From the Audiovisual Identity Database, the motion graphics museum
Credits
Descriptions by Jason Jones, Sean Beard, ClosingLogoLover, DaBigLogoCollector and imacomputergeek
Editions by Shadeed A. Kelly, Eric S., V of Doom, snelfu, Gilblitz112, Derrick Anderson, TrickyMario7654, Michael Kenchington, Mario9000seven and Bree/LogoCuck
Video captures courtesy of TVLOGOS708090, Eric S., mcydodge919, JohnnyL80, LogicSmash, LogoCuck, ClosingLogosDude90 and SeanElGatoTelevision
Background
Worldvision Enterprises Inc. was a television program and home video distributor established in 1973 as the successor of ABC Films, after the former company spun off because it was against the FCC regulations for a television network to distribute its programs under its own name. They primarily licensed programs from others, rather than producing their own content. In 1979, Worldvision was sold to Taft Broadcasting (later renamed to "Great American" in 1987 and "Citicasters" in 1993), and was later sold to Aaron Spelling in 1988 and became part of Spelling Entertainment Inc. The transaction was completed on March 11, 1989, and the company became the distributor of Spelling Television-produced shows.
On April 6, 1991, Spelling Entertainment Inc. was acquired by the Charter Company, an oil refining, insurance, and communications company. Spelling and Charter merged on October 5, 1992 and Charter was renamed as "Spelling Entertainment Group". Exactly a year later, Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation acquired a 67% stake in the Spelling Entertainment Group and later merged with Viacom on September 29, 1994. In 1997, the production arm of Worldvision Enterprises was incorporated into Republic Pictures, and in 1999, Viacom (later "CBS Corporation" and "ViacomCBS", now "Paramount Global") acquired the rest of the Spelling Entertainment Group, and folded the distribution arm of Worldvision into Paramount Domestic Television (now "CBS Media Ventures").
Visuals: On a yellow background, a black oval-shaped globe with longitudinal and latitudinal lines wipes in upwards, as a navy blue "W" wipes itself in downward. The "W" is stylized in a way that makes it blend with the spherical shape. The company name "WORLDVISION ENTERPRISES INC." appears below the globe.
Trivia: The company's slogan was "The World's Leading Distributor for Independent Television Producers".
Variants:
A special superimposed in-credit variant with no animation was created to replace the ABC Films ID, with "A" placed above and "PRESENTATION" placed below. This was used on Let's Make A Deal.
On television movies such as Hey, I'm Alive and theatricals such as Beyond Atlantis, the still logo is on an orange background.
Technique: Camera-controlled/cel animation.
Audio: None.
Audio Variant: The in-credit variant has the end-title theme from Let's Make a Deal.
Availability:
The animated version was seen on a syndication print of a 1973 episode of The Mod Squad.
The in-credit scroll version was seen on Let's Make a Deal.
The still variant was sighted on the 1975 TV movie Hey, I'm Alive on Starz Encore Drama.
It is also preserved on Someone I Touched on Amazon Prime, Epix.com and formerly Netflix.
It may also appear on old television prints of Dimension Pictures theatrical films such as Beyond Atlantis and The Twilight People.
2nd Logo (1974-August 1988)
Visuals: Same as the previous logo, but the background is red, the globe, "W" and text are white, and the logo is completely redrawn to look cleaner. The text "Not affiliated with World Vision International, a religious and charitable organization" appears below the company name from this point onward.
Bylines: When Taft Broadcasting acquired Worldvision, these bylines would appear under the company name:
1979-1982: "A TAFT BROADCASTING COMPANY"
1981-1987: "A TAFT COMPANY"
Variants:
A special superimposed in-credit variant with no animation was created to replace the ABC Films ID, with or without "A" placed above and "PRESENTATION" placed below, and with the note included. This was also seen on co-produced TV movies.
A variant of the first bylineless version exists, in which the radar lines are visible through the "W". This version has been sighted on A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story and Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style on Encore Drama.
