Fox Television Stations Productions

Credits

Descriptions by
mr3urious, AsdfTheRevival, D.L. Chandell, Shadeed A. Kelly and MatthewLMayfield

Captures by
Eric S., mr3urious, V of Doom, wolfie14, Shadeed A. Kelly and MatthewLMayfield

Editions by
Bob Fish, V of Doom, Lizz Tetlow, Mario9000seven, MattBr and DisneyInternationalFan

Video captures courtesy of
sailorclose, Fry Letterman, JohnnyL80 and Tagaichigai

Background

Fox Television Stations Inc. was formed in 1986 after the acquisition of the Metromedia-owned independent stations by 20th Century Fox as a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a division of Fox Corporation, the bulk of which came from acquisitions of New World Communications in 1997 and of Chris-Craft Broadcasting in 2001. Until 1989, they also syndicated television programs; they formed 20th Television to perform this function later on.

1st Logo (April 3-July 1988)

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Visuals: On a marble background with a small square on each corner, there are the words "Fox Television Stations" in the Friz Quadrata typeface with "Fox Television" above and "Stations" below. There is a shining wipe effect.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: The end-title theme of Nickelodeon's Double Dare.

Availability: This was only seen on early syndicated episodes of Double Dare on Nickelodeon and Fox. It was spotted on at least one episode on The Splat (now NickRewind).

2nd Logo (September 12, 1988-March 10, 1989)

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Visuals: On a nighttime background, there is a Fox structure in the same angle as the 20th Century Fox logo that says "FOX" with four searchlights. Three searchlights move while the searchlight above the tower remains still. There is also an arch on the bottom right of the structure that features a city with buildings in the background.

Trivia:

• This was based off the animation of the logo used for the Don't Let Fox Weekend Pass You By promos used from 1987-1988.
• This would also be used for the Fox O&O network ID from 1989-1991, except the nighttime sky is black with stars.

Variants:

• A still version exists.
• An extended version exists where the searchlights turn on as the camera pans up to the logo from a black background.

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: The end-title theme of Finders Keepers, a faster-paced re-orchestration of the short 20th Century Fox fanfare composed by Non-Stop Music, or none.

Availability: The still variant was last seen on Freedomfest, while the animated variant was last seen on syndicated episodes of Finders Keepers. It is removed from TeenNick/Splat reruns. Also seen on original prints of Double Dare episodes that aired between 1988 and 1989; it was preserved when the show last reran on Nick GaS.

3rd Logo (1988-1993)

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Visuals: On an indigo/black gradient background, a silver square with three lines below turns up at an angle, while the FTS logo, consisting of a marble rectangle with a line dividing it into a box and a shorter rectangle, the box holding the 1987-1993 Fox Network logo, and the rectangle holding the text "Fox Television Stations" in large lettering and in the same font as the 1st logo, slowly falls onto the square. A transparent rectangle sweeps over the silver square from right to left just before the FTS logo lands on the center. The silver square covers the rest of the background.

Early Variant: On this variant, the Fox logo slides in from the right, wiping in the company name. Here, the text is black, there are no lines at the bottom, there is no rectangular box surrounding the logo, the background of the logo is brighter, and the color scheme in the Fox logo is different (a blue box, grey-black gradient searchlights, white "FOX" text and gold tower).

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A rather dramatic synth sounder with a "clang" at the end (like in the Saban "Gold Plate" logo) or the end theme of the show. There is also a silent version (as in the early version).

Audio Variant: On The Ron Reagan Show, the closing theme is heard over it, but the logo theme and "clang" can still be heard faintly.

Availability: It was seen on episodes of the syndicated versions of the Nickelodeon game shows Double Dare and Finders Keepers, but this logo is removed on TeenNick/Splat reruns. It was also seen on many (but not all due to 20th Television plastering) episodes of the first 4 seasons and the first nine season 5 episodes of Cops which was intact on Zone Reality (now CBS Reality) in the UK years ago, the soap opera Tribes, the talk show The Ron Reagan Show, and the news series Not Just News.

4th Logo (October 24, 1992-May 4, 2013)

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Visuals: Against a blue-black background, there are the tall letters "FTSP" in a white marble-like textured font with slow-trailing smoke effects swirling around from behind the letters. In between each letter are three bullets. Below that, the words "FOX TELEVISION STATIONS PRODUCTIONS" (also in white with "FOX" on top of "TELEVISION STATIONS PRODUCTIONS") are shown. A rippling effect is given to the lower text, making the entire logo appear as if it is underwater. All the text in this logo is set in Garamond.

Variant: On later episodes of Cops, there is less of a ripple effect on the text than in the original logo.

Technique: CGI.

Audio:

• On season 5 of Cops, a boy says "Yay!" in a rather unemphatic manner over a medium applause by two people.
• All other uses either have no audio or the closing theme of the show.

Availability: It's still seen at the end of Cops (starting with season 5 episode 10) and America's Most Wanted episodes from the era, although some season 5 episodes may not have it due to plastering by the 1995 and 2008 20th Television logos, though it was retained on Zone Reality (now CBS Reality) in the UK. This was also seen at the end of the first 1995 pilot for Time Warped, a planned Fox series from Matt Stone and Trey Parker, creators of South Park (the second pilot was intended for Fox Kids and did not have the logo).

Legacy: This logo is fondly remembered among fans of Cops and America's Most Wanted.

Final Note

The company became dormant in 2013 after Fox cancelled Cops. Upon its move to Spike TV (now Paramount Network), Spike assumed control of the series. The show currently airs on the streaming service Fox Nation.