Sign in or 
| Version | User | Scope of changes |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 8 2009, 12:06 AM EST | VofDoom | 5 words added, 3 words deleted |
| Oct 27 2009, 10:42 PM EDT | VofDoom |
Changes
Key: Additions Deletions
Logo descriptions by Jason Jones and Sean Beard
Logo captures and editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, Eric S., V of Doom, and snelfu
Video captures courtesy of TVLOGOS708090, phasicblu, and Eric S.
Background: Worldvision Enterprises Inc. was a television program and home video distributor established from ABC Films in 1973 when the former company spun-off because it was against the FCC regulations for a television network to distribute its programs under its own name. They primarily licensed programs from others, rather than producing their own content. After, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting in 1979, being renamed Great American in 1988, and finally, Aaron Spelling acquired this company in 1990, being acquired by Viacom (now CBS Corp.) and folded into Republic Entertainment and Paramount Domestic Television (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1999. Currently, the Worldvision library, with some exceptions (such as the Hanna-Barbera library is owned by TimeWarner and Let's Make a Deal is now owned by FremantleMedia), is owned mainly by CBS Corporation, through Republic Entertainment, Inc.
1st Logo
(1973-1976)
Nicknames: "Radar Globe", "Radar W", "Worldvision W Globe"
Logo: On a gold yellow screen, we see a blue, radar-like line going upward to slowly form a blue, oval-shaped globe with longitude and latitude lines. In the center of this globe, a "W" is seen by connected filled latitude and longitude squares. The "W" is stylized such that it blends with the spherical shape. The radar continues its path downward, making the company name (with WORLDVISION ENTERPRISES INC. in the style you see here) appear below the globe.
Variants:
FX/SFX: The globe being drawn, kinda simple, but decent.
Cheesy Factor: The design is kinda ugly.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Rare. The in-credit scroll version was still intact on Let's Make a Deal when GSN last aired it. The logo was recently sighted on the 1975 TV movie Hey, I'm Alive on Encore Drama.
Scare Factor: Minimal, unless tape hiss gets to you.
2nd Logo
(1974-1988)
Nicknames: "Radar Globe", "Radar W", "Worldvision W Globe II"
Logo: On a red screen, we see a white, radar-like line going upward to slowly form a white, oval-shaped globe with longitude and latitude lines. In the center of this globe, a "W" is seen by connected filled latitude and longitude squares. The "W" is stylized such that it blends with the spherical shape. The radar continues its path downward, making the company name (which is in a more plainer font) appear below the globe. Some fine print appears below the company name from this point onward.
Variants:
Trivia: This logo was used on '70s-'80s prints of old TV shows originally aired on ABC, among others. Also was the top distributor of most Hanna-Barbera TV shows from post-1979 when Taft acquired Worldvision.
Print Info: The fine print on the bottom of the later Worldvision logos read: "Not affiliated with World Vision International, a religious and charitable organization". This was added after the charitable organization sued Worldvision Enterprises over use of the name in 1974, one of the reasons the first logo was replaced. The two parties settled, and Worldvision Enterprises was allowed to keep its name, provided that the aforementioned disclaimer was used in its logo.
Bylines: When Taft Entertainment acquired Worldvision, these bylines would appear under the company name:
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The globe being drawn looks pretty simple, but isn't as bad as some logos of the era.
Music/Sounds: None.
Music/Sound Variants:
Availability: Rare. The B&W version is seen on few B&W episodes of Combat! on AmericanLife TV Network, and the color version is seen on the final season of Combat! The in-credit variant can be seen on GSN reruns of Let's Make a Deal. Check old tapes to find this on Hanna-Barbera shows as well. The first version (no byline) was recently sighted on A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story and Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style on Encore Drama.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1st logo.
3rd Logo
(1988-1999)
Note: This logo is based on the 1985 Worldvision Home Video logo.
Nicknames: "WHOOSH Globe (of Doom)", "90s Worldvision W Globe", "Black Radar Globe"
Logo: On a white screen, the Worldvision globe from the previous logos with a red "W" comes from the center, as the camera zooms out, the Worldvision name emerges from the front and both layer themselves into position as the background fades to black. The Radar Globe then shines and the "Not affiliated with World Vision International, A Religious and Charitable Organization" disclaimer-in much smaller type-fades onto the bottom of the screen.
