Riley's Logos Wiki
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Background[]

20th Century Fox started out as the Pictures syndication arm of 20th Century Fox. Previously under Fox Star Studios it was launched in 1989 originally as an in-name-only brand of TCF known as "Twentieth Century Fox Corporation" (and structurally officialized in 1995). 20th Century Fox also produced their own programmes and distributed them across the United States.

1992-2008[]

2008-present[]

Nicknames: "The Searchlights", "Early CGI Searchlights", "CGI Searchlights", "Zooming Tower", "The Tower of Tepidity", "The 20th Tower"

Logo: We see a close-up of the familiar Fox structure, but now it's in CGI and reads "20th TELEVISION". A steel line appears below and the area that would normally be reserved for "FOX" is replaced by a simple gold rectangle. The logo zooms out to the familiar Fox logo distance. The whole logo is set at daytime as opposed to the usual sunset background of the film logo.

  • Animation elements are shared between the Fox Star Studios (100th Anniversary logo) - CONCEPT, and the (Opelogonhjmkl;k,nhmllllll bvnhjkms, Fanfare 1993-1997 prototype of the theatrical logo.
  • When the News Corp byline was added to this logo in 1994, the staircase was slightly modified, now featuring higher placed steps and a sharper edge. This change was most likely done to resemble its film counterpart more.

Byline: Starting on September 4, 1994 with The Simpsons episode "Bart of Darkness", the byline "A NEWS CORPORATION COMPANY" faded in below the logo. Most programmes removed the byline after late August 2013.

Variants:

  • In the logo's early years (before the use of the byline), the zoom-out appeared slower and the opening shot was much closer to the structure. This was used until 2003, despite its official usage being cut in 1994.
  • In 2008, a 16:9 recreation of the logo began usage, just like its network television counterpart. If one looks closely, parts of the "T" and "E" are perfectly straight. However, some Adult Swim and TBS airings of Family Guy S7-10 episodes use the 1992 logo with the byline and the 1995 fanfare.
  • Four variants of the 2008 logo exist:
    • A short version where the byline fades in during the zoom out and the first few notes of the jingle are heard.
    • A normal version and a slightly opening version (as described of the 1994 logo above).
    • A long version where the two searchlights to the right (behind the structure) touch each other, but the second searchlight goes much farther to the right, while the front right searchlight leans farther to the left.
    • A still of the 1994 20th Century Fox (100th Anniversary logo) (Opening) logos, - CONCEPT!, and 1995 TCF (100th Anniversary logo) - CONCEPT!, (Opening) logos, (promotional) also show the searchlights in the same position as the long version of the 2008 logo.
  • Both 16:9 and 4:3 versions exist for the long version of the 2008 logo. A stretched version of it also exists, which can be seen on Adult Swim reruns of King of the Hill.
  • There is an opening variant of this logo. It's exactly the same, except the zoom-out is very slow and choppy, and it's also silent and bylineless.
  • On local reruns of South Park, TBS's airings of Yes, Dear, the split-screen credits on Spike's airings of Cops, and some Paramount-owned networks airings of some TCF-owned movies on lower-third credits (though other channels like CMT and Nickelodeon have the animation, though), the logo appears as usual without animation. This applies to both the 1992 version and the 2008 version.
  • There is also a B&W variant of this logo for classic Fox shows and movies in the format. Adult Swim and TBS airings of early Family Guy episodes has this, as well. This applies to both the (WHAT IF?) 20th Century Fox Fanfare 1992 (100th Anniversary logo) (Opening) logos, - CONCEPT!, version and the 2008 version.
  • An in-credit variant seen on Sherman Oaks shows the bylineless logo inside a box and animating with "DISTRIBUTED BY" appearing above. The closing theme of the show is heard. On syndicated reruns of The Walking Dead, the words "DISTRIBUTED BY" are shown on a black screen, then cuts to the 2013 version of the 2008 logo.
  • On the ultra extended-lived sitcom Dudley, the text "in association with" fades in and fades out below.
  • A still version is seen on some syndicated reruns of South Park.
  • On some shows in 2008, the 4:3 version of the 2008 20th Television logo is stretched to fill a 16:9 TV or preserved with sidebars.
  • On season 3 of The Wendy Williams Show, the widescreen version was squashed or stretched to fill a 4:3 Pictures (100th Anniversary logo).
  • On syndicated prints of Rising Sun (2011 print) and Speed (2012 print), the frame-rate/animation is fast-paced.
  • Since late August 2013, the logo is bylineless once again. Strangely, the 2013-2014 season of Family Feud and all episodes of The Wendy Williams Show until 20th Television was pulled out of co-producing the series continued to use the byline.
  • At the end of an X-Files ad on the 1995 Hong Kong Laserdiscs of the Star Wars Trilogy, the slightly longer 1994 20th.
  • Sometimes, the logo will play as usual but will end in a freeze frame. This was seen on a few episodes of Forgive or Forget, BBC America airings of some TCF-owned movies and Cartoon Network airings of Garfield's Fun Fest (extended version of the latter).
  • A 4:3 variant of the 2013 logo exists at the end of most newer prints of 4:3 Fox-distributed shows, especially on Antenna TVAntenna TV.
  • A letterbox (2.2:1 or 2.35:1) version of the 2008 logo appears at the end of some widescreen movies on TCM, including The Agony and the Ecstasy.
  • A warp-speed version also exists.
  • On some prints, such as Spike's print of The Transporter 2 and syndie prints of Tosh-O, the 2008 logo fades in as well as out.
  • The 1994 logo is cropped to matted 1.78:1 in rare cases.
  • On some prints of The Simpsons episodes between 1992 and 1994, the 1992 logo fades in near the end of the zoom out, and then fades out a few seconds later. It's similar in a way to the 1994/5 variant with the byline, barring the fade in at the start. Channel 4's print of the episode "Homer the Heretic" features this variation.
  • On a 2012 Spike airing of Independence Day, an extremely extended version of the normal 2008 logo is seen.

