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About Us
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Archives
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U.S. Olympic Broadcaster Logos
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Olympic host city logos have been well-documented, however broadcaster logos are largely overlooked. These designs by United States television networks tell a story of corporate ambitions, rights changing hands, Olympic legacy, and varying graphical philosophies.
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Introduction |
| It's interesting to note that one's perception of an Olympics is framed by those who host it from a broadcaster perceptive. From ABC's Jim McKay's coverage of the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics to Bob Costas' anchoring NBC's dominance as "America's Olympic Network," we view the Games via a network's visual "voice." |
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The 1960s |
| We start our look at the 1960s, which spans 6 Olympic Games -- 3 Winter, 3 Summer. This era marked the start of television broadcasting of the Games in the U.S. It would appear that full branding by networks wasn't in full effect, though there were some exceptions. CBS, NBC, and ABC were all involved in this decade. |
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The 1970s |
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ABC started their dominance of Olympics coverage in the 1970s, unfortunately brought into being by their coverage of the '72 Munich massacre. However, that event also introduced the world to ABC's Olympics Broadcaster Logo, and network image design never looked back. The network held the rights to 3 out of 4 Olympics in this era, with NBC as the outlier.
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The 1980s |
| We jump into the busy 1980s, complete with network changes and Olympics boycotts. This era features a "passing of the guard" from ABC to NBC as primary Olympics broadcaster. ABC's Olympic Broadcaster Logos utilized official designs from the host city emblems, a tradition not continued by other U.S. networks after their reign ended. |
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The 1990s |
| U.S. broadcasting rights went crazy. We shift from a schedule where both the Winter & Summer Games were held together every 4 years to an alternating schedule which separated the events every 2 years. The players? CBS and NBC... and a host of weird cable solutions. The logos reflect this messy schedule.
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The 2000s and Beyond |
| The 2000s brought us NBC's proclamation as "America's Olympic Network," owning the rights to every Winter and Summer Games throughout the decade and a few beyond. Including 2010, NBC produced 3 Winter event and 3 Summer events. Thankfully, their Olympic Broadcaster Logos improved in design and style as the years moved on. |
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