ABC Studios

Credits

Descriptions by
Jess Williams, Kris Starring, MirahezeLover, Silversword55, AsdfTheRevival, and PluMGMK

Captures by
Eric S., Shadeed A. Kelly, RSX-798, Wisp2007, snelfu, V of Doom, Pygmalion X, Silversword55, AsdfTheRevival, PluMGMK and others

Editions by
Shadeed A. Kelly, Eric S., LJVborgSuperSet, VortexArto and V of Doom

Video captures courtesy of
BlancheGoldenDream, JohnnyL80, Brandondorf Raguz, ENunn, ClosingLogosHD, Matt-SoutheastMichiganRetail, Jason Isaacs, PluMGMK, Broken Saw, The AVTB Archives and muv.

Background

In February 2007, Touchstone Television was renamed to ABC Television Studio, which was renamed again to ABC Studios in May of that same year; however from 2007 to 2009, Touchstone Television survived as an in-name-only unit of ABC Studios until the conclusion of the final season of Monk. On August 10, 2020, the company was folded into ABC Signature as part of a restructuring.

1st Logo (placeholder logo) (April 27-September 23, 2007)

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Logo: On a white background, a black ABC circle (in the 1988-2007 style) irises in on the left with the text "studios" in the same font as the logo, as a shadow effect rises up from the middle of the screen on the right side of the logo.

Technique: 2D animation.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: Rare. Appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, season 2 of Kyle XY, and some ABC summer programs in 2007. Also seen on the failed pilots of The News and Making It Legal.

2nd Logo (Start Here) (September 24, 2007-March 18, 2014)

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  Standard 4:3 version, seen on full-screen prints.
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  Bolt variant
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Logo: On a white/silver background, we see silhouettes of people working in a studio, carrying ladders, cameras, etc. As one of them strikes a clapperboard, we rapidly zoom past the workers into the lens of a camera, which overtakes the screen. There we see the ABC logo, in 3D with a glossy texture, with "studios" next to it, in a dark background with a small blue streak passing by, similar to the "Start Here" graphics from the 2007 fall season.

Trivia:

• The whole logo appears to be a throwback to the 1962 "An ABC Presentation" camera logo.
• At the beginning of the logo, the numbers 4, 8, 15, and 16 appear on the clapper, then the last two change to 23 and 42. These are the recurring numbers from Lost. The numbers were also spotted in the September 15-21, 2008 issue of TV Guide Magazine. Plus, you can see the words "WISTERIA LANE" on the bottom of the camera crane, which is a reference to the fictional street from Desperate Housewives. Design-wise, this logo was probably the work of Troika Design Group, who were behind the "Start Here" look.
• If you look closely at the camera as it moves towards the screen, the film roll attached at the top appears to have a Touchstone thunderbolt on it, likely due to the camera equipment not having had its branding updated to reflect the then-new name and logo at the time that segment was recorded. This is more evident in higher quality copies of the logo.

Variants:

• Both widescreen and full screen versions exist.
• To promote Disney's 2008 film Bolt, a variant was made in November 2008 on original airings of shows, where the titular character is shown in the camera lens, then barks loudly and looks at the audience.
• On Cane and Ringer, there was a short variant where it simply shows the final seconds of the logo. Also, some original airings of Lost used a slightly extended version of that.
• On CBS airings of Cane, the logo is seen over the split-screen credits for some bizarre reason.
• Rarely, the blue streak is absent. This was seen on the Empire State unaired pilot.

Technique: Likely live-action combined with lighting effects, followed by CGI as the logo appears. The animation for Bolt in his variant is animated by Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Music/Sounds: A bass drum "boom" heard simultaneously with the clapperboard, then an uplifting, 5-note orchestration, mixed with chimes. This was composed by John Debney. The first four notes are from the ABC jingle that been used between 1998 and 2021.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• There is a longer version of the theme that also lacks the chimes.
• Sometimes, the end theme of the show plays over this logo or none.
• The music varied depending on the season for some reason on Castle.
  • On season 1 episodes (excluding the pilot), only the clap sound of the clapper is heard. This is due to an audio mixing error; the music in the left/right channels of the 5.1 soundtrack is missing, and only the clap in the center channel remains. This variant can be also heard on the failed pilot of the US version of NY-LON.
  • On seasons 2 and 3, the clap sound plays over the music.
  • The clap is omitted on seasons 4 and 5.
• Original network airings along with CBS and The CW airings use their generic themes.
• On the company's sizzle reel, the music is slightly rearranged with a different clap sound.
• Bolt's bark in his variant can be heard on the last note of the fanfare or the generic theme.
• On The Amazing Race Asia, the last part of the Ugly Betty end credits theme is heard.
• On the failed pilot of The More Things Change..., a clap sound from the Castle variant plays over the last part of the end theme.

Availability: Somewhat uncommon. This logo is no longer used as of September 2013.

