Television ident
Image:Bbc1capoiera.jpg
An example of a television ident.
A television ident is an item of television presentation which is displayed on screen, typically just before each programme and also (if a station does not broadcast round the clock) at start-up and closedown. It may also be used to lead in and out of commercial breaks. Idents can vary in complexity from a simple static image to a live-action film, or even computer graphics generated on the fly (the idents used by BBC Four from 2002 to 2005 are an example of the latter approach; its idents reacted to the sound of the announcer's voice and background music).
An ident is usually considered one of the most important elements in a station's branding. An example of a particularly well-known ident would be the BBC balloon.
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