Another variant exists of the first, bylineless version, in which the "WVI" print stamp is smaller. This stamp has been sighted on the "translucent W" variant, on the aforementioned Encore Drama print of Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style.
On the 1977 made-for-TV movie Night Terror, the logo is still.
A B&W variant exists.
On the syndicated version of The Newlywed Game from 1977-1980, the text says "SYNDICATED BY WORLDVISION ENTERPRISES, INC.".
On the Throb season 1 episode "Wedding Bell Blue", after the logo forms, the globe and words are replaced with superimposed footage of the musician James Brown saying "I feel good!".
A superimposed variant of the 1981 version of the logo also exists which was seen on American Film Institute Awards from 1986.
Technique: Camera-controlled/cel animation.
Audio: None.
Audio Variants:
On the 1982 made-for-TV movie The Capture of Grizzly Addams, the logo has an ascending four-note jazzy Fender-Rhodes electric piano theme.
On '80s international prints of classic H-B shows, a generic variant of this logo with the H-B "Box" logo theme was heard.
On the 1978 TV movie Little Mo and the show Project U.F.O., the drum roll from the Mark VII Limited logo is extended to play over this logo.
On 1980s prints of Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, part of the 1979 H-B "Swirling Star" theme plays over the logo.
On season 9 episodes of The Love Boat on Pop, a December 22, 2005 Channel 5 UK airing of the 1986 TV movie The Christmas Gift and a post-1988 print of the 1976 TV movie The Call of the Wild, the 1988 music from the final logo is heard as a result of a reverse plastering error.
On a Spanish 16mm print of the Speed Buggy episode "Speed Buggy Falls in Love", the music from the 1976 Viacom logo plays over the logo due to plastering.
An old film print of The Heathcliff and Dingbat Show plastered the Filmways "trail" logo, but kept the music (the episode having been produced during Filmways' ownership of Ruby-Spears).
Availability:
This logo was seen on '70s-'80s prints of TV shows originally aired on ABC, among others. Worldvision was also the top distributor of most Hanna-Barbera shows from 1979 onwards, when Taft acquired Worldvision; Worldvision also began to distribute Ruby-Spears Enterprises series after that company's sale to Taft in 1981.
This logo is seen on some episodes of The Streets of San Francisco on Me-TV, a few final season Me-TV reruns of The Love Boat, and various season 4 episodes of Highway to Heaven on True Movies (now Great! Romance) in the UK and on Netflix. Tubi's print of S6E36 of The Smurfs also retains the 1981 version of this logo, following the 1986 Hanna-Barbera "CGI Swirling Star" logo.
The B&W version was last seen on a few B&W episodes of Combat! on H&I (the final season uses the color version) as well as some TV movies and mini-series like Holocaust, which is followed by the 2007 CBS Television Distribution logo on its DVD release.
The in-credit variant was last seen on 2000s GSN reruns of Let's Make a Deal.
The first version (no byline) was also sighted on A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story and Louis Armstrong: Chicago Style when it aired on Encore Drama in the late 2000s.
This logo was also spotted on at least one episode of General Hospital from around 1980 or 1981 during SOAPnet's General Hospital: 50th Anniversary marathon.
It was also seen on Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (except for episodes 1, 11, and 12) where it is retained on DVD releases.
When Chuck Norris: Karate Kommandos was rerun on Adult Swim, the 1981 version of this logo with the Taft byline was intact as well.
The Capture of Grizzly Addams variant can be seen on said movie, whenever reran (usually on Decades), and is also retained on the film's DVD release, followed by the silent variant of the 2007 CBS Television Distribution logo.
The 1979 version of this logo was also seen on the original airings of Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo.
The 1981 version of this logo with the Taft byline is also intact on the iTunes HD remastered prints of both Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers (1987) and Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School (1988), respectively, following the 1986 Hanna-Barbera "CGI Swirling Star" logo.
However, it is omitted from the 2024 Warner Archive Blu-ray releases thereof.
