Community hub
Recent from talks
Contribute something to knowledge base
Content stats: 0 posts, 0 articles, 0 media, 0 notes
Members stats: 0 subscribers, 0 contributors, 0 moderators, 0 supporters
Subscribers
Supporters
Contributors
Moderators
Hub AI
Bumper (broadcasting) AI simulator
(@Bumper (broadcasting)_simulator)
Hub AI
Bumper (broadcasting) AI simulator
(@Bumper (broadcasting)_simulator)
Bumper (broadcasting)
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper, or break-bumper (often shortened to bump) is a brief announcement, usually two to fifteen seconds in length that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa. The host, the program announcer, or a continuity announcer states the title (if any) of the presentation, the name of the program, and the broadcast or cable network, though not necessarily in that order. On children's television networks, they are sometimes called external eyecatches due to the resemblance of internal eyecatches in anime and there is usually no voice over, but some bumpers do feature one. Bumper music, often a recurring signature or theme music segment, is nearly always featured. Bumpers can vary from simple text to short films.
Since 1976, most network television programs in the United States no longer use commercial bumpers; although some soap operas such as Days of Our Lives (which stopped using one in 2010) and The Young and the Restless, as well as the game show The Price Is Right, still feature mid-show bumpers. Commercial bumpers are still a common feature of radio. In radio, they are often used during sports broadcasts to ease the transition from play by play to commercial break and back to live action, as well as notify local stations that they should insert their station identification and/or commercials, many times using obscure musical selections of the board operator's choosing. One example of commercial bumpers still in use[when?] can be found on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim, whose extensive usage of bumpers has even spawned its own website. Another example of commercial bumpers in radio would be their use in syndicated programming; for instance, the radio countdown programs American Top 40 and American Country Countdown feature a series of pre-recorded jingles and other outcues to transition to and from commercial breaks.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, in accordance with then-current regulations set by the Federal Communications Commission that required a distinction between programs and commercials, most children's programming bumpers would include the phrase "We'll be [right] back after these messages" (or variations of it), except for the bump before the final commercial break, which would usually say, "And now, these messages" (or variations of this phrase). The FCC significantly relaxed these rules in 1984, although to this day some networks still air these bumpers, particularly during programming that airs Sunday nights at 7 PM/6 PM Central that is not a news or information program such as 60 Minutes. Another common bumper phrase was "And now, a word from our sponsor."
Bumpers also had a technical reason for existence: Early videotape machines took several seconds to start playing video in proper synchronization with the program source. The board operator would cue the tape with a "preroll" of several seconds then use the start of the bumper as a signal to start the tape before "taking" it at the bumper's end. In the event of a glitch, the bumper was neither commercial nor programming content, and money would not be lost by the network or broadcaster.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom, a break-bumper is a brief appearance of a logo before and after advertising breaks, usually that of the television channel being watched.
Break-bumpers can either be animated or static. They are sometimes branded to advertise a special programme or event that will be broadcast on that channel, such as sporting events.
Historically, break-bumpers within a programme were tied to the programme itself, often featuring an image from the show, a short extract from the show's theme tune, and a caption naming the show and containing words such as "End of Part 1" (at the start of a break) or "Part 2" (at the end of a break). Some channels will also include a secondary bumper, which appears between channel trailers (which usually book-end ad breaks) and the commercial adverts themselves. E4 from launch and for a long time afterwards would use each of these to display the appropriate half of a two-word phrase.
In Australia, a break-bumper can be a brief appearance of a programme logo, animated logo, title card or an animated title card, just before an advertising break.
Bumper (broadcasting)
In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper, or break-bumper (often shortened to bump) is a brief announcement, usually two to fifteen seconds in length that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa. The host, the program announcer, or a continuity announcer states the title (if any) of the presentation, the name of the program, and the broadcast or cable network, though not necessarily in that order. On children's television networks, they are sometimes called external eyecatches due to the resemblance of internal eyecatches in anime and there is usually no voice over, but some bumpers do feature one. Bumper music, often a recurring signature or theme music segment, is nearly always featured. Bumpers can vary from simple text to short films.
Since 1976, most network television programs in the United States no longer use commercial bumpers; although some soap operas such as Days of Our Lives (which stopped using one in 2010) and The Young and the Restless, as well as the game show The Price Is Right, still feature mid-show bumpers. Commercial bumpers are still a common feature of radio. In radio, they are often used during sports broadcasts to ease the transition from play by play to commercial break and back to live action, as well as notify local stations that they should insert their station identification and/or commercials, many times using obscure musical selections of the board operator's choosing. One example of commercial bumpers still in use[when?] can be found on Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim, whose extensive usage of bumpers has even spawned its own website. Another example of commercial bumpers in radio would be their use in syndicated programming; for instance, the radio countdown programs American Top 40 and American Country Countdown feature a series of pre-recorded jingles and other outcues to transition to and from commercial breaks.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, in accordance with then-current regulations set by the Federal Communications Commission that required a distinction between programs and commercials, most children's programming bumpers would include the phrase "We'll be [right] back after these messages" (or variations of it), except for the bump before the final commercial break, which would usually say, "And now, these messages" (or variations of this phrase). The FCC significantly relaxed these rules in 1984, although to this day some networks still air these bumpers, particularly during programming that airs Sunday nights at 7 PM/6 PM Central that is not a news or information program such as 60 Minutes. Another common bumper phrase was "And now, a word from our sponsor."
Bumpers also had a technical reason for existence: Early videotape machines took several seconds to start playing video in proper synchronization with the program source. The board operator would cue the tape with a "preroll" of several seconds then use the start of the bumper as a signal to start the tape before "taking" it at the bumper's end. In the event of a glitch, the bumper was neither commercial nor programming content, and money would not be lost by the network or broadcaster.[citation needed]
In the United Kingdom, a break-bumper is a brief appearance of a logo before and after advertising breaks, usually that of the television channel being watched.
Break-bumpers can either be animated or static. They are sometimes branded to advertise a special programme or event that will be broadcast on that channel, such as sporting events.
Historically, break-bumpers within a programme were tied to the programme itself, often featuring an image from the show, a short extract from the show's theme tune, and a caption naming the show and containing words such as "End of Part 1" (at the start of a break) or "Part 2" (at the end of a break). Some channels will also include a secondary bumper, which appears between channel trailers (which usually book-end ad breaks) and the commercial adverts themselves. E4 from launch and for a long time afterwards would use each of these to display the appropriate half of a two-word phrase.
In Australia, a break-bumper can be a brief appearance of a programme logo, animated logo, title card or an animated title card, just before an advertising break.