I’ve heard rumours of the ABC setting up live sites in Sydney and Melbourne where people can watch the relaunch on April 10 
But seriously, it’s great to finally hear a date for the massive ABC News relaunch. Hopefully our national broadcaster will show Seven, Nine and Ten how a proper news relaunch (as opposed to the stilted relaunches we’ve had to put up with from all three commercial news services over the past 12-18 months) is done!
Apologies for the double post, but this post (Re, ABC News having it’s new weather graphics powered by Metra’s Weatherscape XT system) is definitely worth replying to!
Interesting to hear! So presumably, the new ABC News weather graphics will look a bit more dynamic and animated on screen than the current look?
All this talk about “uniformity” and “one brand”, yet they won’t replace (British) Majestic Fanfare with the same new (Australian) theme that the 7pm TV bulletin will be getting.
I’m hoping it’s the remixed version of the 1985-2005 Theme by The Bag Raiders! 
Important as that is, identity is important too. I can just imagine the Backchat-esque correspondence the ABC would be receiving ad nauseam if they were to change their radio news theme.
Think about it from a logistic point of view as well - the radio news theme doesn’t require the overture or filler music required on the television news, as there are no headlines to read out over the theme at the beginning of the bulletin.
I’m particularly interested in the news that ABC News Radio will be part of the rebrand. I thought they were being left alone?
Nope, ABC Newsradio was always going to be renamed ABC News since the rebrand was announced.
It’s a little disappointing to hear that the ABC has decided to keep “Majestic Fanfare” for the radio news theme music, but since the reaction to the ABC replacing “Majestic Fanfare” as their radio news theme would probably be even worse than how viewers reacted when Seven News tried to replace “The Mission” (or derivative themes) a few years back, I can understand why. But at the very least, I personally think the ABC should’ve done an updated version of “Majestic Fanfare” as their radio news theme even if that just meant an orchestra doing a re-record of that piece of music.
Anyway, here’s a few personal predictions for next Monday.
*Graphics: I’d probably expect something that’s a little more dynamic, fluid and animated than the current look but at the same time, a new look which retains the simplicity and legibility we’ve come to expect from the branding of ABC News.
*Logo: The classic “lissajous” logo has been reintroduced to most of the ABC’s TV and radio branding in recent years, so I’d expect to see that make an appearance in the new logo for ABC News. The logo text (eg, “NEWS”, “NEWS BREAKFAST”, “NEWS New South Wales”) will probably be in that custom “OneABC” font.
*Theme music for the TV bulletins: Probably a “3rd generation” (the 1st being the original/2005 version, the 2nd being the 2010 update which we’ve been hearing on a nightly basis for nearly seven years) of the current ABC News on TV theme music.
*Sets: Probably not much change. Thankfully, the current sets for ABC News are fairly screen dependent and easily adaptable to new graphics, unlike the 2005 era sets which clashed so badly with the newer graphics around the 2010-14 timeframe. I’d probably expect the current ABC News sets to remain in use until 2020 or thereabouts.
I think that’s just about most elements covered. Bring on the April 10, 2017 relaunch of ABC News! 
I personally like the 1985-2005 theme very much. I think a remixed version of the current generation and the 1985 version would sound really dynamic and authoritative.
I’m hoping for the same, I hope it does make a return. Fairfax’s poll had an overwhelming like for the 1985-2005 theme over the 2005 and the 2010 one.
I hope you’re right - I love the 2005 version and the 2010 remix so much more than the others they’ve had IMO.
They should do what they did to the play school theme - give it to triple j and have a remix contest!
I, and many Australians, would much rather prefer a return of the 1985 Wall/Ansell theme in a remixed form. Many were sad to see it go, and Pendulum’s remix brought it back to prominence.
Wall was approached by the ABC to help lift the original recordings before it was sent to Aussie group Bag Raiders for remixing. Hopefully they use this version in the rebrand!
Is this the first generation that some seem to like?
I never liked it, always sounded like the tape speed sounded off. I prefer the current ABC 7:45 am radio news bulletin’s theme that is an extended version of this theme
nah it’s the one afterwards in 05
Nope the first generation is definitely the 1985 version. If you listen to the versions made afterwards (2005 and 2010) they are loosely based off the 1985 version. The 1985 version is also the same version that was remixed by Pendulum.
I’ve listened to the 1985 version many times, thrice just after you told me to. I can’t really hear any similarities at all between the three.
Now the original post was SCTV about generations (first being 2005, second being 2010) and TV.Cynic asking what the generation was (they thought it was '85’s version).
Also RE: 1985 theme the circle jerk is strong with this one. It screams 80’s, whether it’s nostalgia or the Pendulum remix gaining popularity (when it was released, the 05 theme was still in use - 7 years in May). Even if they made a newer version, people will shit on it for being different and not the same as it used to be.
Really? They are all different, but they all have slight similarities like the brass trumpet thing they’ve got going on.
Definitely has the nostalgia affect on me lol. And if even if a newer version was made, it won’t necessarily mean people will give it shit, I mean just look at what Les Gok did with the 2013 theme for Ten News - had lots of traditional elements from the original 1995 version.
I think some people may have misread my prediction! What I think we’ll probably hear on Monday is a direct update of the 2010/current ABC News on TV theme music, which itself was a direct update of the 2005 relaunch theme.
That’s what I’m hoping for as well. I really like the modernity of the 2005 theme.
The 1985 one is great as well, but I think a lot of people want it back because of simple nostalgia. It isn’t nearly as flexible and practical as the 2010 version of the 2005 theme in this age of 24/7 news on multiple platforms.
And the radio theme is even less flexible and unsuitable for a news channel I think.
That being said, if I’m wrong and they do bring back the 1985 or Majestic theme, I hope I’m proven wrong and they do a good job of it. It’s been seven years since the last refresh and a very long build-up of hints for this relaunch that they’ll have to nail it, otherwise the usual suspects on here will have a field day of criticisms (having said that, even if the ABC does a 10/10 job, they’ll probably have a whinge).
Yeah, I agree.
That old ABC News theme is a classic, but I think I’d rather remember it as a great old news theme that’s no longer used and is iconic these days for the Pendulum remix.
I definitely think that the theme music for ABC News on radio wouldn’t work on modern day television.
There’s a very good reason that the ABC decided not to revive Majestic Fanfare and instead go for a completely new composition as the theme music for the relaunch of ABC News (on TV) after The National failed…and that was more than 30 years ago!
The current branding for ABC News will have lasted nearly seven years and especially knowing how long that ABC News branding typically lasts for, we’ll probably see the new look run beyond 2020.
I’m sure even the ABC themselves know they’ll need to do a rebrand for ABC News which will hold up well for a time period anywhere between five and eight years, and I’m sure they’ll get it right. However, some people will still complain (something like “ABC News Wastes Taxpayers Money on Rebrand” will probably be an editorial in the News Corp papers next week ;P) as usual!
I just realised something, that orange sliding transition in the ABC News24 Rebrand promo, has a bit of an uncanny appearance to the sneak peek preview pics of the Rebrand that the ABC themselves posted here a few months back, no?
I’ll be sorely disappointed if they aren’t using the yellow with the black and white combo seen on TV more recently, and the ABC App. We’ll just have to wait and see.
