GMTV

Background

GMTV was the ITV franchise for breakfast television that aired between 6 and 9:25 am, which replaced TV-am on January 1, 1993, and originally obtaining the franchise as "Sunrise Television" on 16 October 1991, operating as a joint-venture between London Weekend Television (later Granada Media Group), Scottish Television Enterprises (later STV Group), The Walt Disney Company, the Guardian Media Group and Carlton Communications, all owning 20% each in the franchisee. The venture operated news and breakfast magazines during the weekdays, and children's programmes during the weekend. Upon its launch on 1 January 1993, it wasn't commercially successful until a turn-around came by the following year.

In 2000, the Guardian Media Group sold their shares to the other parties, which now each owned a 25% share in GMTV. Following the merger of Granada and Carlton to form ITV plc in 2004, the venture became 50% for the company, and they eventually purchased STV Group's shares shortly afterwards, now owning a 75% majority stake.

In January 2009, GMTV gained a new brighter and refreshed look. In November 2009, after years of trying to obtain Disney's stake in the business, Disney accepted ITV plc's £18 million offer for them to own the entirety of the company. In 2010, ITV announced that the GMTV brand would be retired. The company was renamed ITV Breakfast, while the main GMTV programme would be replaced with a brand new offering - Daybreak (and later a new version of Good Morning Britain, the show which the GMTV programme replaced), while the portion of the programme fronted by Lorraine Kelly would become a standalone programme under the name Lorraine. GMTV ended its run on 3 September 2010 and replaced with the new programmes the following week.

1st ID (1 January 1993-1996)

ID: We see a large 3D golden sun with the 3D embossed letters "GM" in red on it. As the sun rotates to face us, we see the letters "TV" in blue next to it. This is set within a white/blue background, with the sun in a blue stripe.

Technique: CGI animation.

Music/Sounds: A bass sounder that leads to a orchestral swelling of notes, ending with a held-out note that segues into the programme's theme.

Availability: Extinct. It was used as a startup bumper preceding the main GMTV programme itself.

2nd ID (1996-1998?)

ID: On the same blue/white stripe background, we see a sun "rising" on the blue stripe and forming the 3D sun, while "GMTV" fades in, forming the same logo as before.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: Same as the last logo.

Availability: Same as before.

3rd ID (1996-2000)

ID: On a blue background, we see the golden sun moving to the left of the screen, then the camera rotates to a comfortable view as "GMTV" appears from the right (i.e. the 1990 Universal Pictures logo).

Variant:

During break bumpers, the sequence is shortened to only the letters moving.
During Christmas time, snowflakes are seen on the logo.

Technique: CGI.

Music/Sounds: An upbeat computerised synth sounder that incorporates the last four notes of the GMTV theme at the end.

Availability: Extinct. The shortened version tended to be used for break bumpers, while the longer one was used to open the GMTV programme itself.