TV stations in mainland China always place their logo (usually semi-transparent and sometimes animated) in the top-left corner of the screen in full colour or grey-scale, regardless of the content being broadcast (programme or advertisements); although in some rare cases, the DOG may be placed elsewhere to avoid covering the score bug during the broadcast of a sport event.
GMA Networkfirst introduced DOGs in 1995, since theMovie and Television Review and Classification Boardhas implemented a television content rating system way back since November on that year. All of the stations started to display the DOGs after the commercial breaks, exceptNet 25ETC(since 2012), and some cable channels, that continue displaying DOGs all the time. The DOGs can be seen on the upper-right corner, aligned with the TV content rating logo but on several cable channels these are placed on the upper-left corner or bottom-right corner. Formerly, ABS-CBN removed the DOG with the rating for 3 minutes before the commercial break, however, the problem was fixed in 2000, the DOG and the rating are now removed 10 seconds before the commercial break. ABS-CBN and GMA previously did not use DOGs during their signature newscasts but they started doing so in 2012.
When the US networks bug is present, the Canadian broadcaster will either:
DOGs of privately owned channels were introduced in the mid-1990s. Initially, the logo ofTVIwas placed in the bottom left corner during some of its programmes; it would be moved to the top left corner for all programmes during the mid-2000s.
In the 1980s, public broadcasters started to randomly show logos during programs to prevent video piracy, following the lead of Italian broadcastersRAIandCanale 5. After the first private stations emerged in 1984, permanently showing their logo most times, the public broadcasters soon followed. Today practically all TV stations show their logo during the programs and often these are an integral part of their design using fluentmotion graphicanimations to make the transition between programs, previews and advertising, as well as displaying additional information such as teletext numbers or the name of the following program. Most logos are transparent during programming though some channels do not. (e.g.kabel einsuses a bright orange coloured logo.) Also the majority of the channels show their logo in either the top-left or top-right corner of the picture though there are exceptions (e.g.RTL IIin the bottom-right orN24logo in the bottom-left and date and time in the top-right).
, and NBCs late-night programming simulcast byCTV Two), andNTVinNewfoundland. Bell has since phased out this practice in favor of co-branding.
On all Japanese network television key stations and their affiliates, DOGs appear on the top-right hand corner of the screen. In addition, during some programs, a digital clock appears on the top-left corner of the screen. The digital clock had been in place on all programs prior to the introduction of DOGs in the late 1990s.
In 1990, Antena 3, Telecinco and Canal+ were the first channels that used DOGs from their start, the DOGs were put on the top-left and bottom-left corners, in 1992, Antena 3 and Telecinco changed the position of DOGs to the bottom-right, making it the same as TVE.
Not insert their own bug at all (sometimes done byCity)
In Israel, channel watermarks more often appear on the top left or the top right since Israeli cable and satellite based services often have the channel description and programming (OSD) on the bottom of the screen. In ad breaks, it is required to replace the channel watermark with a special symbol – often on the other edge of the screen – indicating there are ads at the moment.
Indonesian TV DOGs have been used since 1983. At that time,TVRIwas Indonesias only television channel. WhenRCTIbegan broadcasting in 1989, the DOG began to be used at the same time. The usage of logo differs by channel, appearing in either the top-left hand (for example, channels owned byMedia Nusantara Citrasuch as RCTI,Global TVandMNCTV, as well asIndosiar) or the top-right hand corners (such asSCTVantvand the channels ofTrans CorplikeTrans TVandTrans7). Logos of television channels may or may not have moved their logos to the other part of the screen, such as TVRI was the first to move theirs to the bottom-right hand corner in 1999 (the year the network changed its logo, used until 2001), and followed byMetroTVin 2010, while Indosiars DOGs have been always on the top-left since it began broadcasting in 1995. SCTV, while using the text logo at the start of broadcast, did not began to use their own logo on screen until 1994.
cover the logo with their own opaque logothis strategy was formerly used byCTVglobemedia(nowBell Media) TV stations with a purely grey logo (most prominently during
At times, networks will superimpose a semi-transparent watermark immediately adjacent to their DOG to advertise an upcoming special event that the network will be broadcasting work Tensuperimposed an advertisement for theSochi 2014 Winter Olympicson their primary channel (Ten),One, andElevenas they were to be the Australian broadcaster of the event), or to advertise a popular upcoming programme.
