TV Idents from the UK, USA and the rest of Europe 12:56

The UK and Europe

Station idents are normally used in between shows and some are considered the most important portion of a network's presentation. Unlike in the US, broadcast stations in Europe do not identify by callsign, although many European networks brand by their usual channel number. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, most broadcasters used a single ident, sometimes making special variants for special events and holidays. Nowadays, many networks have complete sets of idents based on a central theme or branding element, and most of the time these idents also build the basis for the rest of the appearance of the channel.
In the present day, idents can vary in complexity from a simple static image to a live-action film, or even computer graphics generated on the fly (the idents used by BBC Four from 2002 to 2005 are an example of the latter, its idents reacted to the sound of the announcer's voice and background music and therefore, at each playout, no two idents were ever exactly the same).
Before January 1, 1988, on the ITV network, each programme would be preceded by the ident of the regional company that had made it, and this would be broadcast throughout the network, i.e. by all companies showing the programme. It meant that viewers across the country would see a "Yorkshire Television" logo and hear the corresponding fanfare before Emmerdale Farm and "Scottish Television" idents before Take the High Road. In consequence, most ITV-produced series shown abroad would also be preceded by the producing company's logo - for example, viewers watching Upstairs, Downstairs on PBS would see the logo and fanfare for London Weekend Television before the start of the programme. In 1988 programme-making companies were credited with a briefer caption at the end of the programme instead. Since the consolidation of the ITV network in the early 2000s, the variety of creative and distinct regional identities that made ITV unique in the UK have largely disappeared, UTV and STV being more or less the only notable exceptions.

United States
Television stations are required to identify themselves each hour in the US. The station must identify its main call sign along with the community of license and any other call signs it uses. Translators are required to be identified twice a day, once at about 9 a.m and 3 p.m. local time.