• It's on just about any show produced by ABC before 2013.
  • Since the fall of 2009, this does not appear on original ABC broadcasts of their shows, which have it cut out in favor of an in-credit mention for the studio. VOD and home media releases have the logo though.
  • However, the logo will still be shown on original ABC airings of shows co-produced with another television studio, like Sony Pictures Television on Happy Endings, or Lionsgate Television on Nashville.
• It can also be seen on Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer on CBS, and other ex-Touchstone shows (except for post-2007 episodes of Monk).
• A shorter widescreen version was seen on season 2 of Dirt on FX.
• The version with the music was last seen on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on ABC and Legend of the Seeker in syndication. It still appears on repeats of According to Jim on Laff and Castle in local syndication.
• It plasters the Touchstone Television logo on ABC.com and Hulu prints of Felicity.
• This logo does not show up on the 2012 short-lived series Missing.
• The Bolt variant is extinct and was only seen on airings of shows in November 2008 to promote the film's release.
• This was used as a de-facto home entertainment logo on DVD and Blu-ray releases of ABC shows beginning in August 2008, replacing the Buena Vista Home Entertainment logo.
• This or the CBS Paramount Television/CBS Television Studios logos do not appear on season 12-22 episodes of the USA version of The Amazing Race, despite the two companies producing it.

3rd Logo (September 2013-November 30, 2020)

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Logo: A pale yellow spotlight fades in, moving towards the top-right of the screen. It flashes brightly for a moment, and some of its light morphs into the 2013 ABC logo and the word "studios", now in a different font (set in ABC's custom typeface, ABC Modern), written next to it. The word and logo shine and zoom in, as the spotlight continues to move towards the corner, gradually fading out.

Variants:

• During the logo's early run, the spotlight and tint on the ABC logo are red.
• There is a variant in which the logo simply fades and zoom in.
• An extended variant is used as the home entertainment logo at the beginning of all current DVD/Blu-ray box sets of ABC Studios shows released by Disney.
• For ABC Studios International, it's the still logo on a black background, with the word "international" below "studios".
  • On Harrow, it appears in-credit over a steel blue background.
• On the failed pilot of Sea of Fire, the logo is next to the Sony Pictures Television logo.

Technique: CGI from Loyalkaspar.

Music/Sounds: A light 6-note synthesized glockenspiel tune, followed by a deep dramatic string note and drum beat, composed by Fil Eisler.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• Sometimes, the music from the previous logo is heard.
• Sometimes, the end theme of the show plays over this logo or none.
• In some cases, only the glockenspiel is heard.
• Starting with Agent Carter, the theme is slightly slowed-down.
• Original network airings on ABC, Fox and CBS have a generic theme and a voiceover.
• An extended version of the theme exists.

Availability: Very common.

• Appears on all of their shows produced by this company from 2013 until 2020.
• The standard pale yellow version appeared on current episodes of ABC shows of the time, such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Betrayal.
• The red version appeared on early episodes of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Again, not on the actual ABC broadcasts of said shows, which have the in-credit mention.
  • Still seen on their shows co-produced by another studio, like 20th Century Fox Television on Speechless, Sony Pictures Television on The Good Doctor, or Lionsgate Television on seasons 2-4 of Nashville.
• The International variant appears on Reef Break and Harrow.
• The last known new usage on TV was on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in October 2020. As of October 7 of that year, the show is now credited to ABC Signature.
• Like the last logo, this was also used as a de-facto home entertainment logo on ABC DVDs and Blu-rays from 2013 to 2020 (the last appearance being on the international DVDs of season 15 of Criminal Minds, also this logo's final appearance overall).
• It makes a surprise reappearance on Season 2 of Woke, likely because it was produced before the folding to ABC Signature.
• Again, this or the CBS Television Studios logo do not appear on seasons 23-31 of the USA version of The Amazing Race, despite the two companies produced it.

4th Logo (September 29, 2013-2020)

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Logo: We see the ABC logo (in gray tones) zooming out to the left part of the screen, showing the word "studios" with a flash below (which gradually disappears) on a gray background with a glow.

Variants:

• A still version exists.
• Sometimes, the colors of the logo are different.
• On the company's promos, the word "irresistible tv" appears below "studios".

Technique: Computer animation from Loyalkaspar.

Music/Sounds: None or the end theme of the show.

Music/Sounds Variant: On Amazon Prime prints of Ugly Betty and Grey's Anatomy, a PAL-pitched version of the 3rd logo's theme is used.

Availability: Quite rare. So far, seen at the beginning of international prints of ABC shows such as Once Upon a Time, as well as on some international airings of Disney theatrical films such as Ed Wood and Honey I Shrunk the Kids (1989). The still version can be seen on Hello Ladies.

References

◄ Touchstone Television

ABC Studios

ABC Signature ►