1st Logo (1947-1993)[]
Logo: Just an on screen in-credit text saying, "[NAME OF SERIES] is an NBC Television Network Presentation" that's superimposed on the credits.
Variants:
- Some shows would have the card "An NBC (Television Network) Presentation", "(Produced) in association with the NBC (Television) Network", or "In Association with NBC - TV".
- Starting in 1967, the text is referred to as "An NBC Production".
- Some shows would have the text "Produced by NBC Entertainment" or "Produced by NBC Productions" would appear in the 1980s and early 1990s.
- Sometimes, another company is credited alongside NBC. The in-credit logo on Little House on the Prairie had the text "In Association With ED FRIENDLY," while episodes of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman had the text "in Association with CARSON PRODUCTIONS". But for Late Night with David Letterman's final season (1992-93) with NBC, the "CARSON PRODUCTIONS" credit was eliminated following Johnny Carson's retirement from The Tonight Show in May 1992 and replaced with a credit for "WORLDWIDE PANTS INCORPORATED". (They did share credits from 1990-92.)
- Sometimes during the Sixies and Seventies, it would also feature the in-credit NBC "Snake" logo.
- On the ultra short-lived 1979 series Supertrain, the card reads "an n.b.c. production," and below was a union bug and NBC copyright.
FX/SFX: None.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: Just the end theme of any show playing or silent. On some shows, mainly in the 1950s, you would hear an announcer spiel: "In association with the NBC Television Network".
Availability: Common. It's currently seen on several episodes of Bonanza on TV Land and Me-TV such as the season 2 episode "Day of Reckoning," Little House on the Prairie on Hallmark Channel, and Daniel Boone on World Harvest Television and RTV. The NBC/Carson Productions in-credit logo appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Late Night with David Letterman.
2nd Logo A (1960-1963)[]
Nicknames: "The Snake", "NBC Snake"
Logo: Superimposed on the screen as a few camera lenses rotate clockwise in the background, the NBC snake logo forms and the minuscule text "TELEVISION NETWORK" appears inside the "C" of the snake.
Variant: At least one syndie episode of You Bet Your Life had the word "FILMS" instead of "TELEVISION NETWORK".
FX/SFX: The camera lenses rotating clockwise, the snake forming, the "TELEVISION NETWORK" text appearing.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A horn jingle plays as an announcer says, "Produced (in color) in association with the NBC Television Network".
Availability: Extremely rare. The "FILMS" variant appears on a DVD of You Bet Your Life, while the normal variant has been spotted on a few episodes of Bonanza, and the first season of I Dream of Jeannie. This also surprisingly turned up at the end of GSN's 2003 airing of the original 1963 pilot episode of Let's Make a Deal, and the first season of The Flip Wilson Show.
2nd Logo B (1960-1963)[]
Nicknames: "The Snake II", "NBC Snake II", "Camera Lenses II"
Logo: We zoom onto a camera rotating around in a clockwise direction, we also see a blue shadow of a cameraman operating a camera. We then see the logo form in the same way as the previous logo along with the minuscule "TELEVISION NETWORK" text. When the logo is nearly finished forming, we zoom out from the camera lens.
FX/SFX: The zooming into the camera, the camera lenses rotating clockwise, the snake forming, the "TELEVISION NETWORK" text appearing, and the zooming out from the camera lenses.
Music/Sounds: Same as before.
Availability: Very rare. The color version can be seen on some season 3 episodes of Laramie on (Starz) Encore Westerns.
3rd Logo (1963-1965)[]
Nicknames: "The Snake II", "NBC Snake II", "The Cameraman"
Logo: On a black background, we see pink, red, and magenta light spots. We see a white line drawing down and zooming back from the top to form the letters "N" and "B". We later see the letter "C" forming from the bottom after the letter "B" finishes forming. As the NBC snake logo animates, we see a cameraman moving from left to right.
FX/SFX: The forming of the name, the man moving the camera.
Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A jazzy horn rendition of the infamous NBC theme or a dramatic horn fanfare from the 2nd logo with the announcer voice-over, depending on the variant:
- The announcer says, "This has been a production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network.", or "This has been a color production (or presentation) of the NBC Television Network." for the earlier shows (or programs) in color.
- The same announcer says just like in the 2nd logo, "Produced in association with the NBC Television Network.", or "Produced in color in association with the NBC Television Network." for the earlier shows (or programs) in color.
Availability: Rare. It's currently seen on most season 3 episodes of The Virginian on INSP. This also appeared on Me-TV's print of a season 2 episode of Bonanza, titled "Day of Reckoning", followed by the CBS Television Distribution logo.
4th Logo (1965-1975)[]
Nicknames: "The Snake III", "NBC Snake III"
Logo: On a black background, we see the NBC snake forming itself from the bottom starting with the letter "C". As the snake forms the letters "B" and "N", the background changes colors from black, to teal, to dark yellow, to red. Below the logo says "PRODUCED WITH THE NBC-TV NETWORK", "PRODUCED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK", or "PRESENTED BY THE NBC-TV NETWORK", and would later disappear as the background turns red and the logo finishes.
Variant: This logo would appear on a light purple like background as a still shot.
