Channel Television - Identity

Identity

Channel Television's first on screen logo featured six hexagons, laid out five below linked together with one on top with a stylised cat's head inside it. The five hexagons below represent the five main channel islands: Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark and Herm, and the ident is animated so that each hexagon appears in turn accompanied by one note of the jingle, along with the name. This ident lasted until colour came to the region in the mid 1970s, with only one slight variation in the positioning of the channel name.

The first colour ident used by Channel involved a striped CTV, which would serve as the station logo until 1999. The first ident featured this static logo made of orange stripes on a white outline against a blue background with a soundtrack of a brass fanfare. This same fanfare was later used when Channel launched their next ident, featuring the lines of the CTV logo spinning into place, coloured gold against a black background. This was introduced c.1985, and was utilised for the stations 25th Anniversary in 1987, when each line of the CTV logo was drawn out, before spinning back to be joined by a striped 25.

In the early 1990s, Channel aired their first computer generated ident, featuring the CTV logo, initially silver, but turned gold by two sideways flashes, falling backwards onto the gradiented blue background. This logo was accompanied by a dramatic score, which was later improved, along with the ident, in 1993. The improvements kept the theme, however repositioned the logo, changed the background to a navy blue, made the logo itself bigger and gold throughout and, most noticeably, improved the music making it less dramatic and giving it a softer feel.

Both during this period and before it, Channel was also notable for using a clock on the channel. This practice was not uncommon in the other regions in the 1970s and early 1980s, but the practive was dropped. However Channel kept the clock well into the 1990s, using it to introduce news. Channel also, unusually would announce the local temperature over the clock prior to the following programme, a practice not used elsewhere in the ITV network. Today, no clock is used, however this is still performed, with a local Time, Temp, Tide check at 6pm prior to Channel Report.

In 1998, Channel adopted a different feel to presentation. The CTV logo remained, both on end captions and as the company logo, however on screen Channel utilised the device of the word 'Channel' writing in a variety of fonts arranged in circles and moving, spinning and pulsating to a tune of a simple jingle. This look was not to last however, as the second ITV generic look occurred in 1999, which Channel adopted. This look, based on the theme of hearts, also provided Channel with a new logo, featuring a globe with the Channel islands on it being orbited by two comets, whose trails make a heart shape. Channel used the generic look, albeit with their own soundtrack, until 2002. The generic look was used for network programmes, with regional ones using a large Channel logo over the spinning hearts background. When the celebrity idents came, Channel used a variation, where the left side of the screen was taken up by their logo. A number of idents were used featuring different celebrities, some local ones made by Channel themselves, were used, and in 2002 a special ident to celebrate the channels 40th Anniversary was introduced featuring former station logos.

In late 2004, Channel used idents of scenes from around the Channel Islands, with the logo in a stripe down the left side of the screen. In addition some elements of the network branding was also used.

Since 2006, Channel, whilst being fiercely independent and regional, has now adopted a variation of the national ITV1 network branding and also shares continuity, due to it receiving a non-clean feed of networked programming from Meridian Broadcasting. While the branding is very similar to regions owned by ITV plc, Channel Television uses an older ITV1 logo with white letters on its idents supplemented by the wording 'Channel Television' and pre-recorded local continuity announcements are used at key junctions - including prior to national and regional news and on the handover from ITV Breakfast at 9.25am. Typically this is "This is Channel Television, ITV in the Channel Islands", or at the handover from ITV Breakfast, "It's 9:25 and you're watching Channel Television, your local ITV station". These idents also use music from the original emotion idents, rather than the updated jingle and music. It was the only ITV company to take the network branding without being a part of ITV plc.

Following the takeover In November 2011, Channel began using ITV1's 2010 logo and updated its idents.