The 1981 version of this logo also appears twice on HBO Max's print of The New Adventures of Jonny Quest episode "Vikong Lives"; following the 1986 Hanna-Barbera "CGI Swirling Star" logo, and following the 2003 Warner Bros. Television logo added at the end of that print.
The 1981 version of this logo is also seen on the MeTV Toons airings of Mister T, following the 1981 Ruby-Spears Productions logo.
This logo is also preserved on the 2022 Arrow Blu-ray release of the TV movie The Initiation of Sarah (1978).
The superimposed variant of the 1981 version of the logo was also seen on American Film Institute Awards from 1986.
The bylineless version of this logo is also preserved at the end of The Roku Channel print of the 1976 TV movie The Call of the Wild, which is then followed by the 2012 MGM logo.
3rd Logo (September 1988-May 26, 1999)
Visuals: On a white background, the Worldvision Enterprises globe with a red "W" zooms-out from the center. As the camera zooms out, the word "WORLDVISION" emerges from the front, and the background fades to black with the text and globe inverting to white with a gradient wipe effect and fade effect respectively. "ENTERPRISES INC." in Helvetica wipes down below "WORLDVISION" as the globe and the text settle themselves on the top and center, respectively. The radar globe then glows, with a registered trademark (®) symbol appearing on the bottom right of the globe and the World Vision International disclaimer from the previous logo (in a much smaller font) fading in on the bottom of the screen. The company name shines with a wipe effect.
Bylines: When introduced in 1988, there was no byline present (like the chyron version of the previous logo). After Great American Broadcasting (the former Taft Broadcasting Co.) sold Worldvision to Aaron Spelling the same year, the following bylines appeared beginning in 1989:
1989-1995: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT INC." A trademark symbol appeared by the "Radar W" logo in 1991.
1994-1995: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT INC., A BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
1995-1996: "A UNIT OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP INC., A BLOCKBUSTER ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY"
1996-1999: "A SUBSIDIARY OF SPELLING ENTERTAINMENT GROUP INC."
Variants:
A filmed version of this logo exists.
When Blockbuster Entertainment bought Spelling, their movie ticket logo would unfold below Worldvision's logo, underneath the Spelling byline (itself having the Blockbuster byline underneath it). The Worldvision logo shrinks and shifts up a bit to make space for the Blockbuster byline, as a result.
An earlier variant of the Blockbuster version places the ticket to the right side of the radar globe (simply fading in without animation), with an additional Blockbuster byline placed in-between the Spelling byline and WVI disclaimer.
A still variant of this logo also exists.
A B&W variant of this logo also exists.
A variant stretched to 16:9 also exists, which was spotted on AMC Networks' HD print of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991).
On an HTV Night Club airing of the Garrison's Gorillas episode "Thieves' Holiday", the original bylineless version of this logo wipes into the HTV Night Club presentation endcap.
On a December 25, 1994 LWT airing of The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair", the original bylineless version of this logo fades into the 1989 An LWT Presentation for ITV endcap.
Technique: Analog computer animation.
Audio: A shortened version of the Worldvision Home Video theme (a slowed-down version of "Moog Statement 14"), shortening and toning down the "whoosh" and cutting the jingle to the last two notes.
Audio Variants:
Two variants of this jingle exist:
One has the theme in a lower pitch and the other has a higher-pitched theme.
Both low and high-tone versions can be found in numerous places: for example, the 1991 logo in both low and high tones is seen on some episodes of syndicated prints of Little House on the Prairie. The 1988 logo in low tone is preserved on the Boomerang streaming service print of an episode of A Pup Named Scooby-Doo titled "Lights...Camera...Monster". The 1995 logo in low tone was sighted on a few season 2 episodes of Dallas in its S1&2 DVD release. A high-pitch variant of the 1996 logo also exists and can be seen on international prints of some episodes of The Love Boat: The Next Wave, as well as on episodes of Moesha and Beverly Hills, 90210 of the time, among others.
