Lester Holt has a new way of delivering headlines to the “NBC Nightly News” crowd.
NBC News is updating the look of its venerable evening newscast, which has been on the air since 1970 and hasn’t undergone a significant overhaul of its graphics since Brian Williams sat in the anchor chair. The new presentation will move away from traditional colors associated with evening-news programs in favor of purple and a warm blue, says Marc Greenstein, senior vice president of design and product for NBC News and MSNBC. Also on tap: a new “N” that can be utilized in innovative fashion on the many new screens on which “Nightly” plays in the era of digital video.
“We want to meet people where they want to consume our products,” says Greenstein, in an interview. Viewers will start to see the new graphics and logo roll out on June 19.
The change in look, which follows a similar update to NBC’s overall logo late last year, surfaces in part as executives recognize the newscast must look relevant to younger audiences who use digital media. “Nightly” is the only evening-news program on broadcast that also streams each day on YouTube. The warmer colors and “N” identifier serve to lend some distinction to a program, even if it is seen on a smaller, digital screen on a smartphone.
A new two-part “N” can split apart to reveal headlines for TV chyrons, or rest on screen with NBC’s signature Peacock logo in front of it. The look of the newscast’s bottom-of-the-screen graphics will use fewer elements, but present them in bolder fashion — all part of a bid to put the visual emphasis on Holt’s delivery or video captured by NBC News crew and correspondents.
“We wanted to be a little more modern, a little more accessible,” says Greenstein.
The new logo uses a font that is owned by NBC and called “Tinker” — a nod to Grant Tinker, the former chairman and CEO of the network whose own MTM Enterprises had a hand in producing “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “Hill Street Blues,” among other TV favorites.
NBC News expects to unveil the new graphics officially at a Thursday-night event marking the 75th anniversary of NBC having a regularly scheduled nightly news program.
