Sony Pictures Television Studios/Summary

Background[]

Columbia TriStar Television was a merger of Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television (after branding Columbia TriStar Home Video). It was founded on February 21, 1994 and the same day, SPE renamed Columbia Pictures Television Distribution to "Columbia TriStar Television Distribution". With Columbia TriStar International Television (formerly "Columbia Pictures International Television") already in operation since the early-1990s, all three became part of the "Columbia TriStar Television Group". On June 4, 1994, CTT folded Merv Griffin Enterprises and took over the rights to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, and used a logo since the inception by September. However, CPT and TriStar continued producing their own series until TriStar Television became in-name-only in 1999 and CPT folded on January 1, 2001. Columbia TriStar Television was officially incorporated on July 12, 1996. On October 25, 2001, CTT and CTTD were merged into "Columbia TriStar Domestic Television" with CTIT remaining. On September 16, 2002, Sony Corporation decided to retire the Columbia TriStar Television name and logo from its television division, renaming it "Sony Pictures Television". For the first time since 1974, the Torch Lady or anything resembling Columbia's symbol is nowhere to be seen; instead, the corporate logo for Sony Pictures was introduced to television viewers for the first time. On July 25, 2017, SPT launched a new in-production name called "Sony Pictures Television Studios", in order to further make use of production in the SPT library and rolls out for current and future titles starting on January 7, 2020. The SPT name and logo will continue to be used in media sites and international broadcasts.

Columbia TriStar Television[]

1st Logo (July 25, 1994-May 27, 2000)[]

Nickname: "CT Boxes"

Logo: On a solid blue background, we see two boxes, the left one contains the Columbia Torch Lady (90s version), and the right one contains the TriStar Pegasus (again, 90s version over Columbia cloud background). Above the logo, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" is seen, with the words positioned over their respective logos, and on the bottom is the word "TELEVISION" and the standard Sony Pictures Entertainment byline.

Trivia: This is basically Columbia TriStar's home video logo, but "HOME VIDEO" is replaced with "TELEVISION", the background is solid blue, both boxes have a very thin black border instead of a regular gold border, and a Sony byline is added.

FX/SFX: Just a simple fade in and fade out or none. On GSN, the logo fades out like the 1992 CPT logo, in that the names and bylines dim out first, then the background and logos fade out, and the names fade out.

Music/Sounds: A re-arranged version of the infamous CPT '93 theme done by Steven Kaplan.

Music/Sounds Variants:

Like CPT, from 1994, the logo theme was re-orchestrated.
From 1996-2000, the logo would fade out at the last note. This wouldn't happen on Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy!.
On some season four episodes of Early Edition such as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", it uses the 1993 TriStar Television theme.
A silent version appears on Jeopardy! for the Philips CD-i and the promo for Godzilla: The Series, as seen on the 1998 VHS of Godzilla (although non-NA releases have the logo theme).

Voice-overs: From September 1994-November 1996 on Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, there were different announcements over the logo and fanfare:

Wheel of Fortune:

(September 1994-Early 1995): (on the Wheel of Fortune/Califon card with the drum roll) Wheeeeel of Fortune is produced by (on the CTT logo) Columbia TriStar Television! (on the King World logo) Distributed by King World!
(Early to summer 1995): Created by Merv Griffin. (On the Wheel of Fortune/Califon card with the drum roll) Wheel of Fortune is produced by (on the CTT logo) Columbia TriStar Television! (on the King World logo) Distributed by King World.
(September 1995-1996): This is Charile O'Donnell speaking. Wheel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin. (Later turns to the Wheel of Fortune/Califon card with drum roll by a page flipping effect. O'Donnell would sometimes announce on this card) (On CTT logo) Produced by, Columbia TriStar Television. (On the 1990 King World logo with the theme) Distributed by King World.
(Johnny Gilbert) (November 1995) (on the Wheel of Fortune/Califon card with the snare drum roll) Wheeeeel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin! (on the CTT logo) Produced by Columbia TriStar Television. (on the 1990 King World logo) Distributed by King World.

Jeopardy! (Johnny Gilbert):

(September 1994-1995): (On the credits) This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. (Later turns to the Jeopardy! title card) (on the CTT logo) Jeopardy! is a production of Columbia TriStar Television. (on the 1990 King World logo) Distributed by King World.
(1995-November 1996): (On the credits) This is Johnny Gilbert speaking. Jeopardy! was created by Merv Griffin. (on the Jeopardy! title card) Produced by (on the CTT logo) Columbia TriStar Television. (on the 1990 King World logo) Distributed by King World.

