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Holy Graphics Knockoff Batman!!


ABC 7 Denver

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I have noticed, as I'm sure you have too, a preponderance of graphic packages being knocked off. In fact, it's become so bad in recent years that I thought creating a new thread was in order so that we may critique the major gaffs made when knocking off packages or applauding their work (in very rare instances).

 

Below are a list of knockoffs I've found:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1l2N8A5QH4 (Knockoff of these from KUSA:

)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJItPpRdWNc (This well-known gem is a knockoff of Look F with Look B elements)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgvysZGyGX4 (An attempted knockoff of Look G)

 

(Another station trying to knockoff the Belo graphics and they stole the KVUE logo!)

 

 

I already know that there are other knockoffs like KNOE, KHSL, WKYT, etc... Share your knockoffs and opinions here!

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(Another station trying to knockoff the Belo graphics and they stole the KVUE logo!)

 

Yeah the logo is a ripoff of KVUE, but I actually think the graphics package WTVA uses is syndicated. The same look has been used on

, and is currently used on
and
. Not sure who's responsible for it, though. It's definitely not a Belo ripoff.
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In a time before YouTube, there were knockoffs too. Someone at the Diversified stations, WCJB and WABI, produced ripoffs of other news opens.

 

In 1994

rolled out an open that was heavily inspired by TVbD's WDIV open from 1984.

 

Among the WABI ones were an open based off the

from KMOV and others in 1995; a
open circa 1996* and a KCNC Image X-era open adapted in 1999.
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I believe I saw an open from KVIA once (it is available on one of NewsActive3's compilations) that greatly ripped off WSVN's 1992 to 1994 news open package, complete with the spinning "Circle 7" (WSVN and KVIA's being different "Circle 7"s for obvious reasons).

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I believe I saw an open from KVIA once (it is available on one of NewsActive3's compilations) that greatly ripped off WSVN's 1992 to 1994 news open package, complete with the spinning "Circle 7" (WSVN and KVIA's being different "Circle 7"s for obvious reasons).

 

Yup, there's that too.

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Back in the 90s, there were several stations that copied off of

's look and logo, including those that were owned by Bert Ellis at the time (
,
, and KSLA).

 

Even

and
(pre-WKMG) had copied off the look at one time.

 

I think the work was all done by the same company. The same company did a lot of work for other Cox stations as well, particularly contemporary packages for KIRO, WHIO and WSOC.

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Yeah the logo is a ripoff of KVUE, but I actually think the graphics package WTVA uses is syndicated. The same look has been used on

, and is currently used on
and
. Not sure who's responsible for it, though. It's definitely not a Belo ripoff.

 

It may be a rip off of the WEWS/WVUE package because some elements of the WTVA version do look different.

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I think the work was all done by the same company. The same company did a lot of work for other Cox stations as well, particularly contemporary packages for KIRO, WHIO and WSOC.

 

From what I understand, that company is actually just one guy: E.Q. Vance. According to his LinkedIn profile he's now doing graphics in-house for WVUE.
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Speaking of KALB and Hoak....lest we forget their low-budget ripoff of WKRG...even down to the Gimme 5! :bang:

http://www.kalb.com/category/185185/video?clipId=9923832&topVideoCatNo=185184&autoStart=true

 

And let's not forget their "replica" of WEWS's 2004 logo that ended up verbatim on KREX-TV for awhile (and later bastardized as seen below)

 

and KAUZ...(scroll to the 2:30 mark to see the KAUZ-ified WEWS logo.....)

 

Here's another KAUZ clip with their news intro....it looks like a custom version of West Virginia Media's 2002 graphics package used by WOWK, WTRF, WBOY and WVNS...

 

I know that this has been going on since the beginning of time in TV, but in this age of YouTube, video streaming and email, it's painfully obvious anymore. Some companies buy their way into it by purchasing syndicated packages (like WWSB, WTXL and WAAY buying the old WTVG Giant Octopus look). But others, take an idea and rip it off en masse. Local TV LLC and Newport were notorious for doing this, since they were both owned by private equity shops and headquartered in places where they didn't even own stations. I'm thinking KMBC (and their logo) played a major hand in how Newport imaged WSYR (since Newport was out of KC). WHAM was heavily inspired by WTVG and KTRK's 13abc logo. WOIO was a major inspiration for WAWS/WTEV, WHP, KMTR, and KGPE. WKRC's constant identifier made its way to virtually ALL of Newport's stations, and even the "Local X The Weather Authority" brand made its way down to Mobile and WPMI. WREG-TV almost looks like a Post-Newsweek station with their L3s, and WJW hasn't changed since they've been a Fox owned station. WTVR and KDVR are almost identical. Most of this lives on with Sinclair, Tribune and Nexstar, but it could be done away with over time.

 

In this day and age of centralization and corporate control, the stations are getting weaker and original ideas are being eschewed in favor of "tested and true" things that have worked elsewhere, or "whatever works in X, has gotta work in Y" mentality. It's pretty sad to see something done verbatim in another market just because someone higher up had a "brilliant idea" they saw on Youtube.

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Here's another one--WNEM's "attempt" at the Scripps standardized package.

[yt]iaDWGH_BGOw[/yt]

 

WTF was with that weather graphic at the start there? They were obviously trying to give the effect of circling the doppler, but it failed miserably. (it was already going to since the doppler is rectangular shaped)

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@tyrannicalbastard (seems I can't quote posts on the mobile version on the site): KREX and KAUZ used the syndicated versions of the WEWS package.

 

So did KFBB-Great Falls (my old station), right down to the logo as well.

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Gray seems to be one of the major "ripoff factories" in the industry. Something about them doesn't seem right to me.

 

There's bits and pieces around everywhere. One of the most glaring is WKYT in Lexington (ripping off KDKA and WBZ), and bits and pieces of WVLT in Knoxville. They like to over-slogan things like "Your Breaking News and Weather Authority"

 

Since they're based in Atlanta, I wonder how much influence the local stations there have on Gray's own products. The same can be said for any company that doesn't own stations in the market they're headquartered in....

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