Trivia: This logo was used mainly on 1990's prints of pre-1973 ABC shows, but also applied to the Hanna-Barbera (until the cartoon studio's sale to Turner Broadcasting), Republic Pictures Television (after 1996), Carolco Pictures (the company distributed their films to TV as part of a syndication package) and Spelling Entertainment libraries. Also appeared on some first-run syndicated programs, such as Judge Judy.
Byline Variants: When introduced in 1988, there was no byline present (like the chyroned version of the previous logo it replaced). After Great American Broadcasting (the former Taft Broadcasting Co.) sold Worldvision to Spelling Entertainment in 1990, these bylines would appear beginning in 1991:
Variants:
FX/SFX: The globe zooming in at warp speed, the layering FX on the company name, the Radar Globe shining at the end of the sequence. Also, there was a quick shining wipe at the Worldvision text.
Music/Sounds: Begins with an annoying WHOOSH and then a 3-note synthesized tune with "air" plays in the background.
Music/Sound Variants: The 1990 logo has two variants of this jingle which exist: one has the theme low pitched and the other has a high tone theme. These are seen on some episodes of syndicated prints of Little House on the Prairie.
Availability: Common. Currently seen on Little House on the Prairie on Hallmark Channel and TV Land, SoapNet reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210, most B&W prints of Combat! on AmericanLife, and Tales from the Darkside on SyFy (formerly Sci-Fi ChannelChannel) and Chiller. Also seen on the mini-series The Stand on Sci-Fi Channel.SyFy. Seen recently on a print of Universal Soldier on Encore Action.
Scare Factor: Medium bordering on high; the animation and WHOOSH may scare some.
Logo captures and editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, Eric S., V of Doom, and snelfu
Video captures courtesy of TVLOGOS708090, phasicblu, and Eric S.
Background: Worldvision Enterprises Inc. was a television program and home video distributor established from ABC Films in 1973 when the former company spun-off because it was against the FCC regulations for a television network to distribute its programs under its own name. They primarily licensed programs from others, rather than producing their own content. After, it was sold to Taft Broadcasting in 1979, being renamed Great American in 1988, and finally, Aaron Spelling acquired this company in 1990, being acquired by Viacom (now CBS Corp.) and folded into Republic Entertainment and Paramount Domestic Television (now CBS Television Distribution) in 1999. Currently, the Worldvision library, with some exceptions (such as the Hanna-Barbera library is owned by TimeWarner and Let's Make a Deal is now owned by FremantleMedia), is owned mainly by CBS Corporation, through Republic Entertainment, Inc.
1st Logo
(1973-1976)
Nicknames: "Radar Globe", "Radar W", "Worldvision W Globe"
Logo: On a gold yellow screen, we see a blue, radar-like line going upward to slowly form a blue, oval-shaped globe with longitude and latitude lines. In the center of this globe, a "W" is seen by connected filled latitude and longitude squares. The "W" is stylized such that it blends with the spherical shape. The radar continues its path downward, making the company name (with WORLDVISION ENTERPRISES INC. in the style you see here) appear below the globe.
Variants:
- A special superimposed in-credit variant with no animation was created to replace the ABC Films ID, with "A" placed above and "PRESENTATION" placed below.
- There's another variant with this logo that's on an orange background rather than yellow. But the only animation is that it fades in and fades out.
FX/SFX: The globe being drawn, kinda simple, but decent.
Cheesy Factor: The design is kinda ugly.
Music/Sounds: None.
Availability: Rare. The in-credit scroll version was still intact on Let's Make a Deal when GSN last aired it. The logo was recently sighted on the 1975 TV movie Hey, I'm Alive on Encore Drama.
Scare Factor: Minimal, unless tape hiss gets to you.
2nd Logo
(1974-1988)
Nicknames: "Radar Globe", "Radar W", "Worldvision W Globe II"
Variants:
- A special superimposed in-credit variant with no animation was created to replace the ABC Films ID, with "A" placed above and "PRESENTATION" placed below with the print included.
- A variant of the first, bylineless version exists, in which the radar lines are visible through the "W". This version has been sighted on A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story and Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style on Encore Drama.
- Another variant exists of the first, bylineless version, in which the "Not affiliated with..." disclaimer is smaller. This smaller disclaimer has been sighted on the "translucent W" variant, on the aforementioned Encore Drama print of Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style.
Trivia: This logo was used on '70s-'80s prints of old TV shows originally aired on ABC, among others. Also was the top distributor of most Hanna-Barbera TV shows from post-1979 when Taft acquired Worldvision.