FX/SFX: The snake forming, the background changing.
Music/Sounds: The NBC chimes theme from the 1950s, only sped up a little.
Availability: Ultra rare. It was seen on the I Dream of Jeannie episode "Uncles a Go-Go," preceded by the Screen Gems "S from Hell" and followed by the Sony Pictures Television logo, when aired on WGN America, and on several 1964 episodes of The Virginian on (Starz) Encore Westerns. It was also recently spotted after The Monkees episode "Son of a Gypsy" on Antenna TV (with the Colex Enterprises logo before and after it). As for the still variant, it's extinct and was last seen on Eye Guess.
5th Logo (1975-1979)[]
Nicknames: "N of Doom"
Logo: We have a white background, which zooms out, revealing an abstract "N" on a black background. The text "Dolphin Productions/New York" in white fades in on the bottom of the screen. The left section of the "N" fills with red, and the right section fills with blue, becoming the NBC logo of the time. The text on the bottom of the screen fades to "NBC".
FX/SFX: Nothing more than zoom effects and fading. This was done at Dolphin Productions in New York, which (kinda) explains the "Dolphin Productions/New York" at the bottom of the screen at one part.
Music/Sounds: A loud jazzy fanfare with congas.
Availability: Seen as a network ID starting on January 1, 1976. NBC replaced it with the "Proud N" starting in 1979, but NBC News and NBC Sports retained this logo until 1981.
6th Logo (1982-1986)[]
Nicknames: "Cheesy Peacock", "Peacock Blur", "The Proud Peacock", "NBC Peacock"
Logo: On a black background the 1979-1986 NBC Peacock turns into place. It is a blur of color as it does so, but clears up as it stops. Under the peacock are the words:
NBC
PRODUCTIONS
Variants:
- This logo also appeared on a blue background.
- A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
FX/SFX: The peacock turning/focusing.
Music/Sounds: A light version of the NBC 3-note chimes beginning in 1985. In other cases, it uses the show's ending theme or none.
Availability: Rare. It's seen on some co-produced shows, such as Punky Brewster, It's Punky Brewster, and the short-lived cartoon Kissyfur, among others. Since the NBC logo appears in reruns of other shows, it would stand to reason that this one would be kept as well. The version with the blue background appeared on the first two seasons of Punky Brewster, the 1985 NBC TV special Let's All Be There, and the short-lived comedy Sara; there, it came after the UBU Productions card, and between the two was an IAW card in stacked formation and in lowercase Broadway font in white on a black screen.
7th Logo (May 12, 1986-96)[]
Nicknames: "'90s Peacock", "The 1986 Peacock", "The Remake of the Peacock", "The Restored Peacock", "Come Home", "NBC Peacock III"
Logo: Against a black background, a red CGI mound appears. As it rises, more rainbow colors are revealed. Then from the top of the screen, the head/neck of the NBC peacock swings in and the mound spreads to become its feathers. This peacock is the current version, and it backs away with a color trail around it. Below, the words:
NBC
P R O D U C T I O N S
in it's typeface, NBC Futura (which is NBC's proprietary font), fly in, also with a CGI-like appearance. When they move back into their places, they take on a more "solid", 2D color.
Trivia: This logo was based off of the NBC on-air ident and NBC Sports ident, both from 1986. As of 2013, the logo became slightly more enhanced than usual.
Variants:
- Saturday Night Live reruns of the era have this logo, but it appears videotaped and somewhat slower than the filmed counterpart usually seen.
- A copyright stamp may appear below on some shows.
- On Tapeheads, the name is written in one line, but the peacock remains above NBC.
- Some shows have a slightly-shortened version which begins as the Peacock eases back. Seen on Saved by the Bell.
- On The Nerd (a 1989 TV pilot that did not air until 1996), season 1 of The Single Guy, seasons 3 and 4 of Homicide: Life on the Street, and most NBC shows from 1994-96 due to split screen credits, the logo was still.
- On The Tonight Show with Jay Leno from sometime in late 1994, the logo appears to be a still version on NBC's then-new generic split-screen closing credits on the right hand side with a copyright notice.
- On MeTV airings of the Saved by the Bell franchise as well as current prints of JAG, the logo appears "cropped" to 1.78:1 widescreen to fit the width of the aspect ratio.
FX/SFX: The peacock forming, words zooming out, the CGI colors turning solid.
Music/Sounds:
- 1986-1990: The normal NBC chimes from the 1950s.
- 1990-1996: A piano version of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral hit.
- Usually, the end theme plays over it.
Availability: Common. This appeared on the 1st 2 seasons of the NBC/UPN sitcom In the House as well as the short-lived 1989-91 soap Generations when BET reran the latter in the 1990s. This also appeared on the short-lived 1992-93 NBC sitcom Out All Night and the first season of The Single Guy as well. It was also seen on the 1987 NBC Saturday Morning Preview Specials as well. Can also be found on the Season 1 DVD release of JAG from CBS DVD. This was also seen on streaming prints of 1980-97 Saturday Night Live episodes, and might still appear on NBC website versions. This logo has also been added, following the Broadway Video logo, on select 1975-85 reruns of Saturday Night Live when broadcast on NBC. Also appears on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on BET, Freeform and Max.