Sometimes, the closing theme is used (like on some parts of The Stand and Grit's print of The Punisher) or the logo is silent.
On Hallmark Channel Italy reruns of Dallas, a few season 2 episodes had the high tone variant of the 1971 Lorimar music over the 1995 variant. This is due to a poor plaster job.
Availability:
This logo was used on 1990s prints of pre-1973 ABC shows, but also applied to the Republic Pictures Television (after 1996), Weintraub Entertainment Group, Carolco Pictures (the company distributed their films to TV as part of a syndication package following Carolco's shuttering of Orbis Communications in 1992; this also included select Live Home Video titles and later Vestron Video/Pictures titles) and Spelling Television libraries, among others (Worldvision continued to distribute Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears shows until H-B's sale to Turner Broadcasting in 1991, after which Turner Program Services took over). It was also seen on some first-run syndicated programs, such as the first 3 seasons of Judge Judy (reruns on Paramount Global-owned Pluto TV retain his logo).
It was seen on syndicated prints of Little House on the Prairie (except the pilot movie from March 1974, which in recent airings, has the 1979 logo) when it was on the Hallmark Channel and TV Land, and is also retained on DVD releases thereof (seasons 1-3 only with the NBC Enterprises and the NBCUniversal Television Distribution logos following it), DVD releases and TNT airings of S1 episodes of Charmed, which is followed by the 1995 PDT logo (though both logos are plastered by the 2007 CTD logo on its recent Blu-ray release and Peacock/Amazon Prime prints), Syfy and former Chiller airings of Tales from the Darkside, Hulu and Paramount+ (formerly CBS All Access) prints of the Beverly Hills, 90210 pilot, which is followed by the 2003 PDT logo, and on some international prints of earlier episodes of 7th Heaven.
Also seen on the mini-series The Stand when it aired on Syfy and Chiller and most B&W episodes of Combat! on Me-TV and H&I, as well as The Fugitive (1963 TV series), Sci-Fi Channel prints of Dark Shadows, and various older syndicated prints/broadcasts of Carolco films (such as Terminator 2: Judgement Day {AMC Networks' print retains this, albeit stretched to widescreen}, Jacob's Ladder {preserved on Trifecta's print, as it appears to have been sourced from a Worldvision print}, Universal Soldier and Repossessed, among others), Weintraub films such as My Stepmother is an Alien, and other films including The Terminator, Kickboxer and A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
The original bylineless version of the logo was also seen on Troop Beverly Hills when it aired on Encore in 2009, although streaming prints on The Roku Channel and Tubi end with the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo instead as Worldvision/Paramount only owns the TV rights (while Sony retains the rest).
This logo was also seen on Trifecta's print of Basic Instinct before the Trifecta logo, and was preserved on syndicated prints of Three For the Road, with the 1995 Paramount logo and Trifecta logo appearing afterward (although Laff's print doesn't have Trifecta and the Worldvision/Paramount logos are shown before the credits).
The filmed variant is preserved on early VHS releases of the Twin Peaks pilot episode from Warner Home Video, and was also seen on old TBS airings of the George of the Jungle cartoon, a late 1980s syndicated print of the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode "A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts" (following the 1969 Hanna-Barbera "Multiplying Rectangles" logo), and some international prints of The Love Boat.
A handful of episodes from the second season of Dallas also retain this logo on the Warner Home Video DVD release of S1/S2, and it was also retained on some 1987-91 syndicated prints (followed by the 2003 WBTV logo) of the series. These are easy to catch because they are sourced from PAL transfers and run 4% faster than an NTSC standard print; Worldvision distributed the series internationally until the 1990s when the rights reverted to Warner Bros.
It was also seen on a couple of S1 episodes of Melrose Place back when it was on Netflix; it was also seen on reruns of said show on the Style network and SOAPnet (now Disney Junior) though it's plastered on the pilot by the 2003 Paramount Domestic Television logo.
It was also seen on reruns of Beverly Hills, 90210 on SOAPnet.
