ITC Entertainment Group (UK)

Logo descriptions by Matt Williams, Supermarty-o, TrickyMario7654, and others

Logo captures by Eric S., Bob Fish, V of Doom, randomtvandmoviejunk, teamfx200, and others

Editions by mr3urious, Bob Fish, Supermarty-o, and V of Doom

Video captures courtesy of Eric S., Mobilene, mcydodge919, phasicblu, JohnnyL80, and news5aksionfan661

Background

The Incorporated Television Company (ITC) was a British television distribution company founded by television mogul Lew Grade in 1954 as the distribution unit of ATV (Associated TeleVision), one of the ITV franchises; it later branched out into TV series and feature film production. In 1995, PolyGram Filmed Entertainment acquired ITC Entertainment Group. PolyGram was later acquired by Seagram and Sons on December 10, 1998. In January 1999, Carlton Communications acquired the ITC library. Most of the ITC library, with certain exceptions (The Dark Crystal is held by Universal with Sony Pictures Entertainment handling video rights, and non-US rights of The Evil That Men Do is owned by co-distributor Tri-Star Pictures through Sony Pictures Entertainment, US rights are still with Shout! Factory/ITV), is now owned by ITV Studios Global Entertainment, a subsidiary of ITV plc.

1st Logo (1956-1960)

Nicknames: "Early Diamonds", "Horizontal Diamonds", "An ITC Release"

Logo: On a black background, we see the letters "ITC" each appear in three rounded diamonds shapes horizontally. The word "AN" appears above it and "RELEASE" appears below it.

Variant: On Fury, the logo appears in-credit and the word "RELEASE" is replaced with "PRODUCTION". Numerous other variants also exist, too.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None or the closing theme.

Availability: Possibly extinct. Seen on early ITC shows like Ding Dong School, Fury, and Interpol Calling.

Editor's Note: Uniquely, this is the only logo where the diamonds are arranged horizontally, rather than the more familiar vertical formation.

2nd Logo (1956-1961?)

Nicknames: "Vertical Diamonds", "An ITC Release II"

Logo: On a gray background, the letters "ITC" each appear in three rounded diamond shapes vertically, connected with a line in the middle. The word "AN" appears above it and "RELEASE" appears beneath it. In other cases, it's ITC Release (1961)superimposed.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It's mostly common on U.S. syndication prints of the first Lassie TV series, retitled Jeff's Collie (1954-1957). Some Alpha Video DVD releases might retain this logo, however.

Editor's Note: The more familiar vertical design debuts here, but wouldn't be until a bit later where it becomes more notable.

3rd Logo (September 1959-May 21, 1975)

Nickname: "The Compass"

Logo: On a gray background, a compass appears. It zooms up really close, and then "flips" to reveal a black diamond-like shape. A map of the world is wiped into the diamond from left to right as a white outline appears. The diamond's interior once again turns black as it zooms out as the background fades to black. When it reaches the top, a line is drawn through the middle as an "I" appears in the middle as well. Two more diamonds appear below the "I" diamond, reading "T" and "C", and appearing as the line "connects" them. The word "presents" appears below.

Variants:

• Sometimes, "Distribution" replaces "presents," and sometimes, there is no text under the logo.
• There was a variant that has "Distributed by" above the logo.
• Sometimes, all three diamonds are already there, and the letters appear inside.
• In the color version of the logo, the background is red, and turns to green during the map part, the compass is silver, and the map's continents on the opening variant is blue and the closing variant is green.
• Certain programs will have an in-credit logo that appears with "AN" to the left of the ITC logo and "WORLD WIDE DISTRIBUTION" either to the right such as Gerry Anderson's UFO or directly under it.
• On the TV Movie Vendetta for the Saint, a print version of the next logo with the copyright year is seen. Maybe it is a logo plaster.
• An in-credit variant had the words "FOR" and "WORLD WIDE DISTRIBUTION" above and below the ITC logo, respectively. This was seen on This is Tom Jones and the 1973 Sesame Street special Julie on Sesame Street, which guest-starred Julie Andrews and Perry Como.
• An in-credit variant had the words "A BAMORE PRODUCTION FOR" above the ITC logo. This logo was seen on color episodes of The Saint from 1966-1969.
• On Return of the Pink Panther, the logo is pink and shares a credit with Jewel Productions Ltd. and Pimlico Films Ltd.

FX/SFX: The compass, the map appearing; lots of animation in this logo.

Music/Sounds: A bombastic brass score. Composed by Jack Parnell.