This was the time when both game shows were taken over by Columbia TriStar Television.

Voice-over Variant: A rare variant just like the 1997 logo. Charlie O'Donnell says "Columbia TriStar Television" over the fanfare. This is also presumably done to blend in with the spiel at the end of the program and cover up the end reference to King World. This happened in 1997.

Availability: Until 1997 this logo was primarily reserved for animated series, as well as Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune; most other shows continued to use the separate Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television brands.

It appeared on GSN up until their infamous "Dark Period," then was replaced with the then-current CTT logo.
It was most widely used on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (both until spring 1997; CTT fully absorbed Merv Griffin Enterprises per a deal struck with Griffin in July 1994 that allowed him to remain as executive producer of both shows until 2000, with this logo first appearing on Wheel the week of September 5, 1994).
Other shows to use this included earlier animated series from Adelaide Productions, including Men in Black: The Series (until 2000), Channel Umptee-3, Jumanji: The Animated Series, and several S1 episodes of Godzilla: The Series.
It was last seen back in 2002 on reruns of Men in Black: The Series on Nickelodeon's short-lived "SLAM!" block, paired with the 2002 Sony Pictures Television International logo. When reran on The Hub (now Discovery Family), the CTT logo was replaced by the Sony Pictures Television logo there; the logo is also plastered on Crackle's prints.
This was intact (followed by SPT) on later episodes of Beakman's World on Tubi.
Certain modern releases of Jumanji: The Animated Series retain the logo, including when Hulu and Tubi streamed the series. Most episodes on the former service used the SPTI logo, as did the two episodes included on the 2017 Blu-ray reissue of Jumanji, while the latter features the SPT logo following it.
It can also be found on video releases of Godzilla on a Godzilla: The Series promo.
The logo was also seen on some network series, such as The Dana Carvey Show episode "The Taco Bell Dana Carvey Show" on DVD, several early season 4 episodes of Early Edition on FamilyNet and Malcolm & Eddie, as well on a French airing of some episodes of Just Shoot Me! and UK airings of certain season 7 episodes of Mad About You.
When GSN reran the 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1996-97 seasons of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune over two decades ago, this logo was plastered by the 1997 CTT logo, keeping the voice-overs intact.
Made a surprise appearance at the end of a PRO Cinema Romania airing of The Facts of Life Go to Paris, plastering the in-credit Embassy Television logo and on CTV Throwback prints of some episodes of Partners in Crime.
It also ended up on at least two Screen Gems animated shorts on MeTV+ (as part of Sunday Night Cartoons), followed right by the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo.

Editor's Note: It's one of those logos you either love or hate.

2nd Logo (Early 1995-February 14, 2003)[]

Nicknames: "CT Boxes II", "The Sliding Boxes", "The Boxes of Boredom", "The Boxes of Justice"

Logo: It's almost the same as the second 1995 Columbia TriStar Home Video logo, except "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" replaces "HOME VIDEO" and the Sony byline is intact. Plus, the cloud background in the TriStar box is replaced with the one from its movie logo and the text has a shadow effect.

Standard Variants: Depending on the unit that the show originated from (Television, Television Distribution, or Domestic Television), the logo was modified accordingly.

Variants:

