Background[]
ATV (Associated Television) was a former British television company that was awarded to ITA (Independent Television Authority) to provide ITVS (Independent Television Service) at weekends for the London reign. It ran between 1955 and 1968 in London, replaced by LWT (London Weekend Television) and from 1956 until 12:32am, January 1st, 1982 in Midlands, replaced by Central.
Logos[]
1st logo (1955)[]
We see a gray "eye" (inspired by the CBS logo) with a striped (or "shadowed") eye below it. The letters "A", "B", and "C" are shown in the spaces of the intersecting logo.
2nd logo (1955-1958)[]
On a black background, we see the eye from before, except wider, zooming toward us. It then moves upward, revealing a striped (or "shadowed") eye logo below it. It then stops at a point where both circles intersect. The letters "A", "T", and "V" appear in the spaces of the intersecting logo in sequence accompanied by three chimes. After the letters appear, the text "ASSOCIATED TELEVISION LTD." (in which the letters 'A' in 'ASSOCIATED', along with the letters 'T' and 'V' in 'TELEVISION' are taller) then appears.
3rd logo (1956-1958)[]
Against a black background, a white logo similar to the one above, except with more correct proportions just like the 1st logo, zooms into view, fully formed. The letters "A", "T", and "V" appear in the spaces as the logo moves in, accompanied by the same chimes as before.
4th logo (1958-1964)[]
We see the ATV logo from before, only slightly smaller and moved to the top of the screen. Then, the words "LONDON" or "MIDLANDS" slowly zoom up below the eyes.
Variants[]
- One version of the "Midlands" variant had a slightly different "S".
- The first version of this logo had an even smaller eye and the word was zoomed in slightly differently.
5th logo (1964-1969)[]
On a gray background, a rectangle protruding from the top right lists "MIDLANDS: Monday to Friday", a small ATV eye logo, and then "LONDON: Saturday and Sunday". 3 rectangles drop down beside it and a rectangle slides in from the right below the three rectangles. The letters "A", "T", and "V" appear in the rectangles with "PRESENTS" being wiped in on the rectangle below.
6th logo (1969-1981)[]
On a gray or light blue background, 3 colored circles, red, green, and blue, grow in one after the other, intersecting each other and forming different colours. The caption "IN COLOUR" fades in underneath. The 3 circles then slide towards each other, forming one white circle as the background fades to blue. The white circle grows out into an eye shape and bands of colour sweep across it, cutting out the circle part and adding in the striped "shadow" underneath. The logo turns yellow and the letters "A", "T", and "V" appear in the spaces.
Variants[]
- A still variant at the end of shows, which was sometimes in-credit, was used, which read "AN ATV COLOUR PRODUCTION" on a blue background (the shade of blue may vary). It made a surprise reappearance on an ITV Central news report on Crossroads's 50th anniversary.
- Another variant where the logo is white on a red background also exists.
- Sometimes, the eye might be in white instead of yellow.
- For any B&W production, a dedicated variant was used, which replaced the three coloured circles with a white one growing into place. The rest of the animation was identical, however. Any B&W prints of programs made in colour just used the normal version, albeit in B&W.
- A version of the endcap with a black background was used on some productions, possibly early colour productions.
- An even earlier version of the endcap lacked the box around the shadowed eye and had the word "AN" in yellow above it, and the words "COLOUR PRODUCTION".
- It's been reported that at the end of You're Telling Me, the endcap had the later endcap version (the one with the box around the shadowed eye) had the word "an" above it (much like the very earlier version of the endcap), No photo/video proof has turned up of this version yet.
- Another version of the endcap has the text in white.
- On Crossroads episodes 1884 & 1886, the endcap is in B&W, this is due to the fact that both episodes were originally broadcast in colour but the videotapes that they were stored on were wiped by ATV shortly after broadcast and only survived due to 16mm telerecordings existing. This variant is also seen on B&W ITC prints of early '70s episodes of The Golden Shot.
- On early episodes of Tiswas, the endcap slowly flashes blue & pink repeatably, and the word below the ATV logo says "TISWAS" instead of "COLOUR".
- Many other variations of the endcap also exist too. Some can be found here.
- On an Elstree Christmas promo tape from 1982, after the logo forms, there are no letters that appear in the spaces.
- This logo also made surprise appearances (along with it's jingle) on the Crossroads: 30 Years On special, Ant and Dec's Gameshow Marathon (during the Golden Shot segment), as well as the Tiswas Reunited 2007 special (both of which aired on ITV). The latter had the logo in widescreen and zoomed in more than usual.
Music/Sounds[]
1st logo[]
None, or three "chimes" based, perhaps unsurprisingly, on the musical notes A, B and C, followed by three drumbeats, composed by Bob Sharples.
2nd logo[]
The three "chimes" used as the letters appear, which increase in pitch. Composed by Wally Stott (later known as Angela Morley).
3rd logo[]
Same as the 2nd logo.
4th logo[]
Same as the 2nd logo, but in a higher pitch this time.
5th logo[]
Same as the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th logos.
6th logo[]
A loud, proud, and bombastic orchestral fanfare composed by Jack Parnell, arranged by Wally Stott (later Angela Morley). In its early years (?), the music was lower in pitch and sounded more low-budget. The black & white variant used a abridged version of the fanfare.
Scare Factor[]
1st logo[]
Low, due to the darkness and chimes. However, it may surprise you the first time you seeing it.
2nd logo[]
See above.
3rd logo[]
None to low. The zooming may remind the viewers of the infamous Viacom "V of Doom". Otherwise, this is a pretty good logo.
4th logo[]
Low. The sudden stop of either the 'MIDLANDS' or the 'LONDON' monikers can spook some.
5th logo[]
Low. The sudden appearance of the letters and chime can scare some.
6th logo[]
None to medium. The loud bombastic fanfare can scare some, but this is a great logo, and it is a favorite of many.
Videos[]
