ITC Entertainment Group

Background

The Incorporated Television Company (ITC) was a British television distribution company founded by television mogul Lew Grade in 1954 as the distribution unit of ATV (Associated TeleVision), one of the ITV franchises; it later branched out into TV series and feature film production. In 1995, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment acquired ITC Entertainment Group. PolyGram was later acquired by Seagram and Sons on December 10, 1998. In January 1999, Carlton Communications acquired the ITC library. Most of the ITC library, with certain exceptions (The Dark Crystal is held by Universal with Sony Pictures Entertainment handling video rights, and non-US rights of The Evil That Men Do is owned by co-distributor Tri-Star Pictures through Sony Pictures Entertainment, US rights are still with Shout! Factory/ITV), is now owned by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, a subsidiary of ITV plc.

1st Logo (1956-1960)

Nicknames: "Early Diamonds", "Horizontal Diamonds", "An ITC Release"

Logo: On a black background, we see the letters "ITC" each appear inside three rounded diamonds shapes horizontally. The word "AN" appears above it and "RELEASE" appears below it.

Variant: On Fury, the logo appears in-credit and the word "RELEASE" is replaced with "PRODUCTIONS". Numerous other variants also exist.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme.

Availability: Seen on early ITC shows like Ding Dong School, Fury and Interpol Calling.

Editor's Note: Uniquely, this is the only logo where the diamonds are arranged horizontally, rather than the more familiar vertical formation.

2nd Logo (1956-1961?)

Nicknames: "Vertical Diamonds", "An ITC Release II"

Logo: On a gray background, the letters "ITC" each appear in three rounded diamond shapes vertically, connected with a line in the middle. The word "AN" appears above it and "RELEASE" appears beneath it. In other cases, it's superimposed.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It's mostly common on U.S. syndication prints of the first Lassie TV series, re-titled Jeff's Collie (1954-1957). Some Alpha Video DVD releases might retain this logo, however.

Editor's Note: The more familiar vertical design debuts here, but wouldn't be until a bit later where it becomes more notable.

3rd Logo (1959-May 21, 1975)

Provided ID could not be validated.VsWlMGwAs2c}}

Nicknames: "Diamond Top", "Rainbow Top", "Rainbow Diamond Top", "Spinning Diamonds of Doom", "Bombastic Fanfare II"

Logo: On a dark blue space background, three diamonds appear, red, green, and blue respectively, "interlocked" within each other and spinning around like a top. From the center of the screen, a white ITC logo, designed much like last time but now turned slightly upward, zooms out and quickly moves to the left side, as the word "ENTERTAINMENT" appears alongside. At the end of the logo, the ITC logo fades out to make room for the word "Presents".

Trivia: The spinning diamonds on this logo are filmed in a way that, depending how you look it, you see the three diamonds spinning above you, or under you.

Variants:

When introduced in 1973, the ITC logo zooms into the center of the screen after which either the word "PRESENTS", "PRODUCTION", or "DISTRIBUTION" pop up under it before the sequence fades out. Also, the space background is a bit different, and it moves as the logo animates. It was replaced with the more familiar version by 1977.
A variant of the 1973-77 version exists where after the ITC logo appears, there's a freeze-frame before any text below appears.
On Space: 1999, IVE-released volumes of The Saint, and some shows and TV movies, a version of the animated logo is seen at the end of the program, with "FROM" to the left of the ITC logo, and no "Presents".
On all other ITC programs of the era, a still logo appears in the show's end credits.
The second version of this logo and the still in-credit counterpart have either no byline, an ATV byline, or an ACC (Associated Communications Corporation) byline.
This was routinely plastered over the 3rd logo on newer prints of older ITC series (when Sci-Fi Channel reran Space: 1999, the second version (with and without the ATV byline) and the 7th logo were plastered over the original 1973 ITC Presents logo on all episodes except the show's finale, "The Dorcons").
There is an extremely rare version with the ITC logo in gold with "PRESENTS" appearing below. It is said that logo variant exists on Betamax tapes of season one of The Muppet Show.
An in-credit version was used on older prints of The Muppet Show, which showed the ITC logo in between "FOR" and "TELEVISION". Below that are copyright dates for ITC and Henson Associates.
The logo at the beginning lacks a drum roll on the film Sweet Dreams, which aired on WGN America (though this is most likely just an error on their part).
The logo appears in-credit on films produced by ITC Entertainment Group and the trailers for the films (such as Capricorn One).

FX/SFX: The spinning diamonds, and the zooming out of "ITC".

Music/Sounds: The same as the previous logo. On very rare instances, the end theme plays over the logo.

Availability: Rare.