FX/SFX: The logo zooming out, the clouds and searchlights moving, and the byline fading in.

Music/Sounds: Here are the main versions:

  • 1992-2004?: The 1989 TCFTV logo theme, a shortened version of the 1979 20th Century Fox fanfare arrangement by Lionel Newman. Like the 1981 TCFTV logo, it has two versions, one with reverb and one without reverb.
  • September 16, 1994-2008: A re-arranged and re-recorded variant of the 1989 TCFTV jingle by Bruce Broughton. This one is more reverberant than the original, but it's slightly different from the 1995 TCFTV theme, namely less [audible] drum beats. Although this theme and the theme below were first heard in 1994 on The X-Files, this wasn't officially heard on this logo until 1995.
  • September 4, 1994-2008: A re-orchestrated version of the above theme, with more drum beats resembling the 1994 20th Century Fox fanfare. This would later be used for the 1995 TCFTV logo. Like the previous fanfare, it was not officially used on this logo until 1995. The previous theme is more common, although both themes were used interchangeably. This fanfare was first heard on the pilot episode of the short lived series Wild Oats.
  • 1997-May 16, 2021: The 1997 TCFTV logo theme by David Newman.
  • 2008-April 8, 2022: The 2005 TCFTV logo theme by David Newman.
  • 2008-: A short version of the 1997 20th Century Fox fanfare, at a faster tempo than the actual fanfare. It sounds like an extended version of the 1995 fanfare.
  • 2008-: Shortened version of above. Sounds like a re-arranged version of the 1995 jingle, but not quite the 2005 TCFTV logo theme. Used in tandem with the above theme.
  • September 2009-2020: There is a shortened version that plays the first few notes of the theme and the rest fades out. This version can be seen on syndicated prints.
  • September 27, 2020-: The 2015 TCFTV logo theme. A warp-speed version of it also exists.
  • December 21, 2020-October 25, 2021: The shortened 1997 TCFTV theme. Heard on American Dad! on TBS.


