Call off the DOGs!

This is a very old article. It has been imported from older blogging software, and the formatting, images, etc may have been lost. Some links may be broken. Some of the information may no longer be correct. Opinions expressed in this article may no longer be held.

Something Special is the only CBeebies program not to feature a digital on-screen graphic (DOG). You know – those station logos that plague the corners of our screens on many (particularly digital) television channels. In the case of CBeebies the DOG is a CBeebies logo that occasionally flips over to reveal a CBeebies blob festooned with a rainbow.

The BBC says, “we believe it is important to ensure that viewers can quickly identify when they are watching a BBC service.” Does the absence of a DOG during Something Special imply that they don’t want people to identify that program with the BBC? That they’re not proud of their most award winning show?

More likely, it’s tacit acknowledgement that the DOG is annoying and degrades what is arguably the most important show that CBeebies broadcasts.

So we are spared from this annoyance during Something Special. Why can’t we be spared from it all the time?