The ITC library was, at the time this was first compiled, in the hands of Carlton Television, a company not known for preserving logos or even other corporate identities (it renamed two of its UK television stations, Central (the former "ATV") and Westcountry under the Carlton name several years ago; the names of those stations were reinstated after Carlton merged with Granada in 2003), and some shows which had the logo have been updated with the 1989 ITC logo or other company logos (for instance, The Muppet Show, originally an ITC/ATV-Jim Henson co-production, had the scene with the in-credit notice re-shot in-order to update the in-credit notice with a newer one).
Most in-credit versions are usually left alone (see below for more information).
The logo was recently spotted on an airing of the 1985 film Sweet Dreams on WGN America (followed by a Granada International logo), as well as the IVE release of The Saint. In the latter case, it even plasters over the 3rd logo!
It also appears in the MST3K episode "Cosmic Princess" (which is just really episodes of Space: 1999 all shown at once).
This may also appear on a few tapes from Magnetic Video and its later incarnations, as well as those from ThrillerVideo, The Video Late Show, IVE, USA Home Video, Family Home Entertainment, and King Bee Video, particularly if the tape is of a TV movie. For example, the original centered variant kicks off the Magnetic Video release of The Dancing Years. Also seen on 1980s syndicated prints of Green Ice.
This also showed up on mid-1990s USA Network airings of Halloween (1978).

Editor's Note: The bombastic fanfare makes a return, and combined with the large diamonds in the background, it does make a pretty strange and even somewhat scary piece. Still, it's a favorite of many.

5th Logo (January 17, 1977-1988)

Nicknames: "Diamond Top II", "Still Diamond Top"

Logo: Against a colored background, we see "FROM" in a small font. Next to it is the familiar ITC print logo from the 4th logo, and next to that is "ENTERTAINMENT". The byline "© I.T.C. ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED (year in Roman numerals)" is seen below.

Variants:

There exists a version without a copyright date.
The background color may vary, including red-orange, red, pink, blue, dark blue, green, or black.
Sometimes, the word "FROM" is omitted.
Another version where the word "ENTERTAINMENT" is replaced by either "PRODUCTIONS" or "PRODUCTIONS, INC." exists.
An animated version exists with zooming animation.
On some TV movies like Jane Doe and The Scarlet and the Black, another animated version was seen. First, the ITC logo appears, then "PRODUCTIONS(, INC.)" appears via a wipe effect.
The animated version of the one above superimposed to the credits can be seen on a few TV movies. The wipe effect is a bit quicker on this variant.
A similar animated version exists on Clinton and Nadine; on a red-orange background, the ITC print logo is seen and underneath is the text "ENTERTAINMENT GROUP" slowly wiping in one by one.

FX/SFX: None for most variants. The animated variants has either zooming or the ITC logo appearing and/or a wipe effect on the text.

Music/Sounds: Most of the time, it is silent. However, on rare cases, this logo would use the ITC Film Distributors audio. This specific version with audio was found on a Super 8 excerpt real of The Muppet Movie.

Availability:

The first variant is left intact on Billionaire Boys Club, with the then-current Granada International logo following it; the "PRODUCTIONS" variant appears at the end of the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video release of The Girl Who Spelled Freedom, followed by the Walt Disney Television logo.
Another variant with zooming animation can be seen at the end of the 1988 IVE release of Sunset Limousine.
The dark blue background variant can be found in the 1981 movie From a Far Country.
The black background variant was seen in the 1977 TV movie The Man in the Iron Mask and the first season of Lovejoy from 1986, although it is being replaced by static FremantleMedia logo on the DVD release years later.
The animated superimposed variant can be seen in the TV movies like Secret Weapons and Malice in Wonderland (also known as The Rumor Mill).
The green variant can be seen on The Munch Bunch.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (February 7-9, 1988)

Provided ID could not be validated.xQrGGqq6P7M</youtube>

<youtube width=240 height=185>oZhJYTVSPRw}}

Nicknames: "Diamond Top IV", "The Gold Diamonds", "Golden Top", "Golden Diamonds", "Golden Diamond Top", "THUD!", "Optical Illusion Diamond"

Logo: On a black background, we see three gold interlocked ITC diamonds but with no letters in them, spinning around. They now appear to be made with a single "ribbon" of metal facing at an upwards angle, appearing that they overlap each other. As they spin around, the letters "ITC", in gold, slide out from the right of it one-by-one, and then shine as the diamonds stop spinning.