Print Info: The fine print on the bottom of the later Worldvision logos read: "Not affiliated with World Vision International, a religious and charitable organization". This was added after the charitable organization sued Worldvision Enterprises over use of the name in 1974, one of the reasons the first logo was replaced. The two parties settled, and Worldvision Enterprises was allowed to keep its name, provided that the aforementioned disclaimer was used in its logo.
Bylines: When Taft Entertainment acquired Worldvision, these bylines would appear under the company name:
- 1979-1982: "A TAFT BROADCASTING COMPANY"
- 1981-1987: "A TAFT COMPANY"
- 1987-1988: No company byline but with tiny disclaimer byline.
FX/SFX/Cheesy Factor: The globe being drawn looks pretty simple, but isn't as bad as some logos of the era.
Music/Sounds: None.
Music/Sound Variants:
- On the 1982 made-for-TV movie The Capture of Grizzly Addams the logo had a four note fantasy theme, which was the inspiration for the jingle to the newer Worldvision logo.
- On 80s international prints of classic H-B shows, it used a "spoofed" variant of this logo with the H-B "Box" logo theme.
Availability: Rare. The B&W version is seen on few B&W episodes of Combat! on AmericanLife TV Network, and the color version is seen on the final season of Combat! The in-credit variant can be seen on GSN reruns of Let's Make a Deal. Check old tapes to find this on Hanna-Barbera shows as well. The first version (no byline) was recently sighted on A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story and Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style on Encore Drama.
Scare Factor: Same as the 1st logo.
3rd Logo
(1988-1999)
Note: This logo is based on the 1985 Worldvision Home Video logo.
Nicknames: "WHOOSH Globe (of Doom)", "90s Worldvision W Globe", "Black Radar Globe"
Logo: On a white screen, the Worldvision globe from the previous logos with a red "W" comes from the center, as the camera zooms out, the Worldvision name emerges from the front and both layer themselves into position as the background fades to black. The Radar Globe then shines and the "Not affiliated with World Vision International, A Religious and Charitable Organization" disclaimer-in much smaller type-fades onto the bottom of the screen.
Trivia: This logo was used mainly on 1990's prints of pre-1973 ABC shows, but also applied to the Hanna-Barbera (until the cartoon studio's sale to Turner Broadcasting), Republic Pictures Television (after 1996), Carolco Pictures (the company distributed their films to TV as part of a syndication package) and Spelling Entertainment libraries. Also appeared on some first-run syndicated programs, such as Judge Judy.
Byline Variants: When introduced in 1988, there was no byline present (like the chyroned version of the previous logo it replaced). After Great American Broadcasting (the former Taft Broadcasting Co.) sold Worldvision to Spelling Entertainment in 1990, these bylines would appear beginning in 1991:
- 1988-1991: No company byline but with tiny disclaimer byline.
- 1991-1994: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT INC."
- 1994-1995: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT INC., A BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
- 1995-1996: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP INC., A BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
- 1996-1999: "A SUBSIDIARY OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP INC."
Variants:
- There is a filmed variation of this logo.
- When Blockbuster Entertainment bought Spelling, their movie ticket logo unfolded below Worldvision's logo (it was briefly placed next to the globe after the Blockbuster purchase of Spelling), underneath Spelling's byline (itself having the "A Blockbuster Entertainment Company" byline underneath it).
- There is also a still variant of this logo.
FX/SFX: The globe zooming in at warp speed, the layering FX on the company name, the Radar Globe shining at the end of the sequence. Also, there was a quick shining wipe at the Worldvision text.
Music/Sounds: Begins with an annoying WHOOSH and then a 3-note synthesized tune with "air" plays in the background.
Music/Sound Variants: The 1990 logo has two variants of this jingle which exist: one has the theme low pitched and the other has a high tone theme. These are seen on some episodes of syndicated prints of Little House on the Prairie.
Availability: Common. Currently seen on Little House on the Prairie on Hallmark Channel and TV Land, SoapNet reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210, most B&W prints of Combat! on AmericanLife, and Tales from the Darkside on SyFy (formerly Sci-Fi ChannelChannel) and Chiller. Also seen on the mini-series The Stand on Sci-Fi Channel.SyFy. Seen recently on a print of Universal Soldier on Encore Action.
Scare Factor: Medium bordering on high; the animation and WHOOSH may scare some.