In February 1997, "TELEVISION" is seen. In this version, the word "TELEVISION" along with the Sony byline, do not have the shadow effect while the words, "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" still have the shadow effect intact. Plus, the logo has the red-pink tint and the Sony byline is in a different font (as Helvetica).
There is a version used for CTTD, where a darker box with the animation of the clouds from the intro of the 1993 Columbia TriStar Home Video logo zooms back and then splits to form the logo. This version was seen on Walker, Texas Ranger, Seinfeld, and Born Free: A New Adventure.
On widescreen international versions of some programs such as season 2 of The King of Queens, there is a widescreen version of the CTT logo.
A silent version existed for the short version of CTTD.
On 1997-2002 episodes of Jeopardy!, there would be a freeze frame effect at the end of the logo. The logo would sometimes fade-out instead of disappearing.
Starting in late 1999 on some series, the logo was expanded in ratio size in observance to early high definition programming. This version has been nicknamed "Enhanced Boxes of Boredom". The animation here is a bit cheaper and is filmed, the Torch Lady along with her cloud background both have a zooming out effect as the box splits, the TriStar Pegasus animation is slowed down a bit, the boxes have a thin white border and the text doesn't have the shadow effect and are in blue color. The studio's name was changed entirely to Columbia TriStar Domestic Television on October 25, 2001 with "DOMESTIC TELEVISION" below the boxes with the SPE byline a bit smaller.
There are three versions of the "DOMESTIC TELEVISION" variant of the logo. The first version was where the logo is up close and looks like the boxes are almost touching the screen. The second version is where the logo is in the letterbox format, stretched to fit the screen. The third version is where the logo is in the far-distance known as the "Open Matte" boxes and the SPE byline is a bit bigger and not bold.
There also was a variant featuring an "in association with" on the top left corner of the logo on CTTD.
There are also black and white variants of all three logos.
On some TV movies like Rag & Bone, Into Thin Air: Death on Everest and Double Platinum, there is a filmed version of the CTT variant.
On German shows such as Powder Park and Ritas Welt (translated as Rita's World), there is a still in-credit version of the CTTD logo superimposed into the credits. Plus, "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" is replaced with "FILM UND FERNSEH PRODUKTIONS GMBH" (translated in English as "FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCTIONS LTD") and it doesn't have a shadow effect.
On the short-lived series, The $treet for CTTD, the words, "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" is in a different font (as Eurostile) and the SPE byline is in a different font (as Futura Medium). Plus, the words (except for "COLUMBIA TRISTAR") don't have the shadow effect.
An extremely rare filmed variant for CTDT exists and appears on the TV movies, Blood Crime and Breakaway (also known as Christmas Rush). Both movies are available on DVD.
An extremely rare enhanced variant for CTTD was recently discovered on the TV movie The Linda McCartney Story, along an open-matte version seen on First Shot. Both variants have been spotted on airings of the films on the Sony Movie Channel.

FX/SFX: The boxes fading in and sliding, the animation of Columbia and TriStar theatrical logos in the boxes.

Music/Sounds: Same as the last logo. Starting in 1999 with CTT (and later CTDT), the first note is cut off.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants:

Sometimes a shorter version of the jingle is used, only about the second half of the long version. This version of the music sounds like a re-orchestration and not a truncation of the regular logo. This is mostly seen on the "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" variation of the logo. However, it was also used on the "DOMESTIC TELEVISION" variant of the logo on at least season four episodes of V.I.P.
On some TriStar produced shows (especially Mad About You and Early Edition), the 1992-93 or 1993-99 TriStar Television themes were used. However, some shows produced by CTT such as Cupid used the 1993 TriStar Television theme as well. This was first used in 1997.
The 1988 CPT theme was also heard on this logo on several Three Stooges shorts part of Stooge TV on The Family Channel. Short version of CTTD only.
On a MeTV airing of the season 4 Jeffersons episode "984 W. 124th Street, Apt. 5C", the 1988 CPT theme is heard under the CTTD logo due to botched plastering.
The 1993 CPT theme was also heard on the CTTD logo on 1996-2001 episodes of Ricki Lake and the 1999 CTT logo on Phantom Investigators.
On several 2001-02 episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures, high and low tone versions were used, and alternated depending on the theme song. On the short-lived series, Secret Agent Man, it used the standard, high, low, and very low tone variants.
On Married... with Children: The Most Outrageous Episodes: Volume 2, at the end of the episode "If Al Had a Hammer", the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo music is heard on the third version of the CTDT logo.
On some Game Show Network reruns (mostly old episodes of Wheel of Fortune, except for the 1988-90 seasons, and Jeopardy!), Charlie O'Donnell says "Columbia TriStar Television" over the fanfare. This is presumably done to blend in with the spiel at the end of the program and cover up the end reference to King World. On the 1994-1995 and 1995-1996 seasons on both shows, the original voice over is intact, but plastering the 1994 logo with this logo. This even happened on reruns of game shows where this situation was not needed, such as the 1976 network version of Break The Bank, and on a rerun of The 25,000 Pyramid finale on New Year's Eve 1999, as there was no voice over in the end.
On the CTT logo in 1999, the last 2 1/2 notes of the short CTTD theme were played. This was heard on Dilbert. A higher-pitched version of this was sometimes used.
A silent version appears at the end of a promo for Spider-Man: The New Animated Series, which can be seen on the 2002 VHS of Spider-Man.
On The $treet, only the final note of the logo music is heard on the CTTD logo.
In other cases, the ending theme of the show plays over it, such as on The King of Queens.

Availability: Common.