Music/Sounds Variants:

  • In some cases, it uses the closing theme of the show or is silent, such as Alien Nation: Body and Soul.
  • There was a low tone version of the remastered 1989 theme from 1992-1995 on reruns of Dynasty. It was also used on the 1994 logo on prints of M*A*S*H.
  • A low tone version of the 1995 theme exists. This was spotted on a later French print of the pilot episode of Manimal, and an AMC airing of White Men Can't Jump.
  • A high tone version of the 1995 theme exists. This was seen on an episode of season 3 of The Simpsons titled "The Otto Show" on the 2002 UK VHS release of The Simpsons Backstage Pass, due to them using PAL prints for the show.
  • On the Fox airings of America's Most Wanted (which was co-produced by 20th Television) and other airings of some post-2020 shows on the American networks (Fox's own network, ABC, CBS, NBC and The CW), a generic network theme is heard.
  • A version exists on 2007-2008 episodes of Family Guy that is the present-day jingle, but sounds like it is played on a xylophone.
  • Syndication prints of Family Guy and Batman (1966) using the 1992 logo have a loud, pronounced version of the 1995 TCFTV jingle. When syndie/network prints of Cops and other shows use this jingle, it sounds normal.
  • On older syndicated prints of Revolution Studios movies, and syndicated reruns of South Park episodes that did not use the still version, the Bruce Broughton version of the WHAT IF?) TCF jingle sounds rather loud and is slightly cut off at the beginning. One example is the syndicated print of 13 Going on 30 when it aired back in January 2010.
  • Since sometime in 2012, on syndicated prints of Revolution Studios movies, the quality of the with 20th Century Fox 1982-1994 My That Was Used In Version, fanfare 20th Century Mix logo Fanfare (Opening) logos, (2009-2019) - CONCEPT!, - whether normal, or long - sounds a little less crisp. One example is the 2013 syndicated print of Perfect Stranger.
  • On some Fox Television Studios shows like The Hughleys, this logo plasters said logo, but its jingle/sounds remain intact.
  • Oairings of the M*A*S*H S1 episodes "Love Story" on Hallmark Channel and "Cowboy" on DVD, on Centric's airing of In Living Color S2 episode "Anton at the Recruiter", the 1995 Fox Video VHS release of The Making of Star Wars, a later print of The Paper Chase S1 episode "The Man Who Would Be King", and a CBS Drama (UK) airing of a season 7 episode of Dynasty ("The Affair"), the 1965 TCFTV theme is heard, due to sloppy plastering.
    • A variant with the 1965 TCFTV theme in low tone exists. This was spotted on a later French print of the second episode of Manimal.
  • On Me-TV's print of the Batman S2 episode "That Darn Catwoman", the 1961 TCFTV theme is heard.
  • On 2008-2010 episodes of Family Feud and local syndicated reruns of Futurama, the 1995 and 2008 themes were edited a bit, with the second half only.
  • On syndicated prints of shows like King of the Hill and Cops, the original 20th Television or TCFTV jingles from 1995 and 1997 may be heard during the 2008 or 2013 logos. In exceptional cases, a soundbite of the show is used.
  • The syndie print of the How I Met Your Mother "w/Bro Code 107" shows* too. Some episodes have the 2009 version of the 2008 fanfare, an abridged 2005 fanfare, which consists of the first few notes and the last note, or the short 1997 fanfare over the extended version of the 2008 logo.
  • On FXX airings of The Simpsons episode "Days of Future Future", the logo is silent. The Gracie Films logo has the 20th TV logo's music playing over said logo, while the Spanish cast has the Gracie Films theme playing over it. This was likely caused by an editing goof.
  • On airings of the Family Guy episode "He's Bla-ack!" on Adult Swim, the 2013 20th Television logo is used, yet the 1995 fanfare is heard. Usually, the 2013 TCFTV logo is used on newer episodes and other airings of said episode, with the correct fanfare.
  • On the syndie print of the Family Guy episode "Chris Cross", a portion of the 2008 20th Television fanfare used on the 2007 TCFTV logo can be heard when cutting to black before the SAP cast.
  • On Channel 4 broadcasts of a small number of episodes of The Simpsons (noticeable on the episode "Last Exit to Springfield"), the audio for the 1992 fanfare fades out very quickly as the last note plays.
  • On some episodes of Family Guy, AMC's airings of both Omen IV: The Awakening and Mr. Popper's Penguins, and CourtTV Mystery's airings of Sleeping With the Enemy, the 1995 theme is heard on the 2013 logo.
  • On an April 1, 2017 airing of the Family Guy episode "Road to the Multiverse" on Adult Swim, the 1997 TCFTV glitchy, possibly as an April Fools' joke. This also happened to other AS shows on this broadcast day (e.g. Seinfeld stings, laugh track, robotic voices, pitch shifted voices, etc.).
  • On the Simpsons episode "The Man from G.R.A.M.P.A.", the theme has a weird echo effect, which has the mix of the full and shorter versions.
  • A print of M*A*S*H has the with 20th Century Fox Intro 1994 That Was Used In Version, fanfare 1994 (100th Anniversary logo) version (Opening) logos, of this logo with the 2008 music, probably due to a sloppy reverse plaster error.
  • Freeform's print of TCFTV 2007-2013 has the ending theme of the movie playing over the logo (possibly due to time compression). Other airings have the fanfare, as described above.

