Yle

Credits

Descriptions by
Thisisanswer and Logent

Captures by
Logent, Pyscowicz and VPJHuk

Editions by
aarol, 2K-tan, Logent, Thisisanswer, Unnepad and VPJHuk

Video captures courtesy of
aaotx, Retropiirretyt, FinnTapes, Nauhoitevideot/Pyscowicz, Vanhoja-mainoskatkoja, NikkeFin and - VPJLogo-

Background

The Finnish Broadcasting Company (Finnish: Yleisradio Oy/Swedish: Rundradion Ab, officially abbreviated to Yle) is the name of the state-owned Finnish radio and television agency, which was founded in Helsinki on May 29, 1926. Originally named as "O.Y. Suomen Yleisradio - A.B. Finlands Rundradio", the company started as a radio broadcaster, but during 1957, Yleisradio tested broadcasting on television. Suomen Televisio was launched with regular broadcasting, beginning next year on January 1, 1958. The first television newscast from Yleisradio aired on September 1, 1959.

Following the acquisition of Tesvisio and Tamvisio in 1964, Yleisradio renamed its Suomen Televisio channel to TV-ohjelma 1 and launched its new second channel, TV-ohjelma 2. Both of these channels were later renamed simply to TV1 and TV2 respectively in 1971, and again to Yle TV1 and Yle TV2 in 2000. Both channels had separate programming blocks over the years (MTV and FST), and additional channels such as Yle Teema & Fem and TV Finland were created alongside the two channels.

For three decades, Yleisradio held a monopoly in Finnish broadcasting until the Finnish TV channel reforming happened in 1993, with MTV3 becoming a rival commercial television station. In 1994, the company was renamed to Yleisradio Oy or simply Yle, while in 2012, the company's branding was revamped.

Prior to January 1992, Yle didn't use their company logo in any of their television channels.

1st Logo (Renkaat) (January 1, 1992-2000)

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  Black background
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  Promotional variant

Visuals: On a white background, several layers of orange ripples emerge from the bottom left corner of the screen, followed by blue ripples on the bottom right, magenta on the top left, and green on the top right before all of them are obscured by a burst of yellow particles, dispersing around an invisible sphere. This is followed by a subsequent burst of red, purple , blue, and green particles as the camera rotates to an angle below the bursts (which also speeds up the animation). Five solid rings in yellow, orange, green, blue and green then emerge from the sphere one by one, in that order. After the rings emerge and the particles disappear for a second, "Y L E" fades in below, forming the final product.

Trivia: Advertising graphic artist Herbie Kastemaa designed the new company logo nicknamed "Renkaat" ("Rings" in English) in 1990. Kastemaa used the company's previous logo for the basics of creating the new one (most notably the wavelength seen in the previous logo). All five rings represent the company's news, sport, music, drama and entertainment operations.

Variants:

• Yle TV1 had a couple of different variants of this ident seen as startup and closedown idents. It should be noted that these variants were used as main idents for the channel during that time. For more information about variants, see the 6th Yle TV1 logo.
• On TV commercials, a still variant the logo appears on a black background, with "Y L E" written in white.
• On a TV promo, a smaller still variant appears, with the text "Eurooppa kotikielelläsi alle 3mk päivä." below it.

Technique: 3D and 2D CGI effects.

Audio: A dissonant, yet gentle-sounding synth and string ambient theme.

Availability:

• While this was one of the four variants that could be spotted as startup and closedown idents on Yle TV1, the main logo described here could be seen as a closedown ident in a few occasions.
• In 1998, when Yle TV1 started using their 9th logo as a closedown ident, this logo could still be spotted being used afterwards. However, around 2000, this logo was then taken out and the 9th logo on Yle TV1 was used from that point as both their startup and closedown idents alone.
• On Yle TV2, this logo was used as both the startup and closedown ident between January 1, 1992 and August 10, 1997.

Legacy: This logo is considered nostalgic to those who grew up in Finland and is a favorite to many.

2nd Logo (January 1, 2001-January 23, 2013)

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  75th anniversary variant
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  4:3
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  16:9
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  Open matte
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  B/W
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  Stretched
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  Superimposed variant
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  Promotional variant (Docpoint)
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  Promotional variant (blue background, "Yksi sana. Tuhat tarinaa.")
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  Promotional variant (blue background, "Enemmän sisältöä.")

Visuals: On a black background is the text "YLE" in a dark and glossy-textured font with vertical lines on both sides, fading in on the background. Then a bright light reflects in the logo and moves from the bottom to the top right corner. As the logo takes on a brighter tone, a small shimmer can be seen on top of the right vertical line, while a oblique light sweep goes through the logo.