It's not very hard to spot despite being less common than its successor, although it's mainly on near-recent prints of shows reran on cable, like Walker, Texas Ranger on the now-defunct Cloo, the first season (and the first four S2 episodes) of The Guardian on H&I and previously on TV Guide Network (later renamed TVGN, and currently Pop), and most of the final season episodes of Early Edition on Start TV and last seen on FamilyNet, TV Guide Network (now Pop) and Syfy. It also occasionally appeared on Sony-owned programs on GSN like Russian Roulette, seasons 1-5 of Hollywood Squares, and the Donny Osmond version of Pyramid. It also appeared on every episode of Harold and the Purple Crayon on HBO Family -- even though it no longer airs nowadays, the CTT logo was always retained whenever the network reran the series. However, the DVD releases and CTV Throwback prints plaster it with the Sony Pictures Television logo.
The CTDT logos can also be seen on season 2 DVD releases of All in the Family, Sanford and Son, Good Times, and The Jeffersons, and a couple episodes on the season 4 DVD release of Punky Brewster (with the NBC Enterprises or NBC Universal Television Distribution logo following it, this was kept on one episode on Peacock but with the 1982 CPT and the current NBCUniversal Television Distribution logos following this logo), and was last seen on reruns of Mad About You on Antenna TV (plastering the 1992 TriStar Television logo), among others.
CTTD or CTDT can also be spotted on several Sony classic movies on TCM occasionally.
As for the high and low tones, they were last seen on most season 2 episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures when it was reran on Cartoon Network. Current prints of season 2 plaster the logo over with the SPT logo (like when it popped up on Disney XD at one point).
The low-tone variant was also seen on the short-lived series Secret Agent Man when it was aired on UPN and is also retained on the Australian DVD.
CTTD can be found on Sleepless in Seattle and The Quick and the Dead on TBS and TNT, The Jeffersons episode "Lunch with Mama" on TV One, and some films on ThisTV like Swamp Thing, Casualties of War or 1941. The latter title was followed by the SPT logo.
CTDT was found (followed by SPT) on the Married... with Children episode "Have You Driven a Ford Lately" on TBS.
The short version was commonly seen on Walker, Texas Ranger (including syndicated reruns of the 1993 pilot season) and the animated TV show adaptation of Dilbert (also on UPN and preserved on some current prints, like on Tubi). It was also last seen on 1998-2002 episodes of Dawson's Creek on The N (now TeenNick); DVDs of the first two seasons and Tubi prints retain it. The Distribution variant was also spotted on some episodes of Crazy Like a Fox on Crackle (while the GREAT! TV UK airings have the regular variant).
The "open matte" version was seen at the end of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner on Centric (now BET Her).
The first filmed version is preserved on the DVD releases of Into Thin Air: Death on Everest and Double Platinum.
A widescreen filmed variant of the 1999 Columbia TriStar Television logo was spotted on an HBO Asia airing of Call Me Claus (followed by the 2014 version of the Sony Pictures Television logo) and the Hulu print of the 2000 TV movie The Three Stooges (followed by the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo).
The black-and-white variant of the CTT logo can be seen on several episodes of The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin on Antenna TV, and the episode "Yo-o Rinty" used the 1993 TriStar Television theme with it. It also appears on several episodes of Gidget on Antenna TV, which happens to be TV Land's prints plastering the Screen Gems "S from Hell" logo.
On Netflix and Amazon, this can be found on most episodes of The Tick.
CTDT can also be found on S1 episodes of The Shield on Crackle and the region 1 DVD release. It can be also found on BounceTV's airings of Blue Streak.
The CTTD logo first appeared on Stooge TV, a Three Stooges program block on The Family Channel in 1996.
This can also be found on the Seinfeld 100th Episode VHS tape released in 1995 as part of a promotion with General Mills.
Both CTT and CTDT variants can be found (in HD) on S1 episodes (and the first four S2 episodes) of The Guardian on Amazon, iTunes and Paramount+.
The CTTD logo is also seen on five episodes of The Edge (while the rest retain the 1992 TriStar Television logo) on DVD.
The "darker box" variant of CTTD has also been seen on two early 2000s pitchreels for revivals of The $100,000 Pyramid and The Gong Show on Wink Martindale's YouTube channel.
The "Eurostile Thin" version of CTTD is a tough one, but it can be currently seen on season 2 episodes of Strong Medicine on Start TV (and previously on Lifetime, where the show originally aired), as well as on The Roku Channel, Tubi and CTV Throwback prints. It also appeared on V.I.P. and Sheena (both of these being first-run syndication shows), as well as on some episodes of Lifetime's Oh, Baby (the CTV Throwback prints retains it), USA Network's The Net (DVD and Crackle prints have it plastered with SPT) and season 2 of the the Showtime original series Rude Awakening, among possibly others. This version was also seen on two short-lived series, The $treet and Grosse Point (the former hasn't been reran since it originally aired on Fox; the latter was released on DVD, although it's plastered by the SPT logo there), both of which were co-produced by Artists Television Group.
The logo was also seen on seasons 1-2 of Dragon Tales, and most DVD and VHS releases of the show from 2000-03. Surprisingly, on the 2001 VHS releases of Dragon Tales: Keep On Trying, and Dragon Tales: Let's Play Together, both released on March 6, 2001, this logo is absent, and only the Children's Television Workshop logo is used (despite their becoming Sesame Workshop before then)
The CTTD version appeared on season 1 episodes of Sledge Hammer! on Me-TV, between the New World Television and SPT logos, and was seen on at least one episode of The Donna Reed Show on Me-TV.
It can also be found on Australian airings of The King of Queens on Channel Eleven and current international prints, usually followed by a CBS Broadcast International or CBS Studios International logo.
The CTT variant also makes a surprise appearance on Laff's print of the film If Lucy Fell.
It also appeared on one episode of Barney Miller on the Shout! Factory DVD set and on German airings of the final season of The Nanny (replacing the TriStar Television logo).
The CTDT variant of this logo also makes a surprise appearance on a Amazon Prime print of Severed Ties (1992) provided by Samuel Goldwyn Films, with the 2002 SPT logo following afterwards.
When CTT became SPT in 2002, the third version of the CTDT logo (also known as the "Open Matte" boxes) was used until February 14, 2003 on the 5th season of Hollywood Squares (H2) in syndication. The first two versions ended in 2002.
The CTTD variant also appears at the end of the "US Broadcast TV" cut of Ghostbusters on the bonus disc of the 2022 Collector's Edition Blu-ray set.
The CTT variant also appeared on Hulu's print of the Jumanji episode "The Red and the Black", while the rest of season 2 uses the previous logo.
The CTTD variant was also surprisingly preserved on Buzzr airings of the 1996-99 version of The Newlywed Game, followed by the 2002 SPT logo.
This was also seen on the short-lived Party of Five spin-off Time of Your Life (CTV Throwback's prints also retain it), and some episodes of Silk Stalkings.
The CTT variant also appears at the end of Frank Capra's American Dream, which appears on the Criterion Collection release of It Happened One Night.

