Tribune Entertainment

Background

Tribune Entertainment was a television production and syndication company owned by the Tribune Company, which would eventually become Tribune Media Company, and a division of Tribune Broadcasting, formed in 1975. The company's first offering was the WGN Chicago-based U.S. Farm Report. Until 1984, Tribune didn't have a logo separate from the end credits; on 1980-82 episodes of Soul Train, there was an in-credit text, and announcer Sid McCoy would be heard saying "This has been a Don Cornelius (Television) Production in association with Tribune Entertainment." Many programs offered by Tribune Entertainment had been broadcast on Tribune's television stations. In December 2007, Tribune Broadcasting permanently closed Tribune Entertainment; many of the shows it distributed have gone to other syndicators (for example: Soul Train and American Idol Rewind have switched to Trifecta Entertainment & Media (The Best of Soul Train was canceled in 2008), while others such as Family Feud and syndicated reruns of Comedy Central's South Park have switched to Debmar-Mercury with ad-sales by 20th Television, and later CBS Media Ventures). Tribune Broadcasting and its television stations folded into Nexstar Media Group following Tribune Media's acquisition by Nexstar in 2019. Currently, most of Tribune's past TV library is owned by Lionsgate through Debmar-Mercury in the United States.

Contents

1st Logo (1984-1987)	2nd Logo (1987-1990)	3rd Logo (1988)	4th Logo (1989-1997)	5th Logo (1996-2007)

1st Logo (1984-1987)

Visuals: On a plain black background, we pan and zoom through some royal blue bars. As they rotate around, they reveal themselves to be part of a "T" made of stacked asymmetrical gemstones. When it turns to face the viewer in the center of the screen, it shines a bit, then immediately moves to the left to make room for the italicized and stacked words "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT", which fade in on the right side of the screen, next to the "T".

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright notice appears on the bottom of the screen.
On local newscasts and Tales from the Darkside, "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".
On Comedy Break, a chyroned copyright stamp for Tribune and Viacom Enterprises is seen over both this logo and the warp-speed, videotaped Viacom "V of Doom" that follows.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Either the ending theme or none.

Audio Variant: On the American syndicated run of Dempsey and Makepeace, a saxophone stinger based on the theme music plays over both the London Weekend Television and Tribune Entertainment logos, separated by an "In Association With" screen.

Availability: It is seen on Soul Train, Tales From the Darkside, Comedy Break, At The Movies, and Dempsey and Makepeace when it aired in syndication in the United States.

2nd Logo (1987-1990)

Visuals: On a lavender stone background, we see a silvery-blue version of the "T" from the previous logo pan downward and zoom out towards the screen. The stack then rotates, and the logo flashes. After that, the "T" rotates again and zooms out and the text "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT Company" appears next to the "T".

Variants:

There is a short version where it skips to the "T" flashing.
Sometimes, a copyright notice appears below.
On local newscasts and Tales from the Darkside, "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Only the ending theme of the show, but sometimes silent.

Availability: Seen on What a Country!, Soul Train, Geraldo, the last season of Tales from the Darkside, and the first 2 seasons of Monsters.

3rd Logo (1988)

Visuals: On a dark background, we see two sets of gemstones, staked to reflect the "T" from the previous logos, shown on its side, that began to shine after a while. The set of gemstones on the left pan down and zooms downward, revealing the "T". The word "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT" in chrome then fades in.

Technique: Likely CGI.

Audio: The end theme with an announcer saying "Tribune Entertainment" at the end.

Availability: Only appeared on 1988 episodes of At the Movies with Rex Reed and Dixie Whatley.

4th Logo (1989-1997)

Visuals: On a gray stone background, we see close-ups of some rectangular gemstones, turning one by one towards the screen and forming the "T" from the 1st logo. Simultaneously, the italicized and stacked brass words "TRIBUNE ENTERTAINMENT" zoom-out and settle to the right.

Trivia: This logo was produced using Wavefront Visualizer on a Silicon Graphics 4D/70.

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright stamp fades in below. The font of the copyright stamp may also differ.
On local newscasts, the word "BROADCASTING" replaces "ENTERTAINMENT".
There is a version where the stacks zoom downward and form the "T".

Technique: CGI by Ed Kramer at Crawford DESIGNefx in Georgia.

Audio: A generic ascending synclavier sounder, silence, or the end theme finishing it.

Audio Variant: On The Dennis Miller Show, the theme has a drumbeat with a bassline over it and a piano flourish at the end.

Availability: Seen on reruns of Soul Train on Centric (now BET Her), Geraldo, the third and final season of Monsters, and other programs of that time.

5th Logo (1996-2007)

Visuals: On a letterboxed dark blue background, we see the shadow of a camera operation crane moving with a cameraman on it inside the former Tribune Studios (located at KTLA 5 in Los Angeles, now "Sunset Bronson Studios"). We also see shadows of a studio. Simultaneously, the silver letters "T", "R", "I", "B", "U", "N", and "E", turn onto the screen (when we get to the "U", a silver rectangle with the word "ENTERTAINMENT" on it zooms out and settles below).

Trivia: The background used on this logo was also used by Tribune stations for sponsor tags, among other capabilities.

Variants:

Sometimes, a copyright stamp is seen under the logo.
A short version of this logo already has the logo formed when it begins.
Another version has "Media Sales by" superimposed over the logo.
There is an earlier variant where the word "TRIBUNE" is in pink or in different colors.A copyright notice is usually shown below.
There is a 16:9 widescreen version of the logo.

Technique: CGI, along with live-action for the background.

Audio: A dramatic 9-note majestic tune with bells, ending with one low, dramatic note.

Audio Variants:

The short version plays the last note or the last 5 notes, the closing theme, the network's generic theme, or none.
On at least two episodes of season 1 of Andromeda ("An Affirming Flame" and "To Loose the Fateful Lightning"), the short version plays the last 2 notes instead of the last note or the 5 notes.

Availability:

It was previously common on many shows including Gene Roddenberry-produced adaptations (Earth: Final Conflict, Andromeda) and 2000s episodes of Soul Train, Beyond with James Van Praagh and Family Feud. Also appeared on reruns of City Guys, edited South Park episodes and the former DiC Kids Block syndicated on local stations.
It was retained on Archie's Weird Mysteries and Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century on the now-defunct Qubo.
It was also used on the last 3 seasons of Geraldo (becoming The Geraldo Rivera Show in its last 2 seasons), while the "Media Sales By" version was seen on Animal Rescue.
It makes a surprise appearance at the end of Trifecta's syndicated print of In Dreams (a 1999 DreamWorks film) before the 1995 Paramount Pictures and Trifecta logos.
- This was left intact on Court TV Mystery's print of the film as well, but not with the Paramount/Trifecta logo combo.
The 2017 Mill Creek Entertainment DVD set of Liberty's Kids retains this on most episodes.
The short variant appears at the end of Tubi and Amazon Prime's print of David's Mother after the Hearst Entertainment logo.
It was seen on the July 25, 2005 We-TV airing of Miracle in the Woods, after the Patchett Kaufman Entertainment logo.