gradient background, and then two of the stripes move back up, zooming out as the bottom stripe turns blue. Finally, a red split emerges from behind the P-Head, and a red 2 from behind 9, both from the right.

Effects : The flag stripes and zoom-outs, as well as the slides.

Music/Sounds : A brass/strings fanfare that wouldn't sound out of place on a news program.

Availability : Extinct. Seen on programming centering around the '92 Presidential election.

Scare Factor : Low. The suddenness of the logo can be quite startling.

====2nd logo (1996)====

====3rd logo (2000)====

====4th logo (2004)====

Nickname : "By the People"

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds : The standard music for the 8th regular logo, with a male announcer saying, "This is PBS."

Availability : Extinct. Seen on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, among other programs which covered the '04 Presidential election.

Scare Factor : Minimal. It may startle you if you were expecting the 8th logo.

====5th logo (2008)====

====6th logo (2012)====

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds : TBA

Availability : Extinct. Seen on Charlie Rose, among other programs which covered the '16 Presidential election.

Scare Factor : TBA

PBS Arts
====1st logo (2011-December 12, 2014)====

Logo : Against a purple /magenta  background, an orange  circle forms itself in watercolor in the center of the screen, followed by a pink  circle to its left and a blue  circle to its right. "PBS arts", with PBS in magenta, fades in within the orange circle, and the Circle P-Head forms itself to the left. The URL "pbs.org/arts" fades in below.

FX/SFX : The circles forming themselves.

Music/Sounds : A guitar piece.

Availability : Seen on old PBS Arts programs. Its last known sighting was on the Live from Lincoln Center episode "Curtain Up: The School of American Ballet Workshop", first broadcast on December 12, 2014.

Scare Factor : None.

====2nd logo (2013-2014)====

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds : A brass fanfare.

Availability : Seen on Pennsylvania Ballet Celebrates 50 Years.

Scare Factor : Minimal.

====3rd logo (2014-October 2, 2015)====

Logo : Against a white background, objects resembling glass curtains part, revealing the Circle P-Head with "PBS | ARTS" to the right. PBS is in the usual font. Below is the URL "pbs.org/arts" and, to the right, the Twitter hashtag "#PBSarts".

FX/SFX : The glass curtains parting.

Music/Sounds : A brass fanfare.

Availability : Seen during the 2014-2015 PBS Arts season. It last appeared on a rebroadcast of In Performance at the White House honoring songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Scare Factor : Minimal.

====4th logo (October 9, 2015-present)====

Logo : The camera tracks through a colorful environment full of decorations and 2D sculptures of various performers. At the end, the PBS Arts logo is revealed.

Variant : An abbreviated version appears at the end of programs.

Effects : Just the decorations and their minimal movements.

Music/Sounds : A Latino-flavored fanfare with a choir and strings.

Availability : Seen on current PBS Arts programs.

Scare Factor : None.

===PBS Indies (2014-present)===

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds/Voiceovers : An abridged version of the 2010 CPB music. At the end of programs, a voiceover says, "PBS, your home for independent film."

Availability : Seen on current episodes of Independent Lens and POV.

Scare Factor : None.

===PBS Stories of Service (2014-present)===

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds/Voiceovers : A solemn yet uplifting brass fanfare which sounds like the first notes of "Taps". At the end of programs, a voiceover says, "This is PBS."

Availability : Seen on military-themed programming on PBS. Oddly enough, the opening and closing variants switch places on Debt of Honor: Disabled Veterans in American History.

Scare Factor : None.

===Think Wednesday (201?-present)===

Logo : TBA

Effects : TBA

Music/Sounds/Voiceovers : A new-age rock tune. A voiceover says, "Think Wednesday, think PBS."

Availability : Seen at the end of The Mystery of Matter, as well as first-run episodes of Earth's Natural Wonders, Nova, and The Brain with David Eagleman.

Scare Factor : Minimal, though it may surprise first-time viewers expecting to see the 2009 PBS logo.