Availability: Extremely rare, as it hasn't been seen anywhere in ages. It might appear on some ITC shows from the period, most notably The Saint and many of Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows, but it was definitely plastered by the 4th logo on IVE's tapes of The Saint. It has turned up as a hidden Easter egg on the region 2 DVD release of The Persuaders! (1972-73). The in-credit logo can be seen on re-runs and DVD releases of The Prisoner and Thunderbirds, as well as at the start of the Magnetic Video, Embassy Home Entertainment and Avid Home Entertainment releases of The Tamarind Seed, the latter release where it's preceded by the 1989 logo. The logo is also preserved on all home media releases of Return of the Pink Panther, where the logo is an in-credit logo.

Editor's Note: The familiar fanfare was first heard here, but its very loud and proud nature is considered to be a bit scary to 1st time viewers. However, it's a favorite among the logo community.

4th Logo (1973-1989)

Nicknames: "Rainbow Top", "Rainbow Diamond Top", "Spinning Diamonds of Doom"

Logo: On a dark blue space background, three diamonds appear, red, green, and blue respectively, "interlocked" within each other and spinning around like a top. From the center of the screen, a white ITC logo, designed much like last time but now turned slightly upward, zooms out and quickly moves to the left side, as the word "ENTERTAINMENT" appears alongside. At the end of the logo, the ITC logo fades out to make room for the word "Presents".

Trivia: The spinning diamonds on this logo are filmed in a way that, depending how you look it, you see the three diamonds spinning above you, or under you.

Variants:

• When introduced in 1973, the ITC logo zooms into the center of the screen after which either the word "PRESENTS", "PRODUCTION", or "DISTRIBUTION" pop up under it before the sequence fades out. It was replaced with the more familiar version by 1977.
• On Space: 1999 and IVE-released volumes of The Saint, a version of the animated logo is seen at the end of the program, with "FROM" to the left of the ITC logo, and no "Presents".
• On all other ITC programs of the era, a still logo appears in the show's end credits.
• The second version of this logo and the still in-credit counterpart have either no byline, an ATV byline, or an ACC (Associated Communications Corporation) byline.
• This was routinely plastered over the Compass logo on newer prints of older ITC series (when Sci-Fi Channel reran Space: 1999, the second version (with and without the ATV byline) and the 1989 Golden Top logo were plastered over the original 1973 ITC Presents logo on all episodes except the show's finale, "The Dorcons").
• There is an extremely rare version with the ITC logo in gold with "PRESENTS" appearing below. It is said that logo variant exists on Betamax tapes of season one of The Muppet Show.
• An in-credit version exists on The Return of Swamp Thing where the ITC logo appears with "ENTERTAINMENT GROUP" under it (stacked, of course).
• An in-credit version was used on older prints of The Muppet Show, which showed the ITC logo in between "FOR" and "TELEVISION". Below that are copyright dates for ITC and Henson Associates.
• The logo at the beginning lacks a drum roll on the film Sweet Dreams, which recently aired on WGN America (though this is most likely just an error on their part).
• The logo appears in credit on films produced by ITC Entertainment Group and the trailers for the films (such as Capricoen One).

FX/SFX: The spinning diamonds, the zooming out of "ITC".

Music/Sounds: The same as the previous logo.

Availability: Rare.

• The ITC library was, at the time this was first compiled, in the hands of Carlton Television, a company not known for preserving logos or even other corporate identities (it renamed two of its UK television stations, Central (the former "ATV") and Westcountry under the Carlton name several years ago; the names of those stations were reinstated after Carlton merged with Granada in 2003), and some shows which had the logo have been updated with the 1989 ITC logo or other company logos (for instance, The Muppet Show, originally an ITC/ATV-Jim Henson co-production, had the scene with the in-credit notice re-shot in-order to update the in-credit notice with a newer one), but the version used from the 1st season surprisingly being used on disc one, Peter Ustinov episode on German DVD releases of The Muppet Show, and the variant used from the 2nd season can be found on VHS releases of "Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff" in Spain, "Gonzo y sus extrañas aventuras" despite all of the ATV and ITC logos from both UK and US versions being wiped and cut by Disney.
• Most in-credit versions are usually left alone (see below for more information).
• The logo was recently spotted on an airing of the 1985 film Sweet Dreams on WGN America, as well as the IVE release of The Saint. In the latter case, it even plasters over the 3rd logo!
• It also appears in the MST3K episode "Cosmic Princess" (which is just really episodes of Space: 1999 all shown at once).
• This may also appear on a few tapes from Magnetic Video and its later incarnations, as well as those from ThrillerVideo, The Video Late Show, IVE, USA Home Video, Family Home Entertainment, and King Bee Video, particularly if the tape is of a TV movie. This was also taken from 1963-1967 WMUR 9 Manchester and 1960-1967 WNBF 12 Binghamton Airings of Robin Hood. For example, the original centered variant kicks off the Magnetic Video release of The Dancing Years. Also seen on 1980s syndicated prints of Green Ice.
• This also showed up on mid-1990s USA Network airings of Halloween (1978).