8th Logo (1996-July 29, 2004)[]
Nicknames: "Color Beams", "NBC Peacock IV"
Logo: Against a black background with three sets of light beams, we see a extreme close-up of a three-dimensional peacock design (much like above), which appears facing downward, which rises up, and goes backward to the center of the light beams, as the text "NBC STUDIOS" in the same font as above, blur in from above the screen and land right under the peacock. Three sets of red and blue beams radiate behind the bird.
Variants:
- For syndicated programs, the text would sometimes read "NBC ENTERPRISES".
- On USA High, the beams move on the "ENTERPRISES" version.
- The more common "short" version cuts when the peacock goes backward and the company name blur in, and goes under the peacock.
- Some episodes of Spike TV's Most Amazing Videos and reruns of Passions have a copyright stamp attached.
- Another "short" version shows only the finished product, with the light beams moving in the background. This can be as short as a second long.
- On Sleepwalkers, the words "in association with" are seen under the logo.
- On the very short-lived animated sitcom God, the Devil and Bob, there is a still version of this logo.
FX/SFX: The rising peacock, the blurring letters lowering.
Music/Sounds:
- 1996-2001: A majestic rendition of the NBC chimes, ending in an orchestral flourish. Composed by Chris Saranec. Last heard on early episodes of the U.S. version of Weakest Link and this is used in tandem with the 1999 theme.
- 1999-2004: An orchestral rendition of the NBC chimes.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- Sometimes, the ending theme of the show was played, most notably used during its first year.
- A higher pitched version of the first theme was used on Conrad Bloom.
- On some shows, the 1999 theme is slightly slowed down with a different background orchestration. This music variant would later be used for the NBC Universal Television logos in 2004.
- In some cases, it uses the last logo's music.
- The 1999 TV movie Road Rage has the regular 1999 theme sped-up.
- The 1999 theme also has a faster, lower-pitched version. This is heard only on the short version of this logo.
- Season 1 of The Pretender had part of the MTM logo music playing over the logo.
Availability: Common. The "ENTERPRISES" variant can be seen on City Guys, One World and All About Us. It's seen on Profiler on all DVD releases and on Start TV airings, seasons 5-7 of Homicide: Life on the Street on DVD and when last aired on Centric, the first two seasons of Will & Grace on WE tv, Logo TV, and DVD (plus original airings of season three and four), seasons 4-7 of Saved by the Bell: The New Class, 1996-99 episodes of Saturday Night Live (1999-onward episodes would start using the SNL Studios logo in place of this), The Pretender, and H&I (with the current 20th Television logo following this), and Malibu Fox when they are reran. Also appeared on subsequent post-season S2 episodes of the sitcom In the House. Also seen on the second and final season of The Single Guy, original airings of Emeril, Watching Elie, Crossing Jordan and Mr. Sterling, the short-lived Tucker (before the Regency Television logo), Inside Schwartz, the sitcom Three Sisters, Ed from 2000-03, Titans from 2000-01, and the final season of California Dreams.
9th Logo (2000-July 28, 2004)[]
Nicknames: "Shining Colors", "The Shimmering Peacock", "NBC Peacock V"
Logo: We see the standard NBC Peacock logo emerging from the bottom of the screen. The logo border is in chrome and the feathers are crystal-like and tinted for each of its colors. As the logo rises upward and out, a pair of searchlights bounce light onto the feathers, making a reflection of the vibrant colors outward. The words "NBC STUDIOS", which are also crystallized, appear below the logo.
Variants:
- The syndication logo was ID'ed as "NBC ENTERPRISES" with "DISTRIBUTED BY" above the peacock.
- There is also a high-definition/16:9 widescreen variant.
- A more common version starts modernization when the peacock is still emerging.
- On the short version, only the finished product is seen.
FX/SFX: The NBC Peacock emerging, the shimmering, and the "sparkle" from the crystals.
Music/Sounds: Same as the 1999 theme from the last logo.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- Like the previous logo, some shows used a slower orchestration.
- Also on the short version, the same lower-pitched orchestration from the previous logo is used.
- Sometimes on the short version, the last 2 and a half notes of the regular 1999 theme is heard.
- On American Dreams, the regular 1999 theme is sped up.
- Sometimes, the ending theme of the show is played.
- NBC and ABC airings use generic themes.
- There's a high pitched tone version usually for PAL prints.
Availability: Uncommon. It appeared on several shows during the time period. NBC's merger with Universal put an end to this logo in 2004. Currently appears on seasons 3-6 of Will & Grace on WE tv and on DVD, and on Crossing Jordan when it is reran on A&E. It was also seen at the end of It's A Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie on DVD. The "ENTERPRISES" variant was seen on a few episodes of the U.S. version of Weakest Link and was used on early fall 2001 episodes of Access Hollywood in syndication.
Final Note: In 2004, NBC Studios merged with Universal Network Television to form NBC Universal Television Studio (later known as "Universal Media Studios", now Universal Television).
Other[]
- For other related logos and images see: NBC Studios/Other