Currently, the DOGs of TF1 and all channels of France Tlvisions are placed on the top-right corner, while those ofM6andW9are placed on the top-left corner.
During televised sports events, a DOG may also display a few game-related statistics such as the current score. This has led many people inCanadaand theUnited Statesto refer to it as ascore bug.
Australian TV networks hide all of their DOGs during advertisement breaks. They only reappear during the promotion for a programme that will be shown on the station and are not shown during any other advertisement material.
Most local and regional stations and some national commercial broadcasters (Pink from 2001present, as of September 2012, when the national news start at 18:30, clock disappears up until the end of its morning program, B92 from 2004 to 2011, Avala from 2007 until 2011) in Serbia along with station logo also show a digital clock below the logo.
In the UK, DOGs most commonly appear in the top-left hand corner on British channels. DOGs were first used onsatelliteandcable televisionsystems in their early days, when broadcasts were unmarked.Channel 5was the first to use DOGs on an analogue terrestrial channel in 1997. The DOG was originally very bright and noticeable, and was soon toned down. Channel 5 said that the DOG was used to assist viewers in tuning to the new channel once its test transmissions had ceased. Following the rebrand to five in 2002 the DOG disappeared until late 2007.
The DOGs are removed during advertisements, trade test transmission or when a program is not aired. An exception to this is Intereconomia.
The Serbian national television RTS began showing logos in the early 1990s. Their logo was sometimes turned on manually during certain broadcasts but shortly afterwards remained permanently on-screen. One could notice how they were manually controlled, as the logo-free time during the begin of a program varied. Until around 19941995 their logos were opaque black and white, presumably due to being inserted into the analog CVBS signal just before being broadcast instead of an analog YUV, RGB or digital SDI signal, while in the mid-1990s they upgraded to colorized but still opaque logos. RTSs predecessor RTB (Radio Television of Belgrade) had DOGs of varying sizes, but rather than being introduced one after another they appear to have been used simultaneously at different broadcast sites. At least three different sizes and styles of their opaque black-and-white logo are known today. On the satellite channel RTS-SAT, Latin letters were used, but after the destruction of RTS headquarters in 1999 during a NATO air strike, it could be noticed how the logo appeared to have been quickly re-drawn and was being inserted by different equipment as it varied in shape and size, presumably because of the original equipment used to insert it being destroyed. Today RTS has the same opaque color logo from 1999 on RTS-SAT and new translucent logos were introduced in the 2000s for the analog terrestrial programs. Old logos remain on most archived recordings presumably due to lack of a cleanfeed archiving policy in the past, as can be seen in the Trezor historical series:[1]
co-brand the show by placing their logo in a different area of the screen.
Singaporean televisions began showing the channel logos during television programs in 1994. The first one wasChannel 5then,Channel 12and lastlyChannel 8. The television stations show the logo in full-color, and are usually shown in the top right of the screen. Also, since around 2004, logos of Mediacorp television channels also include the parent companys logo, and this expanded in 2005, withChannel Ubecame a part of Mediacorp.
RTPintroduced DOGs in the late 1980s, when it was at the time, the only broadcaster in Portugal that operated two television channels. Initially, the logos were placed on the top-right corner, but they were moved in 1991 to the top-left corner permanently, which is the most common place in Portugal; this would allow television ratings to be shown in the top-right corner. Until 2004, beforeRTP1s rebranding, DOGs were also placed on the bottom-left corner during newscasts. On some programs or live sport broadcasting, DOGs are placed in the top-right corner. Logos are removed during advertising breaks and trailers. For information of subtitles, inRTP1andRTP2, a number such as 884, 885, 886, 887 or 888 is placed near the logo; in other cases, near the logo, Direto (Live) is put sometimes instead of 88x (some programmes use neither 88x nor Direto (Live), Gravado (Recorded) or Repetição (Repetition)).