Editor's Note: The bombastic fanfare makes a return, and combined with the large diamonds in the background, it does make a pretty strange and even somewhat scary piece. Still, it's a favorite of many.

5th Logo (January 17, 1977-1988)

Nickname: "Still Diamond Top"

Logo: Against a colored background, we see "FROM" in a small font. Next to it is the familiar ITC logo that has been turned slightly upward, and next to that we see "ENTERTAINMENT". The byline " © I.T.C. ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED (year in Roman numerals)" is seen below.

Variants:

• There exists a version without a copyright date. It has a red-orange background.
• Another version with the red background where the word "ENTERTAINMENT" is replaced by "PRODUCTIONS" exists.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: The first variant is left intact on Billionaire Boys Club, with the then-current Granada International logo following it; the "PRODUCTIONS" variant appears at the end of the 1986 Walt Disney Home Video release of The Girl Who Spelled Freedom, followed by the Walt Disney Television logo. Another variant with zooming animation can be seen at the end of the 1988 IVE release of Sunset Limousine.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (February 7-9, 1988)

Nickname: "The Gold Diamonds", "Early Golden Top", "Drawing Top", "Drawing Diamond Top"

Logo: On a brown smoke-like background, 2 gold diagonal lines start to draw a diamond. They curve and intersect at the top to draw the second and third diamonds. "ITC", in gold, appear one by one inside the diamonds. The text:

I. T. C. E N T E R T A I N M E N T
G R O U P

in white, zooms in below the diamonds.

FX/SFX: The diamonds drawing. The text zooming in.

Music/Sounds: The end theme of the series.

Availability: Extremely rare. This was only seen on the miniseries Windmills Of The Gods. The Timeless Media DVD preserves this logo and so does the Shout! Factory TV prints (followed by the ITV Studios Global Entertainment logo).

Editor's Note: It could be considered a prototype version of the next logo thanks to the gold color, albeit it's more of a crude recreation of the logo at the time, both in animation and design.

7th Logo (June 19, 1987-October 11, 1998)

Nicknames: "The Gold Diamonds of Tame", "Golden Top", "Golden Diamonds", "Golden Diamond Top", "THUD!"

Logo: On a black background, we see three gold interlocked ITC diamonds but with no letters in them, spinning around. As they spin around, the letters "ITC", in gold, slide out from the right of it one-by-one, and then shine as the diamonds stop spinning.

Variants:

• There is a rare opening variant that features "Presents" underneath. This was seen at the beginning of some ITC productions/releases.
• The closing variant of this logo is bylineless.
• There is a variation of the logo that appears at the end of some CBS Theatrical Films releases when they were shown on television, and many ITC releases from Avid Home Entertainment as well as an Australian airing of Danger Man and current prints of at least two episodes of the 1960's classic television series The Prisoner titled "A Change of Mind" and "Fall Out". In it, the logo is sped up, the three notes accompanying the ITC letters sliding out are not heard, the letters do not shine, there is no shimmering sound heard, "Entertainment Group" appears under "ITC" once the diamonds stop spinning, and a different "THUD!" sound is heard at the end. The music for that logo has also been heard on the standard version as well.
• The late version of this logo, has a byline reading "A PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Company", which is seen on the Artisan DVDs of Sophie's Choice, The Boys from Brazil, and some TV airings of Volunteers.
• On the 1996-98 USA Network series The Big Easy, the ITC Entertainment Group version is seen sped up (after the Grosso-Jacobon Productions logo) and cuts away to the PolyGram Filmed Entertainment logo (joined in progress; the final part of that logo is seen).
• Sometimes it is superimposed on the ending credits.

FX/SFX: The spinning diamonds and sliding letters; pretty good animation.

Music/Sounds: A dramatic bass sounder, followed by a three-note synth tune that corresponds to the sliding out of the letters, a shimmering sound accompanying the letters shining, and a "THUD!" synth sound.