Variants:

This comes with or without a registered trademark "®" symbol next to the "C".
There is a rare opening variant that features "Presents" underneath. This was seen at the beginning of some ITC productions/releases.
The closing variant of this logo is bylineless.
There is a variation of the logo that appears at the end of some CBS Theatrical Films releases when they are shown on television, and many ITC releases from Avid Home Entertainment as well as an Australian airing of Danger Man. In it, the logo is sped up, the three notes accompanying the ITC letters sliding out are not heard, the letters do not shine, there is no shimmering sound heard, "Entertainment Group" appears under "ITC" once the diamonds stop spinning, and a different "THUD!" sound is heard at the end. The music for that logo has also been heard on the standard version as well.
The late version of this logo, has a byline reading "A PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Company", which is seen on the Artisan DVDs of Sophie's Choice, The Boys from Brazil, some TV airings of Volunteers, and a 1997 syndicated print of Halloween (1978).
On the 1996-98 USA Network series The Big Easy, the ITC Entertainment Group version is seen sped up (after the Grosso-Jacobson Productions logo) and cuts away to the PolyGram Filmed Entertainment logo (joined in progress; the final part of that logo is seen).
Sometimes, it is superimposed over the ending credits.

FX/SFX: The spinning diamonds and sliding letters; pretty good animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic bass sounder, followed by a three-note synth tune that corresponds to the sliding out of the letters, a shimmering sound accompanying the letters shining, and a "THUD!" synth sound.

Music/Sounds Variants:

A modified version of the tune can be found on Deadlock.
A low-pitched version of the tune can be found on the Scorpion Releasing DVD of Whispers (1990).
Sometimes the music for the ITC Entertainment Group logo can be heard over the standard logo.
There is a variant on the ITC Entertainment Group logo where the three notes play (although faster than usual) and a "THUD"/drum roll sound effect plays. *This music variant is very rare. There's a variant without the "THUD" on this version.
Sometimes, the logo is silent, or it can have the opening theme of the movie play over it.
The mini-series People Like Us has a three-note harp theme.
The standard logo's music has been known to play over the ITC Entertainment Group logo.
Some TV movies and most episodes of Space: 1999 have the 1959 logo theme playing over the logo.
The 1990 revival of Tic-Tac-Dough has the theme playing under as Larry Van Nuys announces (following the Barry & Enright Productions logo) "... distributed by ITC!"

Availability: Rare.

This logo was the norm for plastering older ITC logos (including the ITC Film Distributors logos) on prints of its television and film library.
In recent years, this has fallen to removal or plastering by other companies (under Carlton and Granada/ITV ownership for example), but can still be seen on a number of titles released by IVE, Live Entertainment, or Artisan Entertainment, as well as older TV prints of ITC material.
This appears on Artisan DVD releases of films such as The Last Unicorn, The Boys from Brazil, and The Eagle Has Landed, among others. This logo was also spotted various episodes of The Saint on ITV4 in the UK and at the start and end of one episode of the aforementioned show on Me-TV titled "The Best Laid Schemes".
The "Entertainment Group" variant appears at the end of most ITC material released on DVD by Artisan Entertainment, such as The Eagle Has Landed and Jesus of Nazareth among many others as well as an Australian airing of Danger Man.
This logo is also intact on some ITC films released by different companies, such as the Columbia/TriStar DVD release and a Netflix print of Fear of a Black Hat, the Scorpion Releasing DVD of Whispers, and the Synapse Films DVD of Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy. It was also recently seen on Amazon Prime Video viewings of Dogpound Shuffle, Doppelganger, and Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (the latter in place of the 1986 Paramount logo, which suggests the international master was used). On Blu-Ray, this appears on the Scorpion release of Trouble Bound, and the Network UK release (including the SE DVD) of The Last Seduction over the film's opening theme, though the US Artisan DVD had it plastered with the Barnholtz Productions logo.
This is also seen on ITC catalog releases by Avid Home Entertainment, where it usually (if not always) plasters earlier ITC logos or those of the films' distributors (e.g. Associated Film Distribution, 20th Century Fox, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation); on the Avid release of The Tamarind Seed, it plasters the Avco Embassy logo but retains the in-credit ITC opening logo.
This logo also appeared at the beginning of the original UK release of The Brave Little Toaster, as well as other international VHS releases when the company held the distribution rights at the time.
Recent prints of some of these replace this with ether Carlton, Granada, or ITV Global logos.
This logo made an appearance on recent Australian airings of the Thunderbirds episodes "Lord Parker's Holiday" and "Path of Destruction" (and can be seen on 9Now's prints of those episodes).
The superimposed variant was only seen on the 1990 revival of Tic-Tac-Dough, and was last seen when it was rerun on the USA Network more than 20 years ago.
It is unknown if this was seen on late 1980s/early 1990s prints of The Buccaneers.

Editor's Note: It's a lot tamer compared to the 3rd and 4th logos, but the "THUD" sound can surprise a few people. Another fan favorite and a nice way to end a legendary company.