Spelling Television

Credits

Descriptions by
Jason Jones and Shadeed A. Kelly

Captures by
Eric S., V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, Bob Fish, bmasters9, EnormousRat, snelfu, Logophile, Gilblitz112, Pygmalion X, and Bree/LogoCuck

Editions by
V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, bmasters9, and Bob Fish

Video captures courtesy of
LogoCuck, LogicSmash and Broken Saw

Background

In 1992, Aaron Spelling's Spelling Entertainment was again renamed to Spelling Television. In 1993, Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation acquired a 67% stake in Spelling Entertainment Group and established "Big Ticket Television" (a.k.a. "Big Ticket Entertainment" and "Big Ticket Pictures") in 1994. In 1994, Blockbuster merged with Viacom, Inc. (later renamed "CBS Corporation" in 2006, and later "ViacomCBS" in 2019 and "Paramount Global" in 2022).

In 1999, Viacom acquired the rest of the Spelling Entertainment Group, making it a division of the Paramount Television Group, but Spelling continued producing shows until his death on June 23, 2006, at the age of 83; by that point, 7th Heaven was the last show Spelling produced that remained on the air. On April 4, 2007, it was announced that 7th Heaven's series finale, broadcast on May 13, would be dedicated to Aaron Spelling; all episodes of the show's 11th and final season featured the text "In Memory of Aaron Spelling." at the beginning of the closing credits.

Today, most of the Spelling Television library is owned by Paramount Global through CBS Media Ventures, while the company still survives as an in-name-only unit of CBS Studios (formerly "CBS Paramount Network Television" and "CBS Television Studios").

Logo (July 8, 1992-May 13, 2007)

• 
  Original variant
• 
  First Blockbuster byline variant
• 
  Second Blockbuster byline variant
• 
  French byline variant
• 
  Spelling Entertainment Group byline variant
• 
  Daytime Television variant
• 
  First Paramount/Viacom byline variant
• 
  Second Paramount/Viacom byline variant
• 
  16:9 Paramount/Viacom byline variant
• 
  CBS byline variant

Visuals: Against a teal background, two lines (one with streaks, and the other with filmstrip sprockets) parallel to one another roll out, then they connect with an arch at the right side, resembling the shape of a magnet. The word "SPELLING" in the Century Schoolbook font slides in from that direction, with the word "TELEVISION" inside the lower line. The "S" in "SPELLING" is a bit larger than the rest of the word, which shines in with "pings". From 1994 onward, the respective company byline fades in below the logo.

Bylines:

• 1994-1995: "A UNIT OF BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT" (accompanied by the Blockbuster Video logo, a blue and yellow ticket stub)
• 1994-1995: "A SUBSIDIARY OF BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT" (accompanied by the Blockbuster Entertainment logo)
• 1995-1999: "a subsidiary of SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC."
• September 1999-2000: "A Paramount/Viacom Company" (in Helvetica)
• October 1999-May 8, 2006: "A PARAMOUNT/VIACOM COMPANY" (set in Viacom's "Wigga-Wigga" font, the text appears in a laser inscription effect under the logo)
• January 22, 2006-May 13, 2007: "A CBS COMPANY" (appears in a laser inscription effect right under the Spelling logo; the text is in Viacom's "Wigga-Wigga" font, but thinner)

Variants:

• Starting in 1999, "TELEVISION" is replaced by "TELEVISION INC.".
• On Sunset Beach, "TELEVISION" is replaced by "DAYTIME TELEVISION".
• On a few episodes of the short-lived series Robin's Hoods, after the main logo is formed, the Blockbuster Video logo slides in from the left to its spot, making the byline appear as it moves.
• Two 16:9 widescreen versions exist:
  • The first one merely stretches the logo to 16x9 and presents it with far brighter colors, similar to the second 16x9 version of the Belisarius Productions logo.
  • The second one is presented in native 16x9.
• A French version of the Blockbuster byline exists.
• A still version exists.
• A sped-up version exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: The finishing of the ending theme from any show, generic themes on ABC, CBS, NBC and The WB (and later The CW), or silence (like when ABC Family (now Freeform) reran 7th Heaven and when LMN reran After Jimmy).

Availability:

• It can be seen on Beverly Hills, 90210 (from season 3 onward), 7th Heaven, Melrose Place, and Charmed, among other Spelling productions of the time.
• The "Daytime Television" variant only appeared on Sunset Beach, which has not seen the light of day in nearly two decades.
  • International prints of the show plaster it with the regular "Television" logo instead.
• The 2006 variant is currently seen on Pop, Paramount+/Pluto TV prints and DVD releases of Beverly Hills, 90210 as it plasters the older logos (except on season 1), and also appeared on the final season of 7th Heaven and the last episodes of Charmed.
• It was also seen on a few made-for-TV movies, such as Jane's House, After Jimmy, A Stranger in the Mirror and A Season in Purgatory.

◄ Spelling Entertainment Inc.

Spelling Television

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