Editor's Note: While this is a good logo, it was also wildly hated by many people for several years due to its over-common presence and use of plastering old logos, until the Sony Pictures Television logo came around in 2002 and in an ironic twist, began plastering over logos in a much worse manner than this.

Final Notes: In 2002, CTT became Sony Pictures Television. Despite this, the third version of the CTDT logo (also known as the "Open Matte" boxes) was used until 2003 on the 5th season of The New Hollywood Squares in syndication. The first two versions ended in 2002.

Sony Pictures Television[]

1st Logo (October 22, 2002-)[]

Nicknames: "The Shining Bars", "The Bars of Boredom", "The Bars of Annoyance", "The Bars of Plastering", "The Bars of Justice", "The Master of Plaster", "SPE Bars", "Sony Bars", "The SPE Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Parallelogram", "Lightbeam in Striped Parallelogram"

Logo: Against a lined background, the words "SONY PICTURES TELEVISION" (all in the Sony typeface and stacked word-by-word with "SONY" being largest) emerge and downardly zoom away from the screen. The three words aren't directly stacked at first, but as the animation progresses, they slide into place. A horizontal line is drawn between the "PICTURES" and "TELEVISION". While this happens, a flash of light appears on the left side of the screen, and the lines in the background themselves back away as well, eventually moving back to the upper part of the screen and into a diagonal pattern to form the logo. The flash dissipates and we see a oblong orange-white glare surrounding the logo and words, which shrinks into the bars to give it a shine. The finished logo appears against a shaded navy blue background. The logo is a striped parallelogram.

Trivia: This logo first appeared in fall 1991 on broadcasting ads in magazines such as Variety, around the time when SPE was founded.

Variants:

