Circle 7 logo

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For the Disney animation studio, see Circle 7 Animation.
The Circle 7 logo

The Circle 7 logo is one of the most classic and familiar television station logos in the United States. First designed in the 1960s for the ABC Television Network's five owned and operated stations (O&Os), the logo, or a version of it, is currently being used by a number of TV broadcasters around the world.

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[edit] History and information

The Circle 7 logo was first designed by G. Dean Smith, and first used in 1962 by ABC for its five owned and operated stations (O&Os): WABC-TV in New York City, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WBKB-TV (now WLS-TV) in Chicago, KGO-TV in San Francisco and WXYZ-TV in Detroit. When ABC applied for TV licenses in the late 1940s, it was thought that the low-band (channels 2 through 6) TV channels would be discontinued, thus making these five stations broadcasting on VHF channel 7 the lowest on the TV dial. American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC's corporate parent, registered the Circle 7 logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1962.

When WABC adopted the Eyewitness News format in 1968, all anchors and reporters were required to wear a blazer with a Circle 7 patch (later years a lapel pin) when they appeared on the air—a marketing practice that spread to the other ABC O&Os.

The Circle 7 logo was designed to be interchangeable with the circular ABC logo in network and channel imaging, although many current variations of the Circle 7 have incorporated the ABC logo itself (see below). It also was used as the name (Circle 7 Productions) of the production company for local produced programming by ABC owned and operated stations prior to takeover by Capital Cities.

This logo has become iconic in local television, largely due to the presence of the logo in major markets. Today, many other ABC affiliates around the United States which broadcast on channel 7 are allowed to use the Circle 7 logo. Such stations include KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C. (it used its own stylized version until 2001, when it adopted the original version), WVII-TV in Bangor, Maine, KVII-TV in Amarillo, Texas, KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico, KVIA-TV in El Paso, Texas, KSWO-TV in Lawton, Oklahoma, KLTV in Tyler, Texas, WBBJ-TV in Jackson, Tennessee (formerly used on WTVW in Evansville when it was ABC affiliated). KMGH in Denver uses a variation of the circle 7 logo, and places the ABC logo in the same position as the other stations.

Due to its popularity, several variations have arisen for use by non-ABC affiliates.

Boston's three Circle 7 logos over the last 30+ years
Boston's three Circle 7 logos over the last 30+ years

In addition, the channel 7 brand in Boston, Massachusetts has had three different Circle 7 logos. In the mid-1970s, as WNAC, it had a logo similar to the ABC logos (except it was a white "7" inside a filled circle). That logo was abandoned in 1977 for a Times-Serif-Italic "7". In 1987, as WNEV, the filled-circle came back, and inside was a "7" made up of 7 small white dots. That logo was abandoned shortly after the sale of the now-WHDH to WSVN, after which WHDH took on WSVN's Circle 7. WHDH still uses the WSVN logo to this day.

[edit] Usage by stations not on channel 7

The inclusion of items on this list, exclusion of items from this list, or length of this list is disputed.
Please discuss this issue on the talk page.

Similarly, some stations that do not broadcast on channel 7 have used a variation of this logo adapted for their channel number:

[edit] Channel 2

  • KTVU, Oakland-San Francisco, California's Fox affiliate, has utilized a circle 2 logo for years; the 2 is created with a bolder line than most circle logos. The logo has only changed once in the many years of its use, to accommodate the Fox logo beneath the 2's hook.
  • WBAY, Green Bay's ABC affiliate also has used a circle 2 since 1986 (when still with CBS), which originally had a blue-fading-into-red color motif within the circle, and the station's call letters on the bottom line of the 2 in red. Currently the inside of the circle is red and the 2 and circle are colored gray, and optionally, the ABC logo appears left-center next to the circle 2.
  • WKRN, Nashville's ABC affiliate, utilizes a blue circle 2 of a different design, with a white numeral and solid blue circle.
  • WESH in Orlando, Florida, an NBC affiliate has their circle 2 in red and white, with the white numeral jutting out from the circle.

[edit] Channel 3

  • WTKR, the CBS affiliate in Norfolk has used a circle 3 logo since 2002, and combined with their "Your NewsChannel 3" branding since 2003
  • WCIA in Champaign, Illinois also has a circle 3 logo, which was introduced in 2000.
  • WFSB in Hartford, KIII in Corpus Christi, and now-independent KTVK in Phoenix, Arizona (an ABC affiliate from 1955-1994) have used circle 3 logos for many years (in KTVK's case, it is currently seen from an angle).
  • KVBC in Las Vegas used a circle 3 logo briefly in the 1980s.
  • KBTX in Bryan, Texas used a circle 3 logo beginning in the early 1990s, discontinuing it in 2004.

