Sat.1 is one of the most popular television channels in Germany and its first private television channel. It is owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media and complements ProSieben and Kabel eins as its flagship generalist channels, which compete with Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland’s channels RTL, VOX and RTL Zwei. It was launched in 1984 as PKS and renamed to Sat 1 the following year, and then to Sat.1.
The channel is easily identifiable by its trademark multicoloured ball, which has been its logo since 1986, and by the iconic four-note jingle C D G E, in use since 1995.
PKS[]
1984–1985[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
ITC Bolt
Launched:
Unknown
Sat.1 was launched in 1984 as PKSProgrammgesellschaft für Kabel- und Satellitenrundfunk.
Sat 1[]
1985–1986[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Helvetica Inserat
Launched:
Unknown
In 1985, PKS was renamed to Sat 1, and its first logo consists of a colour wheel with 16 stripes.
Sat.1[]
1986-2001[]
1986–1996[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Futura
Launched:
Unknown
At this point, the logo was totally changed. The wheel was now a ball and the name of the channel was appended to the logo. The 16 stripes were reduced to 12.
1996–2001[]
SVG NEEDED
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Futura
Launched:
Unknown
In 1996, an alternative logo was introduced, which uses the SAT.1 wordmark inside a black oval.
Having used the same logo for almost all of its existence, Sat.1 adopted an altered logo along with a new on-air design on 1 September 2001. The ball did however remain and was at the centre of the graphics, which were created by Velvet mediendesign. The number of coloured stripes on the ball was reduced from twelve to nine, and the font of the text changed. The redesign came with a new slogan, Powered by emotion.
Another redesign was launched on 3 September 2004, this time with graphics by Bruce Dunlop & Associates in Munich, co-developed with ProSiebenSat.1 Media's in-house design agency. The new slogan was Sat.1zeigt’s allen (Sat.1 shows it all). Also, the colour of the ball was changed from a rainbow colour to a single colour, this was done so that the ball could adapt to the mood of the advertised programme, with the main colour that was primarily used in identification being red.
SAT.1 Rounded (custom-designed, modified from Arial Rounded)
Launched:
February 13, 2008
A new flat set of idents and bumpers was unveiled on 13 February 2008 and introduced on-air on 17 March. The ball was now separate from the text, and have remained so ever since. The ball remained red, though the number of stripes decreased from nine to eight.
On 16 September 2009, Sat.1 received a brand makeover. The ball was now given a silver 3D look and the stripes were now white, with the ball being pink. Along with the new logo, the channel received a new glossy graphics set and a new slogan in English: Colour your life.
On 16 August 2011, Sat.1 unveiled a refreshed logo (which returned the old rainbow colors on the ball but still kept the previous 3D silver look and white stripes).
With this logo, the channel stated to emphasize its slogan, Colour your life!, and the versatility, diversity and modernity of its programming. The logo also represented the message that Sat.1 is a channel for the whole family and for the emotions.
On 12 October 2016, Sat.1 refreshed its iconic logo once again, this time with the ball’s total stripes reduced from eight to seven. Moreover, the colored ribbons were swapped back to being against a white ball and the ball itself was rendered more glossy and vivid.