Variants:

• Usually, a small year mark appears below the logo, when the lighting has reflected on it.
• Since 2003, the widescreen variant for both the regular and the one with year marks has the logo zoomed in a little bit closer. Prior to 2003, these 16:9 variants with year marks had the text about the same size as in the regular ones with 4:3 ratio.
• Black and white variants are known to exist.
• On the talk show Lauantaiseura, the logo is either superimposed or is pasted on a moving detailed background.
• An anniversary variant was used in 2001 when it premiered. It has the logo wiping in on a black background with a somewhat darker texture. As the lightning is about to reflect in the logo, it suddenly oscillates and disappears around the logo, while the following words appear on the top and bottom parts of the logo for a short amount of time until it wipes out on a black background:

75v
lYLEl
- 1 9 2 6 -

• A promotional variant exclusively for the 2002 DocPoint festival events was made to promote said event. The logo added the additional texts "DocPoint" and "Helsingin dokumenttielokuvafestivaali" in blue.
• A variant was made for promotional purposes in 2003. The logo started from the bright light flashing, the background was blue, and some additional text saying "Yksi sana. Tuhat tarinaa." (translated to "One word. Thousand stories.") was added below. Another blue background variant from an YLE Extra promo features the text "Enemmän sisältöä." (roughly translated as "Lots of content.").
• An open matte variant was spotted on an episode of Tarinateltta and early episodes of Rajankäyntiä from 2009.
• On the tourism program Maailmanmatkaaja arkkitehtuuriretkillä, the logo explodes onto thin air after the light reflection.
• A stretched version exists.

Technique: Superimposed live-action effects.

Audio: A rumbling, Deep Note-like sound, that ends with a soft one-note chime. After that, we hear short two piano notes.

Audio Variants:

• Often, the logo's silent or the closing theme of the show plays over it.
• The anniversary variant has a longer Deep Note-like sound at the beginning. After the one-note chime, we then hear a re-arranged version of the logo with the first four notes of the old interval signal heard in Yle's radio broadcasts played with a droning synth.
• The DocPoint festival version has a woman announcer that said "DocPoint-festivaaleilla mukana Yleisradion TV1 uusi kino ja TV2 dokumenttiprojekti." ("Yleisradio TV1's new kino and TV2's document projects are in the DocPoint festivals").

Availability:

• Probably the most common closing logo in Finnish television, as it is featured at the end of almost every program (excluding news broadcasts and minor programs) on the Yle channels during that time and it could be easily spotted during re-airings. The first program known to have this logo at the end was Vuosi vaihtuu, which ended right after the turn of the new year.
• The regular variant without the year mark can be spotted at the end of import shows or re-aired programs prior 2001. It is also used as the opening logo in DVD/VHS releases distributed by Yle Tallennemyynti.
• The ones with year marks are featured at the end of Finnish television programs aired for the first time. These year marked variants can also be spotted at the starting point of each DVD release for Jefferson Anderson (Pasila) animated sitcoms.
• Since 2003, both the original and widescreen variants were used depending on the aspect ratio of the program.
• Re-airings of some Finnish shows (for example, pilot episodes in the Kummeli sketch show from 1991) had either old Yle TV1 or Yle TV2 closing logos being plastered by the regular variant or played after the old closing logo.
• The anniversary variant was unusually seen as an opening or ending logo for certain programs in 2001, such as the Ykkösdokumentti: Nainen ja valta documentary.

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Visuals: Same as the original version, but the logo fades in a little bit slower and is stable for a short amount of time before the light reflects on it. The logo also has a cleaner texture around it, while becoming darker towards the end of the animation.

Variants:

• Usually, a small year mark appears below the logo, when the lighting has reflected on it.
• A sepia-tone version with a film effect was spotted in HBT-vanhemmat.

Technique: Superimposed live-action effects.

Audio: Same as the original version, except the Deep Note-like sound lasts a little longer and the music has a slight reverb.

Audio Variants:

• Often, the logo's silent or the closing theme of the show plays over it.
• The DocPoint festival version has a woman announcer that said "DocPoint-festivaaleilla mukana Yleisradion TV1 uusi kino ja TV2 dokumenttiprojekti." ("Yleisradio TV1's new kino and TV2's document projects are in the DocPoint festivals").

Availability:

• This variant was featured in the end of programs aired from late 2010 to 2013, such as the Tosi tarina: Tervanpolttaja documentary. The last known original program to feature this enhanced variant was the third season of Pirunpelto, which aired between December 2012 and January 2013.

3rd Logo (March 6, 2012-)

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Visuals: On a black background, there are three bright letters appearing one by one, forming the word "yle" on a cyan block with soft edges popping in behind it. As the cyan block pops in, the black background gets brighter from the center point of the screen, becoming white. As the logo moves a little bit closer, there is a tiny sparkle on top of the "l".

Variant: A letterboxed version of the logo exists on home video releases.

Technique: 2D computer animation.

Audio: A four-note synth piano chime followed by a brief echoing that quickly fades out.

Availability:

• The opening logo could be spotted in almost every regular program or television show aired on Yle channels. However since 2016, the logo has quietly disappeared from television.
• It can still be spotted as an opening logo in home video releases distributed by Yle Tallennemyynti/Yle Myynti and VLMedia Oy.
• Home video releases that have the 4:3 aspect ratio feature the separate letterboxed logo.