Currently, almost all channels in Spain use DOGs, with the DOGs are shown on top or bottom-right of the screen, except13 tvTelemadrid, and Disney Channel, that uses DOGs on the top-left and bottom-left, respectively.
In Italy, channel watermark usage is different for every television network.RAIat the end of 1970s, introduced its first watermark, to minimize copyright infringement by private channels. The bug jumped around the four corners of the image. At the end of 1987, the bug added the number of the station, until 2010 in letters and from 2010 in numbers. Nowadays RAI logos are always on the top-left corner of the screen and disappear during diasetbugs are on the bottom-right from beginning, but during some shows or sport events, they can be moved on the top right.
Unlike Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines, since 2004, most Indonesian TV networks never leave their logos during commercial breaks, instead, the logo becomes transparent (before 2004, logos were removed during commercial breaks). For the station identification, the logo will remain on-screen, but sometimes it will disappear prior to the identification.
In Canada, networks and channels display logo bugs the same way as the UK and the US, with only minor differences.
Beginning in the late 1990s, almost all television stations in Argentina had their logos being shown on the top-right of the screen. WhenCanal 9relaunched in 2002 to replace Azul Televisin, its logo was shown on the bottom-left of the screen. After intense criticism, Canal 9 moved its logo to the top-right of the screen of which most Argentine broadcasters had almost always followed.
Nelonenwas the first channel in Finland to use the DOG, from its start in June 1997.MTV3started to use DOG in the beginning of 1998, andYleintroduced DOGs in its two channels in August 1998. The DOGs moved from the top right corner to the top left corner on Yles channels on 5 March 2012 when the companys new corporate logo was taken into use.
Australia first introduced the digital on-screen graphic in the early 1990s. TheSeven Networkwas the first metropolitan network to broadcast digital on-screen graphics on all of their programs, following TheNine Networkin mid-to-late 2002 laterNetwork Tenin 2004. DOGs in Australia most commonly appear in the bottom-right hand corner of the screen, but sports orientated content that uses the networks sports brand (e.g. Seven Network andSeven Sport) generally appear on the top-right hand corner of the screen.Oneoriginally placed its DOG in the top-right hand corner of the screen due to it being a sports orientated channel at the time, but after the 2011 rebrand to allow a wide range of content to be broadcast, the channels DOG was moved to the bottom-right hand corner of the screen. TheABC3andABC4Kidschannels originally placed their DOGs in the top-left hand corner of the screen, but have since moved them down to the bottom-right hand corner as of late 2013.Datacasting channelsandhome shopping channelsshow their DOGs in the top-right hand corner of the screen.
La Cinqwas the first channel in France to use the DOG when it launched in February 1986; it remained on the bottom-right corner until the channel ceased operations in April 1992. After the first private channels launched between 1986 and 1990, DOGs began to be used on the public television channels operated byFrance TlvisionsandTF1, where they were placed on the top-right corner.
The Irish language channelTnaGfirst used their bug during simulcast ofQVCand their coverage of theOireachtas(Irish Parliament). In 1998TV3launch as Irelands first commercial operator and the first Irish channel to permanently use a bug in the left hand corner of the screen. In 1999 TnaG re-branded asTG4and began showing their logo during all programmes. In 2002RTintroduced their bug however it would only appear for twenty seconds at the beginning of each show and it was there to classify the suitability of the content of the show, in 2004 the bug became a permanent part of the on screen presentation for bothRT OneandRT Two. RTs classification guide also appears for twenty seconds at the beginning of each show. RTs, TG4s andSetanta Irelands bugs appear in the upper right hand corner of the screen, while TV3s bugs appear in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. RT and TV3 do not use their bug during news or current affairs programming. The now-defunct Channel 6 also displayed a bug during its two years on the air. 3e displays an on screen logo. The new digital services from RT also display bugs onRTjrRT TwoHD andRT One+1. Bugs are also used to tell viewers when shows are live or when they are replays. RT use the word replay during repeats of live programming while TV3 advise viewers Text & Comment Lines are Closed, Setanta replace the word Ireland with the word live to advise viewers that they are watching live events rather than repeats and TG4 places the Irish word beo (live) below the number 4 in their logo during live programming. RT refer to DOGs as bugs. In Northern Ireland UTV began displaying their bug in the late 2000s. All of the community and local channels in Ireland display a bug. All bugs also display 888 for subtitles.
