British Satellite Broadcasting was launched in March 1990 on cable and in April 1990 as a direct-to-home satellite service via the Marco Polo Satellite. It was doomed from the start, as it had been beaten by Sky's launch in 1989.
BSB had one thing on its side, it was the Government backed franchised satellite broadcaster, although this was to be no advantage in the end. Things didnt go well for BSB, and they were finally forced to merge with Sky TV in November 1990 to form British Satellite Broadcasting.
But forget the demise, there is no doubt the BSB identity was a serious coherent design. The project of work streched back over a year and included product designers, model makers, composers and other specialists. The BSB identities emerged with startling clarity, with an upmarket pitch. Stylish and distinctive both on screen and in print, Lambie Nairn designed identites which told stories.
BSB Ident1990
A rather nice ident, where red, green and blue balls form the 'ring of confidence' outline...
BSB 5 Channel TV Promo1990
BSB offered 5 quality channels as part of it's package. They were:- Galaxy - The Entertainment Channel, The Sports Channel, Now - The Channel for Living, The Movie Channel and The Power Station.
Friday at 8 Promo1990
So what was on? here's a promo showing programmes at 8 o'clock on Fridays across its five channels..
BSB Comet Promo1990
Mike Smith talks you through the world of BSB satellite broadcasting and its relationship with the electrical retailer Comet.
NB. Large file 12minutes
GALAXY - The Entertainment Channel
Galaxy Idents1990
The Galaxy channel showed a mixture of vintage and specially commissioned general entertainment programmes. The ident had a lovely warmth to it, with animated swirls of colours and stars.
Left clip is the channel startup
Galaxy Idents1990
A couple more continuity announcements from Galaxy. Can you guess the programmes being introduced?
Oh and yes, that is Trish Bertram again!
Late Night Promo1990
Late Night Viewing - Galaxy keeps you company till the small hours.. 7 days a week...Galaxy's output included childrens programmes, and for this strand Galaxy Club was created. Possibly the most appealing and unexpected of the idents, breaking away from traditional sequences, the name 'Club' was turned into a set of four characters. Shot live action on film, the characters arranged themselves or came crashing into the set to form the title. Original, fun and very memorable.
Galaxy Club Continuity1990 Galaxy Club Continuity
1990 Galaxy Club Promo
1990 Galaxy Club Promo
1990
The Making of Galaxy Club1990
A behind the scenes look at how the Galaxy Club idents were produced. Includes an interview with the identity creator Martin Lambie-Nairn
31 West1990
The very last 31 West which was presented by Simon Potter.
right clip - backstage at 31 West
THE SPORTS CHANNEL
The Sports Channel1990
A channel dedicated to sport. Actually surprisingly a lot of good sports coverage, including sharing the rights of Wimbledon with the BBC!
The ident was perhaps the most solid graphic design sequence. It consisted of non-specific graphics referring to pitch markings off various sports fields. A colourful sequence with a neat finish to the music.
Sportsdesk1990 SportsDesk - with Anna Walker and Graham Simmons.
A news magazine transmitted a various times of the day on The Sports Channel with up to the minute results and analysis.
The Sports Channel Christmas Promo1990
Here's highlights of what's on The Sports Channel at ChristmasNOW - The Channel for Living
Now Ident1990
Now - The Channel for Living. A strange mix of programming, from lifestyle to news and current affairs.
Apart from the bland titling, it was perhaps the most authoritative in style. The ident explored qualities of light, texture and form. Pentagram designed thr 'product' centrepiece of the sequence where the name in logo form emerged.
Now Sir Robin1990
Now Sir Robin - with Sir Robin Day.
So what did Sir Robin Day do when he left Question Time? Move to BSB's Now Channel!
THE POWER STATION - The music channel
Power Station Ident1990
The Power Station offered a mix of youth and chart style programmes. It had a tough job creating an new identity against its powerful competitor MTV, who had a well established identity with innovative animation idents. The response was the idea of a machine with life that ultimately forms the logo. It was shot frame by frame, with highly skilled post production, resulting in a bizarre, dramatic but sophisticated ident.
THE MOVIE CHANNEL
The Movie Channel Idents1990
Every satellite service needs a movie channel. BSB named their's The Movie Channel, how imaginative!
The idents conjured up the old era of cinema with an alaborate art-deco theatre front. A florid statue appeared holding the squarial M, stunning set design and simplicity of the idents, underlined the concept of The Movie Channel - movies, no advertising, no voiceovers.
The Movie Channel Idents1990
More examples of the Movie Channel ident. One for black & white films, the other for matinee's..
The Movie Channel Start-Up1990 Here's how The Movie Channel would start the day, opening, continuity and their ident..
BSB News
BSB News1990 BSB offered a short bulletin news service across all 5 channels. It basically comprised of a short bulletin read by a selection of newsreaders. There were no filmed reports.
right clip - end titles from BSB News with Hannah O'Sullivan.
TESTCARDS
The BSB channels did not broadcast 24 hours a day. During the wee small hours a selection of testcards were shown....
BSB print and publicity ...