Availability: Seen on programs from this company since it's introduction.

  • This was plastered onto most shows that Fox distributes, even classic shows they own, with the exception of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (the 1960s TCFTV logo is integrated into the closing credits with the closing theme). It even shows up on DVDs of Fox shows.
  • The opening variant is only seen on Channel 4 and Channel 5 airings of the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure, though most airings and AMC's print of the film shows the 20th Century Fox logo at the beginning of the film.
  • On the Christmas with the Simpsons DVD, it plasters over the 3rd 20th Century Fox Television logo on the Christmas special.
  • Most episodes of The Simpsons on DVD up until towards the end of season 6 have this logo (though a few episodes on the season 1 and 3 DVD sets use the original logo instead), although it did make an appearance at the end of the season 9 episode "The Principal and the Pauper".
  • It is seen after the TCFTV logos, on many episodes of Family Guy and Futurama on Adult Swim and TBS, the former on Freeform as well. The enhanced version is just as common, and was seen until 2019 on Family Feud, Divorce Court, and The Wendy Williams Show, among other current series, before the former two shows were transferred to CBS Television Distribution, as well as King of the Hill reruns on Adult Swim & syndication, reruns of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? on GSN, and Netflix viewings, and the StarVista/Time Life DVDs of The Wonder Years (plastering the New World Television logo).
    • One early sighting of the enhanced variant was Cartoon Network's airing of Garfield Gets Real.
  • The full-screen long version of the 2008 logo is seen on Adult Swim airings of King of the Hill, True Hollywood Story, Spike's airing of The Hills Have Eyes, AMC's print of Nine to Five and Working Girl, and a few episodes of Family Guy on syndication until it converted into HD.
  • The widescreen long version of the 2008 logo is seen on AMC airings of the first four Alien movies, True Lies, The Fly (1986), Volcano, Sleeping with the Enemy, syndicated prints of Perfect Stranger and some episodes of Family Guy and How I Met Your Mother. The bylineless long version was seen on some episodes of Family Guy, Modern Family and The Cleveland Show, among many others, as well as some shows on Disney+.
  • The 1992 version of this logo also plasters the original 1981 TCFTV logo on Shout! Factory's season 1 (1986-87) DVD release of L.A. Law; it also plasters 17 of 20 episodes on the season 2 (1987-88) release (3 of them have the original TCFTV logo intact).
  • Strangely, this has plastered the original 20th Century Fox logo on the trailer of Project X (the 1987 film starring Matthew Broderick) on recent home releases of the film.