A rare filmed variant of the logo exists. This can be found on the TV movie Red Water.
There is a longer version of this logo featuring an extreme close-up of the "stacked" names at the beginning of the animation. It starts off with a bright white light and later reveals the names as the light dies down. While the logo finishes, it shows a longer shot of the logo.
In July 2003, there is an even shorter version of this logo that starts from where the 3rd-to-last note of the theme plays.
In 2004, the phrase "DISTRIBUTED BY" appeared above the logo. It was still until it faded in above the logo on the 2006 version of Chain Reaction and season 4 of The Newlywed Game both on GSN, but the font is in Times New Roman on those two. Early shorts on Crackle's C-Spot has the phrase above the name rather than the logo. For the rest, the phrase was placed on a black screen, which later fades to the SPT logo.
In 2005, an updated widescreen version was introduced. It consists of just a solid blue lighting effect in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, where the reflection of the Bars would usually be. Sometimes this version was squashed to fit a 4x3 TV, and has been featured on several movies, first-run productions, and classic series on television and DVD.
There is also a black & white variant for classic shows by Screen Gems.
In 2008, there is a black screen that reads "DISTRIBUTED BY" before the SPT logo. This only appears on web shows on websites like Crackle, MySpace, YouTube, and Hulu, among others such as C-Spot or Penn Says.
Another variant has "DISTRIBUTED BY" in a small font above the SPT name rather than above the SPT logo. This appeared on early shows on Crackle.
On pre-2011 episodes of Watch What Happens: Live, the logo is a still shot on a gray-like background.
On a 2010 airing of The Three Stooges short "The Sitter Downers", the 2005 variant was shown in black & white.
Starting on the 4th season of The Newlywed Game, the text reads as "DISTRIBUTED THROUGH" above the logo.
Sometimes the logo can appear a little up-close.
There is also a version with extra brightness on both 2002 and 2005 versions in color.
On Robot Chicken since season 6, there is a still version of the logo.
A superimposed in-credit variant exists. This can be found on international shows like Niñas Mal.
Starting with the second season of Masters of Sex and newer episodes of and newer episodes of Wheel of Fortune, The Dr. Oz Show, and Jeopardy!, the Sony Corporation logo is seen first. Then, the light flashes to reveal the short SPT logo. Some shows, such as The Young and the Restless, syndicated reruns of Seinfeld, and shows co-produced by SPT subsidiary Embassy Row still do not use this variant.
On the DVD releases of the final two seasons of Sanford and Son, the logo fades in and out, although the main version is used on the season 5 episode "Steinberg and Son."
FXX airings of Sony-owned movies have this logo, however sometimes it is cut off early.
On a PAL release of The Real Ghostbusters, the long version is used but the normal music is heard.
On a April 16, 2017 HBO Signature Caribbean airing of Pixels, the logo was silent with the music playing 5-6 seconds after the logo cut to black.
On CBS airings of S.W.A.T, the logo is in the 21:9 aspect ratio.
On streaming prints of All About My Mother and the Mill Creek Blu-ray of Krull, the logo is squished into the 2.35:1 aspect ratio of the film.
In 2017, the logo was enhanced for 4K-produced shows. The glare is slightly bigger and has a more yellowish tone, and the background is darker. The logo is also sharper, and the bars' reflections were permanently removed.
Starting in 2022, an updated version of the 2017 logo exists, with the 2021 Sony Entertainment logo being used, it then transitions to a still shot of this logo. As of now though, the shows that use this logo still mainly use the 2014 or 2017 versions of the logo.

FX/SFX: Words flying down, bars zooming back and tilting, the white flash and glare shrinking into the bars.

Music/Sounds: A majestic 5-note orchestral theme composed by David Kurtz, which sounds vaguely similar to the Habanera section of Bizet's opera Carmen, 1993 TriStar Television theme (most notably the long version), and the 1976 Viacom fanfare.

Music/Sounds Variants:

