ABC News Content and Appearance

I don’t mind the current look… it does look a bit plain, but i think it suits them…

I wouldn’t like to see them try anything too fancy and compete with 7 and 9 for the most swipes, swooshes and swirls.

It has definitely aged well. This was the 7th year. Falls in line with the previous look which was also 7 years, so I’d say the chances of a refresh in 2024 are high.

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The current package has definitely aged much better than the silver and the sliders. But that probably says more about their competition.

The logo doesn’t need touching and the black on white is a good foundation. A refreshed opener and maybe a new accent colour - like Channel 4 purple would be an improvement. I’ve always throught the way the C4 logo animates and their use of cutouts from the logo in the opener would work very well with the ABC worn.

The proposed new theme sounds very generic and music library-y. Not an improvement. They should be returning to the 1990s-2005 theme, not a cheap remix of majestic fanfare.

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The 1985 to 2005 theme was the one they were trialling to focus groups.

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Guessing the Pendulum remix was also trialled?

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Much like my opinion in 2016 prior to the current graphics package launch, it would be cool to see a modern revival of the 1985-2005 fanfare, through the current graphics and theme have aged very well.

Perhaps they were inspired after its one-off appearance earlier this year.

Do you have a copy of the video by any chance?

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I got the survey. It was a remix of majestic fanfare similar/the same to what they’ve used in promos on the news channel.

Miss this one

I really hope they don’t standardise Majestic Fanfare as the News theme. Regardless of the remix, it still sounds very dated and too camp. .

The ABC News theme is inconc. They need to look at the theme from the 90’s and base a new version off that.
The latest ABC News theme I always thought was a step backwards from the last few versions, it’s very understated.

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The Australian’s online story on the trial has a video.

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it’s just the current intro with the early 2000s theme badly overlayed. Looks like a crap mock.

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I was under the impression it was going to be the 2005 theme, that’s the 1985 theme! Great to see there’s still love for that composition within the organisation.

Hard to tell from the video quality, but it sounds like there’s a little charm sound at the beginning, similar to the 10 News First theme.

The video link: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/abc-news-bulletins-potential-changes-to-the-7pm-news/video/34dbaab2fb9252cb4011873c24a38821

I wonder if they still have this version somewhere around from 2017…

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oh yes it is, doesn’t have the big build up the early 2000s version had.

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Huge downgrade if they go back to that theme and don’t modernise it at all. Sounds horribly outdated.

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I do agree they way they have presented it in the survey feels unpolished and slapped on, echoing @SA_TV sentiments.

I would hope they plan to recompose the fanfare to work better through all mediums, or revisit the remix by Bag Raiders. Perhaps that would be the next step if it is favoured. Would definitely be cool to see it return!

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That’s the most homebrand looking video mock I’ve ever seen! :joy:

So they did test both! what a relief.

The current theme, which should never have replaced the 1985 Wall & Ansell theme to begin with, has definitely come to its natural end.

Time to bring back an updated version of the Wall and Ansell theme, complete with long build up, and standardise it across radio and newsradio too. If the ABC are happy to bin the pips, they should be happy to drop majestic fanfare - I agree with Peter Wall’s comments that the news theme for the Australian public broadcaster should be written by an Australian, not a largely generic piece of music by an Englishman.

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they could always remix and modernise it like how the BBC did with their election theme

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Forgive me if this has been posted before - someone on YouTube did a decent mock of that remixed Majestic Fanfare theme. Always surprised they have had this in storage for a few years, I really like it, it’s a solid remix of an iconic theme…

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They have modernised the theme well! I wonder what the source of that remix is… :thinking:

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