:-(
A former member
Good point as any: REVIEW OF HEARTS and STARS idents, any errors please say, once everything is sorted I will rewrite but thanks to Mr kite, Andrews and others over the year to try and sort this out.
Any ERRORS please say. Did UNM use the daytime version of the heart?
* GMG North (Granada, Yorkshire, Tyne Tees) - used both NPU promos and the heart break bumper from launch day. However, promos for regional programmes remained
locally branded and often of a totally different design, which varied periodically and often between regions too. They all also took the idents when they
finally arrived. Some GMG North hearts idents had a piano variant of the tune, which where rare or non-existent in the rest of the country at the time.
There was also
# The standard form up 'lines' version
# Plus a 'hold' version unique to GMG North where the ident was already formed and the music started from about 20- 30 seconds into the tune.
#There was also a light brown/yellow standard form up 'lines' version used for day time use.
# Once the rebrand to ITV1 the live shots were killed off.
* Border - adopted the heart break bumper and NPU promos. Introduced the hearts idents when they arrived but seemed to use the lines one most or all of the time. In contrast to GMG North, they often used a menu with the evening's schedule on a hearts background, before leading into the immediate programme with an ident. Once GMG North took over continuity, they fell in line with GMG North's other regions.
* LWT - As with GMG North, until the replaced the hearts with video wall idents.
* Anglia and Meridian - Used the NPU promos but stuck local logos on the top left of the end board. Basically, as the promo ran, there would be an ITV logo in the top left of the screen.
However, on the final end board with the still of the programme and the information of when it was one, the ITV logo would be on another part of the screen and the Meridian or Anglia logo
was be where the ITV logo was in the top left. These stations initially ignored the heart break bumper and continued to use their own. However, when the hearts idents arrived, they introduced
regionalised versions of the hearts break bumpers which also included their own names and station logos. Anglia and Meridian tended to use the lines version a lot more than GMG North.
When they did use the film scene variants, it was always with the string music, not piano. One GMG took them over, the piano variant was introduced, at least for a short while.
However, both were mainly using the lines ident, or an ident already formed up with no music, something GMG North never did.
Once GMG took over, in summer 2000, the practise of slapping a regional logo over NPU trailers ceased, although regional promos were still regionally branded and distinct design-wise, in line with GMG North.
Meridian & Anglia did continue to use the live action idents after the ITV1 rename, its unclear whether this practices continued till the Celeb idents.
* HTV being owned by UNM and run from Meridian, it's story will be broadly similar to Meridian and Anglia, until Carlton took over, which further adds to the mystery, as this would've been a strange set up.
* Carlton regions (London, Central, Westcountry) - I've been quoted as saying these regions didn't use any hearts stuff until the star idents arrived, however, this is incorrect. When NPU promos arrived, these regions took them (or at least Carlton and Central did, not sure about Westcountry). The NPU design was also used for regional programmes and these were only ITV branded, as had been Carlton's policy since early 1998. The heart break bumper wasn't used initially but appeared in all three regions when the star idents arrived.
Any ERRORS please say. Did UNM use the daytime version of the heart?
Quote:
* GMG North (Granada, Yorkshire, Tyne Tees) - used both NPU promos and the heart break bumper from launch day. However, promos for regional programmes remained
locally branded and often of a totally different design, which varied periodically and often between regions too. They all also took the idents when they
finally arrived. Some GMG North hearts idents had a piano variant of the tune, which where rare or non-existent in the rest of the country at the time.
There was also
# The standard form up 'lines' version
# Plus a 'hold' version unique to GMG North where the ident was already formed and the music started from about 20- 30 seconds into the tune.
#There was also a light brown/yellow standard form up 'lines' version used for day time use.
# Once the rebrand to ITV1 the live shots were killed off.
* Border - adopted the heart break bumper and NPU promos. Introduced the hearts idents when they arrived but seemed to use the lines one most or all of the time. In contrast to GMG North, they often used a menu with the evening's schedule on a hearts background, before leading into the immediate programme with an ident. Once GMG North took over continuity, they fell in line with GMG North's other regions.
* LWT - As with GMG North, until the replaced the hearts with video wall idents.
* Anglia and Meridian - Used the NPU promos but stuck local logos on the top left of the end board. Basically, as the promo ran, there would be an ITV logo in the top left of the screen.
However, on the final end board with the still of the programme and the information of when it was one, the ITV logo would be on another part of the screen and the Meridian or Anglia logo
was be where the ITV logo was in the top left. These stations initially ignored the heart break bumper and continued to use their own. However, when the hearts idents arrived, they introduced
regionalised versions of the hearts break bumpers which also included their own names and station logos. Anglia and Meridian tended to use the lines version a lot more than GMG North.
When they did use the film scene variants, it was always with the string music, not piano. One GMG took them over, the piano variant was introduced, at least for a short while.
However, both were mainly using the lines ident, or an ident already formed up with no music, something GMG North never did.
Once GMG took over, in summer 2000, the practise of slapping a regional logo over NPU trailers ceased, although regional promos were still regionally branded and distinct design-wise, in line with GMG North.
Meridian & Anglia did continue to use the live action idents after the ITV1 rename, its unclear whether this practices continued till the Celeb idents.
* HTV being owned by UNM and run from Meridian, it's story will be broadly similar to Meridian and Anglia, until Carlton took over, which further adds to the mystery, as this would've been a strange set up.
* Carlton regions (London, Central, Westcountry) - I've been quoted as saying these regions didn't use any hearts stuff until the star idents arrived, however, this is incorrect. When NPU promos arrived, these regions took them (or at least Carlton and Central did, not sure about Westcountry). The NPU design was also used for regional programmes and these were only ITV branded, as had been Carlton's policy since early 1998. The heart break bumper wasn't used initially but appeared in all three regions when the star idents arrived.