RKO Television

1st Logo

(1981-89)

Nickname: "Cheesy Thunderbolt"

Logo: On a plain black background, we see the segmented white-lined rectangle slide in from the left of the screen. A bolt of lightning strikes the rectangle and reveals the red equilateral triangle pointing down with a "thunderbolt" drawn 3/4 through it. An RKO General copyright notice appears below, and the words "RKO TELEVISION" are "lasered in" by red beams and appear opposite the triangle, which pulsates twice at the end.

Copyright Info: An occasional copyright notice for RKO General Inc. will appear at the bottom of the logo. Former O&Os (owner and operators) WOR-TV or KHJ-TV would also include their station idents on some of their locally-produced shows.

FX/SFX: The lightning bolt striking the rectangle; the formation of the triangle and words.

Cheesy Factor: Nothing much, just pure '80s graphics.

Music/Sounds: Same as the 1981 movie logo.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was seen mostly on programming supplied from the RKO General TV stations, so look for old off-air recordings from the era for this.

Scare Factor: Medium to high. The lightning combined with the 1981 film music may get to some.