Arabic TV logos are placed in the top-right and top-left except for Al-Jazeera, whose logo appears on the bottom-right of the screen. Some of the Arabian TV stations hide their logos during commercial breaks and promos/trailers, such asDubai TVDubai One, Funoon, the EgyptianCBCand Nile TV networks, ART Hekayat, ART Hekayat 2, Iqraa andAl-Jazeera.
Thailand introduced DOGs in 1991. Thai TV logos are in full-color, and the logos are removed during commercial breaks, trade test transmissions, transitions between programs and when a Thai Royal Family member is shown during the broadcast. All Thai television stations show the logos in the top-right of the screen.
Like its neighbouring country, Malaysia, Singaporean channels remove the channel logos during commercial breaks except for Channel NewsAsia, whose DOG is integrated into the ticker which remains on the screen during the beraks.
New Zealand introduced the digital on-screen graphics in 2001, starting with TV3 and FOUR. New Zealand FTA now placed their logos on the bottom right hand corner, with the exception ofMaori Televisionand as of 9 February 2017,TV3. TV One had the logo on the top right hand corner until the switch to the bottom right hand corner on 1 July 2013. TV2 usually had the logo from the top right hand corner until New Years Day 2012 when they switched it to the bottom right hand corner.Prime Television New Zealandnow placed their logo on the bottom right hand corner as of March 2016.
In MexicoOnce TVandXEIMT-TVwas the first channels to use their logos permanently in the top-right of the screen since 1997. The channels ofTelevisaandTV Aztecadid not start use logos permanently until 2000 and 2004, respectively, in their channels.
, and known in theUKandNew Zealandby the acronym; in theUSCanadaIrelandandAustraliaas a) is a watermark-like stationlogothat most television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen area of their programs to identify the channel. They are thus a form of permanent visualstation identification, increasingbrand recognitionand asserting ownership of the video signal. In some cases, the graphic also shows the name of the current program. Sometelevision networksuse an on-screen graphic to advertise upcoming programs (usually programs scheduled later the same day, but also for significant upcoming programs as much as a week in advance).
DOG watermarking also helps minimize off-the-aircopyright infringement(for example, the distribution of a current series episodes on DVD): the watermarked content is easily differentiated from official DVD releases, and can help law-enforcement efforts by identifying not only the station an illegally copied broadcast was captured from, but usually the actual date of the broadcast as well.[citation needed]
The graphic identifies the source of programming, even if it has beentime-shiftedthat is, recorded tovideotapeDVD, or a digitalpersonal video recordersuch asTiVo. Many of these technologies allow viewers to skip or omit traditional between-programming station identification; thus the use of a DOG enables the station or network to enforce brand identification even when standard commercials are skipped.
The position on the screen varies between the top left and the top right corner: for instance, public broadcaster ORF shows the digital on-screen graphics on ORF eins (first channel) in the top left corner, on ORF 2 (second channel) in the top right corner and on ORF III (third channel) again in the top left corner. Commercial broadcasterATVplaces the graphic in the top right corner on its main channel and in the top left corner on its additional channel ATV II. Most other commercial channels show their digital on-screen graphics in the top right corner of the screen.
ORF, the Austrian public broadcasting agency, introduced digital on-screen graphics in 1992 on both television channels operated back then. Before, only the abbreviation ORF was shown randomly for several minutes during the programming in the top right corner of the screen, styled in a simple white sans-serif typeface. Nowadays, all Austrian television channels, both public and private, are required by law to display a digital on-screen graphic continuously in order to enable channel identification. However, during commercial and continuity breaks, it is forbidden to show digital on-screen graphics, to allow a further distinction between paid commercials or station announcements and programming content.
In many countries, some TV networks put live in the bottom of the DOG to advise viewers that the program is live, as opposed to a repeat.
TVEintroduced DOGs in 1985 onTVE1andTVE2, the DOG of TVE1 was all white until 1991. Afterwards, the number 1, was changed from white to blue, for more than a decade, until 2003.