The long version has a descending piano theme before the main fanfare, and the last note is held much longer.
Another music variation has only the last three notes of the theme re-arranged. This version began in July 2003.
In 2005, there is another short version with the last half of the animation of the standard animation of the logo. Used on the ultra short-lived series Sit Down, Shut Up and several final season episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures.
Sometimes, when used along a co-production or co-distributor ID, the first few notes of the music for this logo will play over the last few seconds of said ID before going into this visual logo. This has happened on such syndicated shows as Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, back when King World Productions (now "CBS Television Distribution") was still in operation. But now until October 2007, the CTD music plays on the CTD logo, and the SPT theme plays on the SPT logo.
Starting in 2003, high and low tone versions were used.
Another version exists having a bell-type twinkle mixed into the standard theme.
On some shows like 2004-07 episodes of The King of Queens and The Shield, the end theme plays over this logo.
On middle season local reruns of Good Times and Sanford and Son, the middle-length version of the theme was used.
Up until 2012, the Sony Pictures Television International sounder was sometimes used, particularly on the Mill Creek DVD of the Nickelodeon original movie The Last Day of Summer (the original SPHE release features the normal logo), DVDs of shows like Married... with Children and on Antenna TV's print of the Sanford and Son episode "Sanford and Gong."
There is also a silent version.
Another variation would have the 1993 CPT theme. This happened on several TV Land airings of Just Shoot Me!.
A few season 7 episodes of The Jeffersons on TV One have the SPT and short CTTD themes playing at the same time.
On The Three Stooges short "Cash and Carry", there is a 2005 low tone version.
On Antenna TV's print of the season 5 All in the Family episode "The Jeffersons Move Up" and TV One's print of the season 1 Jeffersons episode "George's Skeleton", the short Columbia TriStar Television theme is heard.
On the DVD print of the S1 That's My Mama episode "Clifton's Con," the 1982 CPT music is heard over this logo.
This logo is silent sometimes on movie networks like Starz and Starz Encore.
On the CTHE DVD print of the S3 Married... with Children episode "The Gypsy Cried," it has the first note of the 1988 CPT theme before going into the SPTI theme.
On several international prints of May-June 2013 episodes of Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless, the 1994 TriStar Television theme is heard.
On the Mill Creek S4 release of Married... with Children, one episode has the 1988 CPT theme.
When Crackle had the season 2 Mad About You episode "It's a Wrap," the TriStar Television logo variant's audio played over this logo, but the "And then the stupid horse with the wings" part has been cut, leaving Paul Buchman (Paul Reiser) to say "Then you have the sound of the racetrack, the thing with the hand--s".
One 4:3 airing of the TV movie Breakaway had the Columbia TriStar Domestic Television music playing over the logo.
On Party of Five, and the 2004 DVD of Dragon Tales: Whenever I'm Afraid, the Columbia TriStar Television music plays over the logo. (The VHS version of the latter uses the proper CTT logo.)
On an feTV airing of the season 2 Hazel episode "Hazel's Cousin," the logo appears twice, one with the normal theme and one with the Colex theme.
On an Indian DVD of season 9 of Seinfeld, the audio is double-pitched.

Availability: Ultra common. In fact, it might be the most common logo ever.

Seen on newer series and a tremendous amount of new prints of classic shows, off-net syndication series, TV movies, and theatrical films on television and streaming. It's quite infamous and annoying for removing and replacing old logos on many pre-2002 Sony TV programs. Some examples include Mad About You, 227, Sanford and Son, and Married... with Children. The only three pre-2002 shows that did not have this logo were Walker, Texas Ranger on Cloo and USA Network, and All in the Family and The Jeffersons on TV Land, and the only pre-2002 shows that currently don't have it are One Day at a Time on Antenna TV and season one of Sledge Hammer! on Me-TV (season two uses this logo). It was also seen on Season 3 episodes of Dragon Tales, following the 2000 Sesame Workshop logo, as well as the 2003 special, Let's Start a Band, and later DVD releases of Dragon Tales from 2004-09.
The long version is not as common as the standard version, but it was seen on every episode of Jeopardy! from 2002-07, The Nat Berkus Show, and the DVD release and Crackle prints of Odyssey 5 (except for "Astronaut Dreams", which uses the normal version instead), but it may appear on some classic and off-network shows. It also appears at the end of every episode of The Three Stooges on the DVD Collection volume sets and can also be found on many other TV on DVD releases from 2003-04 such as the third season of All in the Family, the first season of Who's the Boss?, the complete runs of Dilbert and The Critic, seasons one and two of Just Shoot Me! (it is not present on these seasons on Shout! Factory's complete set), and the third and fourth seasons of Sanford and Son (from 2005 onward it went to the standard version, despite the 2004 releases of the third season of Soap and the fifth season of Sanford and Son using that version), though it also makes a surprise appearance throughout the first season of The Spectacular Spider-Man, released on DVD in 2009.
The low tone theme is uncommon and was last seen on early episodes of Stuart Little: The Animated Series last aired on HBO Family and the 1976 TV movie Banjo Hackett on DVD, while the high tone (both 2002 and 2005 versions) theme appears on The Boondocks on Adult Swim and Netflix, many Three Stooges shorts on IFC, and seasons 7-9 of All in the Family on DVD via Shout! Factory, among other shows and certain films on television.
As for the short version, it's fairly common and it appeared on The Shield on local syndication and Spike, the ultra short-lived series Sit Down, Shut Up on FOX, and reruns of Joan of Arcadia including Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital. The version with the SPTI theme was spotted on a TCM airing of The Anderson Tapes. It can also be seen on Sony Movie Channel in widescreen. For series outside the US, it's seen on the series incarnation of the 2007 movie Niñas Mal (translated as Bad Girls) on MTV Latin America and nuvoTV. and Bienvenida Realidad (translated as Welcome Reality). This was oddly seen at the end of an episode of The Jeffersons on Antenna TV before the show's credits, with the CTT logo after the credits. The logo however followed the Nickelodeon Network logo on DVD prints of made-for-TV movies like The Last Day of Summer, Shredderman Rules, Gym Teacher: The Movie and Spectacular!, but current TV prints plastered the logo (alongside the Nickelodeon logo) with either the 2009 or 2017 Nickelodeon Productions logos, like on TeenNick's prints of Spectacular! This strangely appears at the end of a Roku Channel print of Lake Placid, and after a 2023 Movies! airing of Murder, My Sweet.
Sometimes, on Alex Rider, the Sony Pictures Television Studios logo would follow this.

