NBC Universal's New Logo Ditches Peacock (PHOTOS)

LOS ANGELES -- NBC Universal is now NBCUniversal - without the space, the peacock or the globe silhouette.

That was part of the message delivered to the company's 25,000 employees at a town hall gathering on Thursday that featured top executives from prospective new owner Comcast Corp.

The bird will remain part of the brand of NBC, the broadcaster, while the spinning globe will still be part of the graphic for Universal, the movie studio and theme park operator. And officially, the company's name is still NBC Universal. But the space-less corporate logo is meant to represent the unity of its two main divisions as it is set to be taken over by cable operator Comcast in a deal that is to close on Friday.

"We aren't a family of two favorite sons, rather one filled with talented people and companies all tied for first," according to a voice-over presentation that introduced the logo to employees. (Story continues below photos.)

The new logo:

The old logo:

Quick Poll

What do you think of NBC Universal's new logo?

How could they ditch one of the most well-known logos around?

I like the new one better!

Share your vote on Facebook so your friends can take this poll

Attendees of the meeting got a chance to ask questions and watch interviews of executives such as Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and the incoming CEO of the media company, Steve Burke, via a feed that linked locations in New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and London.

The new corporate bosses talked about looking for opportunities for synergy, not just among NBC Universal properties that include cable channels such as Bravo and E!, but with technology advanced by Comcast, said someone who attended the meeting.

The person was not authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke under condition of anonymity.

Layoffs were not discussed, the person said.

Each employee also received 25 Comcast shares, worth $23.31 each on Thursday; a family pass to one of the Universal theme parks; and other materials, including a "Big Idea Book" in which they were to record their own.

On Friday, Comcast will take a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal after a yearlong regulatory review resulted in government conditions that prevent it from impeding the growth of online video services such as Netflix and Hulu.

The deal values NBC Universal at around $30 billion, while Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV company, has a market value around $65 billion.

General Electric Co.'s stake in NBC Universal will fall from 80 percent to 49 percent and it plans to exit completely after several years. France's Vivendi SA sold the remainder of its 20 percent stake to GE on Wednesday.

___

AP Television Writer David Bauder in New York contributed to this report.

Comments

[Christopher Hull]

03:00 PM on 02/02/2011

Did they buy this from the same company that did the new Gap logo?

Pure crap.

[SpreadthePanic]

03:00 PM on 02/02/2011

The comments here seem to fall into two main categories:

1) I am a graphic designer and can do better than this, Comcast obviously doesn't know what they are doing.

2) NBC's new logo sucks, I like the old one better, Comcast obviously doesn't know what they are doing.

To respond:

1) I'm sure you're a great graphic designer, but considering that art is subjective and that you probably are a bit biased towards yourself, I'll take your opinion with a grain of salt. If it's too simple, well some of the best logos/websites/etc. are the ones with simple designs. If it's the color scheme, that is something that can be easily adjusted (for all we know the logo may be blue on white as well). When it comes to graphic design (or music, art, advertising - pretty much anything involving creativity), being the "best" and being commerically successful aren't necessarily one and the same. If this isn't commercially successful, it will be changed.

2) This logo change really is a non-story released by Comcast to get more media attention. The NBC logo is unchanged, as is the Universal logo (as mentioned in the story). It is the parent company logo that is changing, and since NBC acquired Universal only 6 years ago, it's not as iconic as you seem to think. Parent companies change ownership, logos, and structure all the time with little to no impact on the day-to-day operations of the subsidiaries.

[OilCrash]

12:49 AM on 02/16/2011

What you say is true, but that doesn't make the design of the new NBC Universal logo any better. You don't have to be a graphic designer to see that there is something lacking. There are many very recognizable and excellent logos in the world that utilize only text. This is not one of them.

[Medude24]

01:56 PM on 02/02/2011

What a $#*! design. Minimalism has gone too far, can we put it out to pasture yet?

[contir]

01:46 PM on 02/02/2011

What difference does the new logo make? They're going to go bankrupt in a few years, anyway.

[SoonerNspring]

12:44 PM on 02/02/2011

This reminds me of when AT&T split with Lucent - employees at Lucent called their new logo 'The Big Red A__ Hole

[Totto]

12:13 PM on 02/02/2011

An example of very poor graphic design, yet illustrative of corporatism at its monolithic worst.

[heroine addict]

12:56 PM on 02/02/2011

This has to be one of the best comments I've read on HP in the last 6 months.

Pithy perfection.

Big up!

[Kmuzu]

05:24 AM on 02/02/2011

To me it looks like some fly-by-night university.

Look ComCrud .. .I know you think you're creative. I know you think that design and layout are all made-up horse *&^%. But it's not .. really .. just cause you have an MBA and know a little bit about PowerPoint .. doesn't make you a designer.

I know your wife's 15 year old nephew said you don't need Photoshop or Illustrator. I know he said that CorelDRAW was just as good. But what does he know .. he still watches Sponge Bob.

It's not just the color or that the letters are squished together .. it's the whole thing. You need to spend a few bucks and get a real designer .. and please don't listen to your secretary and change the font to Comic Sans.

[Jonathan Curry]

03:06 AM on 02/02/2011

This logo can be duplicated in MS Paint in 25 seconds tops. Guess I found a new job!

[NewmanKitten]

06:05 PM on 02/01/2011

The new logo never should have been...
...since the merger never ever shoulda happened.

[castleblanca]

04:46 PM on 02/01/2011

Who got paid the "big bucks" to come up with this decision?

"The space-less corporate logo is meant to represent the unity of its two main divisions."

I mean, "unity, smunity".

[G Wallace]

02:14 PM on 02/01/2011

I think someone watched the social network one too many times... Sorry guys trying to be more like facebook won't drive up your valuation to $50B

[bcgd]

02:08 PM on 02/01/2011

Ok as a graphic designer it is obvious I and my fellow grads are not needed anymore.
I could get 4 better comps done in an hour after working in my cube all day slamming a 40 and blazing a J.
My morning BM took more effort then that steamer above...
oh and you cant print white on white.
Being reversed on a certain color means the logo is actually said color. UGH nasty
Pretty obvious comcast/news corp would like nbc to be no more. Wonder when they will buy microsoft? @ $0.06/share maybe

[MissMel10]

01:49 PM on 02/01/2011

How much thought went in that? sheesh...

[RealityBaseCamp]

01:32 PM on 02/01/2011

Shocking means boring now?

[kevinw]

08:04 AM on 02/01/2011

Both Logos are pretty bland. Hint to Comcast, unity does not come from the space in the logo.