Music/Sounds Variants:

• A modified version of the tune can be found on Deadlock.
• A low-pitched version of the tune can be found on the Scorpion Releasing DVD of Whispers (1990).
• A high tone version also exists.
• Sometimes the music for the ITC Entertainment Group logo can be heard over the standard logo.
• There is a variant on the ITC Entertainment Group logo where the three notes play (although faster than usual) and a "THUD"/drum roll sound effect plays. This music variant is very rare.
• Sometimes, the logo is silent, or it can have the opening theme of the movie play over it.
• The mini-series People Like Us has a three-note harp theme.
• The standard logo's music has been known to play over the ITC Entertainment Group logo.
• Some TV movies and most episodes of Space: 1999 have the 1959 logo theme playing over the logo.

Availability: Rare.

• It debuted on the original British release of The Brave Little Toaster.
• It was also spotted on other international VHS releases when the company held the distribution rights at the time.
• This logo was the norm for plastering older ITC logos (including the ITC Film Distributors logos) on prints of its television and film library.
• In recent years, this has fallen to removal or plastering by other companies (under Carlton and Granada/ITV ownership for example), but can still be seen on a number of titles released by IVE, Live Entertainment, or Artisan Entertainment, as well as older TV prints of ITC material.
• This appears on Artisan DVD releases of films such as The Last Unicorn, The Boys from Brazil, and The Eagle Has Landed, among others. This logo was also spotted on various episodes of The Saint on ITV4 in the UK and at the start and end of one episode of the aforementioned show on Me-TV titled "The Best Laid Schemes". Edited reruns of Thunderbirds that aired in 1994 on Fox Kids had the animated logo with copyright; the infamous Turbocharged Thunderbirds aired in syndication the next year had a still variant with no copyright.
• The "Entertainment Group" variant appears at the end of most ITC material released on DVD by Artisan Entertainment, such as The Eagle Has Landed and Jesus of Nazareth among many others as well as an Australian airing of Danger Man.
• This logo is also intact on some ITC films released by different companies, such as the Columbia/TriStar DVD release and a Netflix print of Fear of a Black Hat, the Scorpion Releasing DVD of Whispers, and the Synapse Films DVD of Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy. It was also recently seen on Amazon Prime Video viewings of Dogpound Shuffle, Doppelganger, and Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael (the latter in place of the 1986 Paramount logo, which suggests the international master was used). On Blu-Ray, this appears on the German BD of Wedlock, and the Scorpion releases of Trouble Bound, The Last Seduction (including the Network UK BD and SE DVD) over the film's opening theme, though the US Artisan DVD had it plastered with the Barnholtz Productions logo.
• This is also seen on ITC catalog releases by Avid Home Entertainment, where it usually (if not always) plasters earlier ITC logos or those of the films' distributors (e.g. Associated Film Distribution, 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios), Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Avco Embassy Pictures Corporation); on the Avid release of The Tamarind Seed, it plasters the Avco Embassy logo but retains the in-credit ITC opening logo.
• Recent prints of some of these replace this with either the Carlton, Granada, or ITV Studios Global Entertainment logos.
• This logo also made an appearance on recent Australian airings of the Thunderbirds episodes "Lord Parker's Holiday" and "Path of Destruction" (and can be seen on 9Now's prints of those episodes).
• The superimposed variant was seen on the 1990 revival of Tic-Tac-Dough, and was last seen when it was rerun on the USA Network more than 20 years ago, as well as on 1991-95 episodes of The George Michael Sports Machine (presumably to help distinguish the national version of the show from the one seen on NBC's O&O stations {the show was produced by NBC's Washington DC station WRC-TV 4}, certain promos included the ITC logo and the ITC diamonds were seen on certain set pieces; beginning fall 1995, Group W Productions took over distribution and were in turn succeeded by Eyemark Entertainment, King World, NBC Enterprises and NBCUniversal Television Distribution).
• It is unknown if this was seen on late 1980s/early 1990s prints of The Buccaneers.
• Like with ITV4 airings of the fifth and sixth seasons of The Saint, it is retained on various episodes on Britbox, with some of them even having the logo at the start as well as the end.
• Like with ITV4 airings of the fifth and sixth seasons of The Saint, it is also retained on a few early episodes of Gerry Anderson's The Protectors, which aired on the same channel.
• It also recently appeared at the beginning of a January 5, 2023 UK airing of The Great Riviera Bank Robbery (1979) on Talking Pictures TV.