Editor's Note: This logo has earned the dubious honor of probably being the most hated closing logo of all time. It's wildly infamous for its cheap and uninspired animation (which has been given little to no updates in the 18 years it's been used), and for how often it plasters logos from previous Sony-owned companies on newer prints of old shows (about 99% of the time - the times where older logos are preserved are usually flukes). This has been said to be the most common logo when it comes to plastering on television.

2nd Logo (October 11, 2019)[]

Logo: On a blue gradient background, a purple flash appears onscreen, covering it. When the flash dies down, the print version of the Sony Pictures Television logo appears. The logo zooms back for a few seconds before stopping completely.

FX/SFX: The flash and the SPT logo zooming back.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It was only ever seen on El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Editor's Note: Even though the logo can be seen as bland, it's a breath of fresh air from the previous logo.

Sony Pictures Television Studios[]

(January 10, 2020- )[]

Logo: Just white text reading "SONY PICTURES TELEVISION STUDIOS" against a black background via a small white flash. "STUDIOS" is sandwiched in between white lines.

Variant: On Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from September 14-December 25, 2020, the Sony logo appears before transitioning into the SPTS logo. Since December 28, 2020, the variant with no flash in the Sony logo is used.

FX/SFX: A computerized graphic.

Music/Sounds: Usually silent. On the variant that originally aired from September 14-December 25, 2020, the piano note from the Sony logo is heard between logos. Since December 28, 2020, the piano note is heard during the Sony logo and a swish with a dreamy synth note as the SPTS text appears.

Availability: Current, and is used in tandem with the 2002 SPT logo.

It debuted on One Day at a Time: Promo Special. It started appearing on existing and returning shows (except Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless) from 2020 onwards, such as the 37th season of Jeopardy!, the 38th season of Wheel of Fortune, the 12th season of Shark Tank, and the 4th seasons of The Good Doctor and S.W.A.T..
The opening variant debuted on the Netflix prints of Cobra Kai, then later in the updated version for the show's third season.
This also appears on new and future shows such as The Wheel of Time and The Afterparty.
It appeared on the Lifetime TV movies Chris Watts: Confessions of a Killer and Salt-N-Pepa.
It also appears on the remainder of Season 6 of Better Call Saul, starting with the episode "Black and Blue."
This appeared at the end of FX's print of Holmes & Watson, and may also appear on future airings of old and recent Sony theatrical films on television. Strangely on OWN reruns of Underground, this is seen after the Tribune Studios logo, but the 2002 SPT logo follows afterwards as a failed reverse-plaster attempt.
- It played before the 2002 Sony Pictures Television logo (whether retained or added) on some shows. Comedy Central and Nick at Nite reruns of Seinfeld also feature this logo.
This does not appear on the eleventh season of Robot Chicken as Sony pulled out of co-producing the series after The Bleepin' Robot Chicken Archie Comics Special.
The version with the 2021 Sony logo debuted on the Better Call Saul episode "Nippy" (albeit using a variant) while the normal version later debuted on its series finale, "Saul Gone." It also started to appear on returning shows in the 2022-23 season such as season 40 of Wheel of Fortune, season 10 of The Goldbergs, season 6 of The Good Doctor and season 14 of Shark Tank, among others. It also appears on The Young and the Restless starting with its October 18, 2022 episode, and season 39 of Jeopardy! starting with its November 21, 2022 episode.

Editor's Note: Say what you will about the Bars of Boredom, but at least that one had some semblance of creativity. This one, on the other hand, is one of the worst of its kind, representing everything wrong with the 21st century trend of simplistic logos. It doesn't even transition correctly from the Sony Corporation logo. _______________________________________________________________

Copyright Stamps: Here is some information about the copyright stamps on the CTT/Sony Pictures Television series:

Note: During the formation of CTT on February 21, 1994, all series were merged under the CTT banner. However, both CPT and TriStar studios still used their respective copyright stamps on their series from 1996-1999: