American Public Television

Background: APT was founded in 1961 as the Eastern Educational Television Network (EEN), distributing public TV shows such as The French Chef, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and Washington Week to public television stations on a regional basis, and then nationwide when NET (now PBS) was formed. They changed their name to Interregional Program Service in the 1980s, became American Program Service (APS) in 1992, and changed to their current name, American Public Television in 1999.

1st Logo (1992-1999) American Program Service (Early-Late 1990s) Nickname: "A Production of..."

Logo: On a maroon-colored background, we see the text

A PRODUCTION OF

AMERICAN PROGRAM SERVICE

in Copperplate, which zooms in slightly. There is a shining wipe on the text.

Variants: There is a variant which has "BOSTON" under the text. Another variant has the text "Distributed By" in place of "A Production Of". Another variant says "A Presentation Of".

FX/SFX: The name zooming in, the "shimmer".

Cheesy Factor: Pretty cheap for 1992.

Music/Sounds: None. In other cases, it uses the end theme of the show. Bloopy's Buddies, however, used their own generic theme over the logo (as well as two other logos that produced Bloopy's Buddies as well).

Availability: Seen on Bloopy's Buddies, Computer Chronicles, and The Big Comfy Couch episodes from the era. However, since those shows don't air anymore, it's pretty much extinct outside of personal recordings. Still intact on the "Cyber Cafes" and "Macworld" episodes of Computer Chronicles on the Internet Archive, from 1996. Used in tandem with the next logo.

Scare Factor: None to minimal.

2nd Logo (1994-1999)

American Program Service (1990s)

Nickname: "APS", "Programs For Public Television"

Logo: On a black background with 2 orange/brown squares, we the letters "aps" in orange/brown with the words "American Program Service" below the letters zooming out from us, with the "p" slightly on top of the "a", a white bracket revealing the "p", and a black bracket revealing the "s". Once the letters shift into place, the words:

________ Programs For Public Television

appear below the letters "ps", while a small flash appears above the "a" in the top left hand corner. Also, one of the squares disappears, leaving one square in the background, which rotates.

FX/SFX: The animation in the logo.

Music/Sounds: A somewhat patriotic 7-note synth tune with a drum crescending throughout. It's likely this version was sometimes used for the 1st logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. Was seen on 1994-1998 episodes of Computer Chronicles. A few episodes from the era on the Internet Archive retain this. Can also be seen on 1997-1998 episodes of The Kidsongs Television Show on iTunes.

Scare Factor: Minimal. The fanfare may startle some viewers, but this is an okay logo.

3rd Logo (1999-2008)

American Public Television - CLG WikiAmerican Public Television - CLG Wiki

Nickname: "The Squares"

Logo: On a black background, we see two squares, one with white outlining and the other with red outlining, shifting throughout, and each one is blue with watermarks of the name on them. Then a red outline forms another square, which appears in the same color also with watermarks of the name as it finishes, with the text "American Public Television" on it.

Variants: •Starting in 2000, the URL text "aptonline.org" appeared under the company's name. In more recent years, it reads "APTonline.org". •On The Organ Wise Guys shorts, the logo appears at the bottom of the screen with the text: "Copyright (C) (Year) American Public Television" to the left of the logo.

FX/SFX: The animation in the logo.

Music/Sounds: Same as 2nd logo.

Availability: At one point, it was considered to be the Sony Pictures Television of public television, but it is now mostly uncommon. It can be seen on older programs that they distribute to PBS stations, as well as independent Public TV stations such as KCET andshows on the digital broadcast network Create (which APT partially owns).

Scare Factor: None to low. This is a very memorable logo to most viewers, but it can also be annoying for some who felt like this logo was hammered into their minds on purpose.

4th Logo (2008-2011)

American Public Television (2010)

Nickname: "The Squares II"

Logo: Nearly the same as before, but animated for HD, darker and seemingly quicker in pace. The company name is in the Gotham font instead of the Helvetica font.

Variant: Originally, there was no URL in the logo, but starting in late-2009, the URL text "APTonline.org" appears under the company's name.

FX/SFX: All of the animation.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 2nd and 3rd logos.

Availability: Appeared on episodes WORLDFOCUSfrom the era. Due to its short life it wasn't nearly as common as the previous logo was at one point.

Scare Factor: None to minimal. This is a fine update of the 3rd logo.

5th Logo (2011-)

American Public Television (2011)

Nickname: "Shady Squares"

Logo: On a shady steel gray/blue gradient background, we see the words "American Public Television" in a Garamond font appear. Then, several blue/aqua/white-textured squares zoom out from out of nowhere and the URL "aptonline.org" appears below.

FX/SFX: The zooming, done in modern computer animation.

Music/Sounds: The last 3 notes of the 1994 fanfare, played in a relaxing tone on a guitar. Otherwise, the actual 1994 theme is used.

Availability: Current and common. Seen on WORLDFOCUS, Mr. Bean, The Joy of Painting, and Nightly Business Report, among others.

Scare Factor: None. This is a fine logo, but it's not as memorable as the 3rd logo.