In addition, during ABCsABC News Breakfast, SevensSunriseand ElevensToasted TV(except Weekends), a digital clock appears on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen while NinesToday Showand TensStudio 10appears on the bottom left-hand corner of the screen.
Chilean television stations started showing the logos permanently in the 1990s. During that time, logos were placed in the bottom-right of the Redwas the first television broadcaster to move their logo to the top of the screen, in 1997, due to the logo change, the logo was placed at the top-left, and later due to the same reason, moved to the top-right until now. Other broadcasters such asMega, which its logo being originally shown on the bottom-left of the screen, moved to the top-right of the screen due to similar reasons.Chilevisinhas continued to have its logo being shown on the bottom-right of the screen until 2007, when it moved to the top-right of the screen, of which other television channels in Chile had followed in the previous years.
Moroccos TV networks usually display their DOGs permanently, notably theSNRTand2M TV. The exception to this isMedi 1 TV, as of now being the only Moroccan TV channel so far to hide its DOG during commercial breaks.
In Brazil, digital on-screen graphics were introduced in the mid-1990s and are always used by all channels (freeandpay). In most free-to-air channels, the logos are located on the bottom-right hand corner of the screen (except forRedeTV!andRede Bandeirantes, whose logos are placed on the top right corner of the screen (Rede Bandeirantes places its logo on the bottom-right during some programs), andGloboNews, which is located in the top left corner of the screen (and on the bottom left corner of the screen during reports)) and in all free channels they are usually transparent, but if some program or event is being broadcast live or exclusive or if some archived footage is shown, they become colorful. In some pay channels, the logos appear even incommercial breaks, but they become transparent in this situation.
DOGs are not removed during commercial breaks, with an exception of RAI and some channels likeDisney Channel.
On all Greek network television networks, DOGs appear on the top-left hand corner of the screen. Since 1997, almost all television stations in Greece do not remove their logos during advertisement, although in channels such asSkai TVthe logo becomes transparent.
DOGs in Poland were introduced in 1991 on twoTVPchannels as a test in the rise of commercial television channels and were placed on top-right, top-left or bottom-right corner.Polsaton 5 December 1992 started broadcasting from theNetherlandswith DOG on top-left corner because work on the Broadcasting Act were then finalized. Regular DOG broadcasting onTVP1has been commenced in early 1993 on the bottom-right corner, followed byTVP2in late March 1993 also on the bottom-right corner, but on 20 April 1993 the DOGs on TVP have been moved into the top-right corner, however DOGs had not been broadcast during newscasts since mid-1993. DOGs on almost all channels are removed during commercial breaks and trailers.
During the mourning period after thedeath of Bhumibol Adulyadejall television stations aired black-and-white, monochrome DOGs and showed the logo on the bottom-right of the screen for a period of a hundred days until 21 January 2017. After the period ended, all television stations reverted DOGs back to regular color scheme but remained on showing the logo on the bottom-right of the screen (except during foreign sports programming and some foreign series and domestic sports programming on some channels, when television stations still show the logos on the top-right corner of the screen).
In Turkey, screen graphics, bugs, or DOGs are known as screen badges. On analogue/digital television, screen badges were introduced to TRT1 in 1996 and some private channels had screen badges beginning in the mid-1990s. Beginning January 1, 2000, all television channels at the time had screen badges usually located in the top right hand of the screen. However on January 1, 2010, One got a new theme package and the screen badge was moved down to the bottom right hand of the screen. All of the TRT channels screen badges were on the bottom right of the screen by the end of 2010.
Many news broadcasters also place a clock alongside their bug. In theUnited StatesCanadaAustralia, andNew Zealand, DOGs may also include the showsparental guideline rating. In Australia, this is known as a Program Return Graphic (PRG). It has become common to place text above the stations logo advertising other programs on the network.
TV3, Autonomical Channel of Catalonia, used DOGs from 1990, earlier shown only during the clock, from 1994 until 1999, shown around the program, as well as clock, news and weather. In 1999, the DOG was removed during the clock. The DOG from 1990 was removed during advertisements. An exception, between 2011 and 2014, Canal 3/24, did not remove the DOG during advertisements, from 2014 until today, the DOG is removed, including the ticker.