The logo is also preserved on early episodes of Moesha on Paramount+.
It is also intact on some episodes of Bonanza on its German DVD release and is also seen on some episodes of the said show on Me-TV.
It was also seen on The Rebel and some episodes of The Love Boat on Me-TV.
It also makes an appearance on the Warner Home Video DVD release of The Greatest Adventures: Stories from the Bible - The Miracles of Jesus and on the first episode of Hong Kong Phooey, which can be seen on both its complete series DVD boxset and the Saturday Morning Cartoons - 1970s, Volume 1 DVD.
DVD prints of The Key to Rebecca also kept this logo (with the Blockbuster byline) intact, which is followed by the 2007 CTD logo.
It is also intact on the seasons 3-5 DVD releases of The Mod Squad.
All variants of the logo have been sighted on various episodes of Highway to Heaven on True Movies (now Great! Romance) in the UK.
The 1996 version of this logo has also been spotted on Movies! and Starz Encore Westerns airings of The Last Command, the latter with the 2011 Paramount Pictures logo following afterward, but does not appear on Crackle's print which has been remastered to 16:9 HD (and thus only has the 2011 Paramount logo).
It is also intact on Amazon Prime's print of Gunsmoke Ranch, a Movies! airing of Flying Tigers, and a Grit airing of The Punisher (1989).
It was also seen on at least one episode of That Girl on Antenna TV, followed by the Paul Brownstein and Stadium Media logos afterward.
The logo is also seen at both the beginning and end of the 1994 U.S. VHS release of Cujo instead of the 1983 Worldvision Home Video logo.
The logo is also seen at the end of the 1990 film Disturbed on Court TV Mystery, which is followed by the silent 1995 Paramount Domestic Television logo.
It was also seen on a 2004 SpikeTV (now Paramount Network) airing of Kickboxer and is also retained on a few episodes of America's Dumbest Criminals on the Tubi streaming service.
The original bylineless version of this logo can be found on some Hanna-Barbera shows such as A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and The New Yogi Bear Show (1988 series), and was also seen on the original U.S. broadcasts of Fantastic Max and Midnight Patrol: Adventures in the Dream Zone (aka Potsworth & Co.), a 1990 USA Network broadcast of The Scooby-Doo Show episode "The Headless Horseman of Halloween" (following the 1969 Hanna-Barbera "Multiplying Rectangles" logo), an RTL Klub airing of The Huckleberry Hound Show short "Huck's Hack", a mid-1993 Nickelodeon U.S. airing of the Yogi Bear short "Big Brave Bear", Boomerang U.S. airings of The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park, late 1980s prints of Alice in Wonderland or What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This? (1966) and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1973), an old TVE 2/La 2 airing of Rock Odyssey (1987), 2023 Boomerang U.S. airings of Jabberjaw, Tubi's print of S4E16 of The Smurfs (following the blacked out 1983-era variant of the 1979 Hanna-Barbera "Swirling Star" logo), and the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! episode "Nowhere to Hyde", included on the 2001 UK VHS release of Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase.
The original bylineless version of this logo was also seen on a December 25, 1994 LWT airing of The New Scooby-Doo Movies episode "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair", which fades into the 1989 An LWT Presentation for ITV endcap.
The original bylineless version of this logo was also seen on HTV Night Club airings of the short-lived Garrison's Gorillas, mid-1990s airings of The Fugitive on BBC Two, 1990s airings of The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries on CITV, on a Hallmark TV print of the 1986 TV movie The Christmas Gift (following the 1982 Rosemont Productions International logo and before the 1995 Paramount Television logo), on the CBS Home Entertainment MOD DVD print of episode 3 of Most Wanted (1976 TV series), and at the end of an IMDb Freedive (now Amazon Freevee) print of S1E02 of Dallas, following the 1971 Lorimar logo.
The 1991 version of this logo was also seen on a June 3, 2024 airing of Jacob's Ladder (1990) on the Miramax Movie Channel.