[edit] Channel 4

[edit] Channel 5

  • WEWS in Cleveland used a circle 5 logo for many years, discontinuing it in 1998, but reviving it (albeit in a slightly different style) in 2007 alongside their transition to HD newscasts. This circle 5 is also used on sister station WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida, an NBC affiliate.
  • KSL-TV in Salt Lake City is another longtime user of a circle 5 logo.
  • KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City has used a circle logo since 1994.
  • WAGA-TV in Atlanta used a circle 5 logo for a time prior to becoming a Fox O&O, placing it on the "O" in the network logo shortly before discontinuing it completely.
  • During the mid 1990s, WNYW in New York City used a logo similar to the latter version of the WAGA logo.
  • WOI-TV in Des Moines, Iowa made the switch to a circle 5 logo on September 11, 2006, when the station was rebranded as ABC5.
  • KSDK-TV, an NBC affliate in St. Louis, Missouri used a circle 5 logo in 1976 and in 1989.

[edit] Channel 6

[edit] Channel 8

[edit] Channel 9

[edit] Channel 10

  • WTSP in Tampa-St. Petersburg, Florida and KTSP (now-KSAZ) in Phoenix both used a circle 10 logo resembling a sunset. KGTV in San Diego also uses the circle 10 logo. One former user of a circle 10 logo was WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania. WTAJ, along with sister stations WBNG (12), WOWK (13), and WLYH (15), were once owned by Gateway Communications; Gateway mandated the use of a circle logo to all four stations.
  • WTHI-TV in Terre Haute, Indiana used a circle 10 logo during the seventies, with the 10 tilted to the right forty-five degrees rather then presented straight.
  • WDIO in Duluth, Minnesota uses a combined circle logo. it is a red circle with "10" in the upper right and "13" (its main translator) in the lower left.

[edit] Channel 11

[edit] Channel 12

  • WBNG-TV in Binghamton, New York used a circle 12 logo while under the ownership of Gateway Communications.
  • KCCW-TV in Walker, Minnesota used a circle 12 logo completely identical to the circle 4 logo of parent station WCCO-TV, which was used in the same timeframe as the latter logo. It was always accompanied with an equally identical circle 7 logo for KCCO-TV.

[edit] Channel 13

  • KTRK in Houston, Texas has used three forms of circle 13 logos since 1971. The first ran from 1971 until 1986 when a modified version was introduced. The original was a "Crooked Circle 13" recalling livestock branding of the Old West. The tail of the "3" extended outside of the circle. The modified version of the logo debuted in 1986 and featured the elongated 3 being confined into the circle. The unique logo was given a background featuring a stylised version of the Texas state flag in July 1992. This version replaced by a more-plain version still featuring the flag background in late 1994 or early 1995. An ABC logo was added to the left side of the numerical component in late 1996 and has remained the same since.
  • A version of the latter KTRK logo is used on fellow ABC O&O WTVG in Toledo, Ohio, but with the ABC logo at the lower right corner as opposed to the left side (accordingly the identity of KTRK is ABC13, while WTVG is 13ABC), and there is no flag. However WTVG did start using a circle and 13 in the early 1990s. This was when WTVG was still an NBC affiliate.
  • El Paso's KVIA was originally on channel 13 (using the same circle 13 logo as KTRK) until 1981, when the station switched to channel 7 and adopted the regular circle 7 logo.
  • Emmy-winning College Station ICTV used a Circle-13 (marking their longtime cable position) until 1992, when they changed to cable channel 54. In 1999, they moved to their current cable channel 16 and no longer use a circle logo.

[edit] Channel 14

Although channel 14 is their analog channel, KTGM, the ABC affiliate in Tamuning, Guam uses a different version of the circle 7 logo for their cable channel position.[1]

[edit] Channel 15

[edit] Channel 16

[edit] Channel 17

[edit] Channel 18

[edit] Channel 20

[edit] Channel 21

  • WWMB in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina used a circle 21 logo from 1994 until 2006.
  • KTVZ in Bend, Oregon presently uses a circle 21 logo.
  • WPTA in Fort Wayne, IN used a circle 21 logo in the 1970s. The circle 21 logo was discontinued in the late 1970s, but it returned in 1995 and is still used today, often with the ABC logo attached since November 2005.