Canadian networks often request thesimultaneous substitutionof programs on US networks. The imported feed is either a clean feed without a bug from the US broadcaster, or a direct US feed with the US networks bug present.
TheBBCinitially introduced a DOG on each of its digital-only channels. In October 1998, it added DOGs toBBC OneandBBC Twobut following a large number of complaints they were removed just two months later.[4]However, a BBC TWO DOG was used during the overnightBBC Learning Zonestrand. The DOGs for the other channels appear at the top left-hand corner on other channels exceptBBC News(which is bottom left and forms part of integrated information graphics) and its international counterpart,BBC World News. The BBC News Channels DOG does not appear when it airs Breakfast. WhilstBBC FourandBBC Parliamenthave static DOGs, the ones onCBBCandCBeebiesalongside other channels such asNick Jr.feature moving elements.ITVuses DOGs on all its channels, as do its counterpartsSTVin central and northernScotlandOrkney IslandsandShetland Islands, andUTVin Northern Ireland. Although BBC One and BBC Two currently do not feature their own channel-specific DOGs, a generic BBC logo appears on the top left-hand corner of their iPlayer feeds as is the case with other BBC channels. This generic BBC DOG also appears on catch-up or on-demand programmes on the iPlayer.
Currently now ABC, Seven, Nine and Ten are on the bottom-right hand corner while SBS is on the top-right hand corner.
DOGs are generally shown in a semi-transparent format, but are shown opaque during in-programme advertisements that take place at the very bottom of the screen. News services have their own DOGs placed where their networks DOG would normally be, but are only shown in an opaque format. News services generally show footage that was captured by another network (usually for sporting stories), but the semi-transparent DOG of the original network is still shown.Current affairsprogrammes and other news programmes that are produced by the network generally show their own opaque DOG at the bottom-left hand corner of the screen, opposite to their networks semi-transparent DOG which still appears (e.g.Nine NetworkandA Current Affair).
There have been two known predecessors to the digital on-screen graphic on British television, namely a small white outline rectangle that was broadcast on the screen throughoutITVs broadcast of the documentaryLife by Misadventure: A Film about the Seriously Burnedon 7 September 1973 to warn people that may be uncomfortable with its content,[2]and similarly,Channel 4s infamousred trianglesymbol, which was applied in the corner of the screen throughout a series of controversial late-night art films broadcast 198687, in addition to anidentbefore the films began, again in both cases to warn viewers of the content.[3]
The logos on channels such asITV(excludingSTV),Channel 5E4E!Disney XDSky Arts 1 and 2Sky1Sky2Sky SportsHistory, andMore4are almost transparent, whereas others like those onComedy CentralDisney Junior, someUKTVchannels,CITVCBBCCBeebies, the Discovery channels,Nick Jr.NicktoonsBoomerangandNickelodeonare bright and noticeable.Sky MoviesandFilm4do not use DOGs, butChannel 4(starting in July 2017),Channel 4 HDand the timeshift channel Channel 4+1 all do. Some stations display their on-screen graphics permanently. TheUKTVare an example that remove them during commercials and trailers, with some Sky channels removing them altogether at certain times into a programme. In addition to a fixed (sometimes animated) motif,MTVincludes the programme title in the top-right hand corner. Duringwidescreenprogrammes, the DOGs on most channels including ITV, BBC Three, BBC Four, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, CBBC, CBeebies,E4, and4Musicstay in the far corner of the sc
Graphics may be used to identify if the correct subscription is being used for a type of venue. For example, showingSky Sportswithin a pub requires a more expensive subscription; a channel authorized under this subscription adds apint glassgraphic to the bottom of the screen for inspectors to see. The graphic changes at certain times, making it harder to counterfeit.
In Russia, television channels usually have watermarks, which are usually placed in the top-right or top-left corner of the screen (one notable exception isHTB, which places it logo on the bottom-left corner). In some channels the watermark becomes half-transparent on ad breaks, but on main channels such as Channel One or Russia-1 they never disappear nor become half-transparent. Channel One was the first channel to have introduced their watermark in 1992 and by 1993 watermarks appeared on other channels.