The CW - should more stations drop branding?

[kilamanjero]

I truly hope that as many stations drop the "CW" branding as possible... the logo ain't got no alibi it's ugly, UGLY, U-G-L-Y...

Nice Fishbone reference!

You'd think if the biggest of the CW stations were doing away with the identity (New York's WPIX, which scraped the giant "CW" logo letters off its building on East 42nd Street not too long ago), that the others would eventually follow suit.

Branding in Hartford/New Haven:

30 WVIT NBC O&O - "NBC Connecticut". (They started that name in '09 when they opened their new HD Studios). From the time NBC bought the station in '96 or ' 97 until '09 they were NBC 30. Under Viacom's ownership their logo was 30 then the NBC logo. And back then their news was branded as Connecticut News 30...

And who can forget its branding before all of that - giant block lettering of the call letters with the script "Thirty" over it.

WVIT has gone through a plethora of identities over the years before it came back full circle under NBC ownership in present day. Viacom prior to its alignment with CBS Television Stations Group, its individual stations (which were affiliated with different networks) all had interesting brandings and looks.

 

[BRNout]

And who can forget its branding before all of that - giant block lettering of the call letters with the script "Thirty" over it.

That was either before my time or when I was too young to notice (or care). I was born in May of 82. And I don't have a lot of memories from when I was really young.

Yes, I remember it well, it was during the early to middle 1980s and it too was an U-G-L-Y logo. Though not as bad as WCCT's.

Back in the 1970's, WWLP-22 from Springfield had this really cool 60s-esque space-age logo with a cross surrounded by a ring, I suppose to represent a satellite? That was an era when logos ranged from dull to ugly to amateurish to awesome all over the US.

 

[Sammi Brie]

And who can forget its branding before all of that - giant block lettering of the call letters with the script "Thirty" over it.

That was either before my time or when I was too young to notice (or care). I was born in May of 82. And I don't have a lot of memories from when I was really young.

Yes, I remember it well, it was during the early to middle 1980s and it too was an U-G-L-Y logo. Though not as bad as WCCT's.

Back in the 1970's, WWLP-22 from Springfield had this really cool 60s-esque space-age logo with a cross surrounded by a ring, I suppose to represent a satellite? That was an era when logos ranged from dull to ugly to amateurish to awesome all over the US.

There sure was a lot of dull in the 1970s (read: NBC's Proud N/Helvetica cookie-cutter station logos that might have been a forerunner to station standardization today).

 

[ajc_trw]

Someone should (or not, depending on your opinion) point this thread out to whoever runs KTLA (Los Angeles) as they run The CW bug continually.

I tuned in Tyra (a sacrifice for research) and it's right there in the lower right corner.

Just saying.

 

[carolinaradio]

Someone should (or not, depending on your opinion) point this thread out to whoever runs KTLA (Los Angeles) as they run The CW bug continually.

I tuned in Tyra (a sacrifice for research) and it's right there in the lower right corner.

Just saying.

Tyra is part of The CW daytime, which runs two episodes from 3-5PM (many affiliates only air one episode)....so of course the bug will be there.

 

[ajc_trw]

Someone should (or not, depending on your opinion) point this thread out to whoever runs KTLA (Los Angeles) as they run The CW bug continually.

I tuned in Tyra (a sacrifice for research) and it's right there in the lower right corner.

Just saying.

Tyra is part of The CW daytime, which runs two episodes from 3-5PM (many affiliates only air one episode)....so of course the bug will be there.

OK, good point, but they also have it during WWTBAM at Noon.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

As for the CW, it is a horrible name for a pretty uninteresting programming service. Ditto for My Network TV. I truly hope that as many stations drop the "CW" branding as possible. For one thing, it sticks in the throat; secondly, the logo ain't got no alibi it's ugly, UGLY, U-G-L-Y. Even the smallest market station can do better.

My has a better logo, but it's far too homogenized. My9, My50, My40, all look exactly the same. The same in LA as in Boston as in Chicago. And for what? A few hours of poor to mediocre programming during the course of a week? Each certainly had a better logo, name and positioner before being absorbed into the "My" network.

But here in Cleveland, WUAB/43's glory days as an independent (with their great logo and the "Channel 43 Plays Favorites" jingle any adult Northeast Ohioan can sing today) were long gone by the time MyNet showed up.

Raycom neutered it, turned it into a generic "UPN 43", and it just turned into "My 43", with a weird looking "43" plastered onto the MyNet logo. The damage was done years before MyNet.

The CW affiliate, WBNX/55, calls itself "WBNX-The CW", still emphasizing the calls in the station name, though they use the generic CW branding and colors on the air. The WB was very good to WBNX, and all indications are that they're still doing well with The CW.