The enhanced logo, with News Corporation byline appears on various episodes from season 1 and 2 of the 2014 Shout! Factory complete series release of The Bob Newhart Show. This plasters the 2007 TCFTV logo on the Family Guy episode "Lois Comes Out of Her Shell" on Adult Swim. The earliest sighting of the extended bylineless logo was on the syndie print of Family Guy's season 11 finale.

  • The bylineless logo plasters the one with the byline that used to appear on syndie prints of Family Guy seasons 10 & 11 episodes. The 1995 variant makes a surprise appearance at the end of the VHS release of Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask and some seasons 1 and 4 episodes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia on international airings.
  • Oddly, many Hill Street Blues reruns on Heroes & Icons use prints where this is seen at the end alone, plastering the MTM Enterprises logo. As such, it cuts in abruptly and interrupts the end theme.
  • On current prints (digital, TV, etc...) of Home Alone 4, the 2008 version plasters the Fox Television Studios logo. This also plasters the Fox Television Studios logos, on syndicated prints of Malcolm in the Middle.
  • All of these animated shows now use the 20th Television Animaation instead.
  • Despite America's Most Wanted being co-produced by 20th Century Fox Television, this logo now appears on new episodes of returning shows (as well as the upcoming shows) from the former 20th Century Fox Television from 2020 onwards, replacing the said logo.
  • This also appears on its new and future shows produced from this company such as the 2021 reboot of The Wonder Years, Single Drunk Female and Dopesick.
  • It also appeared on new seasons of shows that were originally produced by Fox 21 Television Studios from 2021 onwards which are American Crime Story, Feud, Genius, The Chi, Pose, Mayans M.C., The Hot Zone and Ratched.
  • Strangely, this did not appear on on Hoops, Filthy Rich and NeXt, due to all three of them being made before 20th Century Fox Television rebranded to 20th Television in 2020.
  • Whenever Blue Sky Studios' movies (up to Ferdinand) and The Book of Life are broadcast, this logo is seen at the very end right after the SAP cast credits. This did not appear on recent airings of Spies in Disguise due to Disney taking over for the rights of old and recent TCF movies.
  • AMC airings of Die Hard, Planet of the Apes (1968), and The Princess Bride had the 1994 logo at the end on current airings instead of the 2008 one. It also recently appeared on recent FX airings of Fantastic Four (2005). The 1994 logo was also seen at the end of old airings Transporter 2 on FX, but current airings use the 2008 one instead.

2013-2019[]

Nicknames: "The Searchlights II", "2D Searchlights", "The Tower of Tepidity II", "The 20th Tower II", "Blueprint Structure"

Logo: On a medium blue background with searchlights, the 20th Television print logo is drawn as the text "Welcome to Twentieth Television" slides below. The print logo then gains a white colour.

FX/SFX: Flash animation, though you must need an archived Flash player to see this logo.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on the old 20th Television website around 2013 until the Disney acquisition in 2019. It is now archived, and can be seen on the Wayback machine.

Editor's Note: None.

  • With 20th Century Fox Intro 1994 My That Was Used In Version fanfare 20th Century Fox 4th Logo Fanfare (2014-2028) (100th Anniversary logo) - Concept!, (Middle) logos, Intro (1080p HD).
  • Opening: The beginning of the logo which then, after the first searchlight swoops across the screen, cuts to a few seconds ahead in the animation with the Los Angeles/Hollywood skyline visible in the distance.

Availability: Ultra rare, as this never appeared on any shows and was only used on a 2014 sales promo for Family Guy.

Editor's Note: An extremely wasted logo. Would have been an awesome successor to the first logo if it started to become in use.

Copyright Stamps[]

Here is some information about the copyright stamps on with 20th Century Fox Intro 1994 My That Was Used In Version, fanfare 20th Century Fox series (starting in 2020) (100th Anniversary logo) (Opening) logos,:

with 20th Century Fox Intro 1994 My That Was Used In Version, fanfare (100th Anniversary logo) (Opening) logos, 2020-2029-present: © [YEAR] 20th Century Fox - CONCEPT!,

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