[edit] Channel 23

  • KCWI-TV in Ames, Iowa used a circle 23 logo in its days as KPWB-TV, a WB affiliate.
  • WAKC-TV in Akron, Ohio used two different versions of a circle 23 logo, back when it was an ABC affiliate, discontinuing it in 1997 when it became WVPX-TV.

[edit] Channel 24

[edit] Channel 25

[edit] Channel 26

  • KMPH in Fresno currently uses a circle 26 logo; Pappas Telecasting, owner of KMPH from the beginning, routinely uses circle logos on its stations. WZVN-TV used a circle 26 logo beside the circle 7 logo for a time to signify its UHF and cable positions, during its years as WEVU.

[edit] Channel 27

[edit] Channel 29

  • KCWE in Kansas City used a circle 29 logo until 2006, when it went with a logo more fit for its CW affiliation.

[edit] Channel 30

  • WQCW (the former WHCP-TV) in Portsmouth, Ohio used a circle 30 logo, where the circle looks like a planet in orbit around The WB's logo. In August 2006, WQCW changed its logo to a unique trilined "Q" to reflect its affiliation with the CW Television Network.
  • KFSN-TV ABC 30 began to incorporate the variation of the Circle logo in it's news promos and commercials in December of 2006 but still uses the big 30 without the circle logo on all of it's newscasts.

[edit] Channel 31

[edit] Channel 32

[edit] Channel 33

[edit] Channel 34

[edit] Channel 35

[edit] Channel 38

[edit] Channel 40

[edit] Channel 41

[edit] Channel 42

[edit] Channel 43

  • KAUT in Oklahoma City used a circle 43 logo with a star overlayed on the circle from 1985 to 1998.
  • WNYS-TV in Syracuse, New York uses a circle 43 logo that, as with WQCW's circle 30 and WMYA's circle 40, appears to orbit The WB's logo. As with WMYA, the logo was replaced by a standard MyNetworkTV affiliate logo in September 2006.

[edit] Channel 44

[edit] Channel 51

[edit] Channel 55

[edit] Channel 56

[edit] Channel 59

[edit] Channel 62

  • WTVQ-TV in Lexington, Kentucky used a circle 62 logo during the late 1970s prior to its move to channel 36, where it remains today.

[edit] Channel 66

[edit] Cable networks

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] International

  • ATN-7 in Sydney, Australia used a circle 7 in the 1960s that resembled the ABC O&O version, but had the top line of the 7 extend out of the circle as an arrow. ATN-7, along with other Seven Network stations in Australia, later used other variations of the circle 7 logo from the early 1970s until 2000. [2]
  • The GMA Network in the Philippines used a circle 7 logo in the 1970s and 1980s to identify its channel designation in Metro Manila. (See: GMA Network logos)
  • Malaysia's ntv7 also uses a circle 7 logo that greatly resembles the one used originally on the ABC O&Os, though the 7's tail is curved differently from both the ABC and Seven Network versions.
  • Brazil's Rede Record used in the 1970s, when it was called simply TV Record in São Paulo, a text logo all in capital letters, but the O was replaced by a circle 7 logo.
  • Argentina's state broadcaster Canal 7 used from 1999 to 2002, a circle 7 logo, but the 7 was scripted.
  • Telecadena 7/4 in Honduras uses a 7/4 logo, to identify their San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa stations, respectively.

[edit] Fictional Usage

  • A variant of the circle 7 logo was featured in the film Bruce Almighty (2003). The station that Jim Carrey's character works at is based on the real-life WKBW-TV, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, New York, which used that same logo.
  • The logo has been used on The Fairly Oddparents as the official symbol of the Dimmsdale TV station, on which Chet Ubetcha is the anchorman.
  • In the first season of Full House Danny Tanner uses the Circle 8 logo as a sportscaster
  • In Family Guy, a circle 5 logo is used by the television station Quahog 5.
  • In one scene of the 1999 movie "The Omega Code", during a press conference, a mic flag displaying the "stylized Circle 7" used by WJLA from 1970 to 2001.
  • On the Christian children's program "Kids on the Move", one segment is called the "Zion 7 Report", a newsmagazine sketch involving incidents from the Bible. Its logo was a Circle 7 variant.

[edit] List of stations using the circle 7 logo

[edit] ABC affiliates on channel 7

¹ Denotes user of the original Circle 7 design

[edit] Non ABC

[edit] Past users of the logo

[edit] Sources

Station logos as seen in vintage TV guides and screen captures

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