RTP (Portugal)

Background: RTP (Radio e Televisao Portugal) was established in December 1955 with test broadcasts conducted in September 1956 at the now-defunct Feira Popular amusement park in Lisbon. Regular broadcasts commenced at 21:30 on March 7, 1957. Initially the channel broadcast from 21:30 to either 23:00 or 23:30, with an additional period on Sundays between 18:00 and 19:00. Initially, RTP had a very limited coverage area, encompassing the northern and central coastal areas of Portugal, before expanding to the whole of the mainland in the mid-1960s.On October 19, 1959, Telejornal went on air for the first time, becoming the longest-running Portuguese TV show in existence.It was the only TV channel available in Portugal until December 25, 1968, when RTP2 started broadcasting. Because of that, RTP had to identify both channels as I Programa and II Programa in order to distinguish them.Daytime broadcasts commenced in 1970, with a two-hour period running at various times mostly between 12:30 and 14:30. Before then, Telescola (educational classes) were generally the first programmes of the day and the regular schedule started at 19:00, running until midnight. In 1974, RTP's ratings grew with the expansion of the acquisition of television sets in the country. The first color broadcasts were conducted in 1976, with the legislative elections.In 1978, the channel was renamed RTP-1 (initially hyphenated). Color programming was now in production, and a heat of Jeux Sans Frontières has to be transmitted in said technology in order to air to the rest of Europe, which already had regular color broadcasts at the time. As the months progressed, more and more color broadcasts were included before launching regularly on March 7, 1980.In October 1983, the daytime period was abolished in order to save energy. Weekday broadcasts were then restricted to start at 17:00 and end at 23:00. Said broadcasts were resumed in 1985, when RTP decided to broadcast the daytime block from Oporto. The educational broadcasts (then known as Ciclo Preparatório TV) were abolished in 1988. By then, daytime shutdowns were abolished.Towards the end of the 1980s, RTP was facing challenges with the impending arrival of private broadcasters. As a result, RTP decided to rename RTP1 as RTP Canal 1, in readiness for a bigger rebrand that happened on September 17, 1990, where the channel was now officially rebranded as Canal 1, in order to reinforce its position in front of the new broadcasters. Having lost its leadership status slowly between 1994 and 1995, owing to SIC's success, it eventually turned into the vice-leader before falling into third place, when TVI got a ratings boost.On April 29, 1996, Canal 1 reverted to RTP1.

RTP (in general)

1st Logo (1959-1978)

Logo: On a grey background, a light grey ring, thicker on the top and bottom, is seen. The inside is filled with white and there is a grey shield in the middle. Over top the entire thing are a mess of lines (which are actually supposed to represent an antenna), as well as "RTP" outlined in white. Below it all is the text "RADIOTELEVISAO PORTUGUESA" in white, stacked on top of each other.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Probably none.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (1959-1968)

Logo: Starting over a shot of the former RTP transmission tower, it then cuts to several shots of starting up the day. Soon, white rings emerge from the middle of the screen. After a bit, 1 remains in place and transforms into a sphere with longitude lines that begins to spin. Latitude lines then appear as the sphere spins 360 degrees. A elliptical globe then appears rotating sideways. It then leads to a sphere spinning with latitude lines with a line in the middle of it, then to the elliptical globe doing the same thing, then a circular grind spinning rapidly. It then stops, with the ring becoming an oval and the sides thickening. The lines then shrink to fit inside the new oval, becoming 3lines running through horizontally and 1 line vertically down the middle. They become thicker, gains a miniature version of the logo from before, and the lines become separated from the oval. The letters "RTP" emerge from the middle line and a bar shoots out from the middle and transforms into the text "RADIOTELEVISAO PORTUGUESA". The start up ends with the camera getting so close, it almost takes up the entire screen.

FX/SFX: Mainly live-action, but also the various wireframe animations and the forming of the logo.

Music/Sounds: A upbeat orchestral fanfare, which is actually "Derby Day" by Robert Farnon and would become basically the theme for RTP.

Availability: Extinct. This was used as a start up.

Editor's Note: Some of the animations might surprise people, along with the bombastic music. The camera zooming in doesn't help matters.

3rd Logo (1968-1982)

Logo: On a grey background, a strange black/white band zooms out, which expands out with 2 more to form a white TV shape. The background fades to dark grey for a moment before turning back to light grey and adding a black monitor around the screen. The screen shape then morph into 3 white rings and the monitor fades out while the background fades to dark grey. The rings then converge into a thin ring and a black circle zooms in, with 4 grey circles appearing in it. A white circle then appears and trails around the whole thing for each circle. The circles fade to white and the background to black, the circles combining into one and eventually trailing out with more white circles. It then fades to a grey background with a old-styled camera. It fades out save for some circles, which rearrange into a close up of the camera. It disappears and the circles move all over the place, eventually resting as spotlights. The spotlights fade out and the circles begin to grow, as well as getting black rings in them. They form a mess of lines and circular shapes, which eventually transform into two-tone diamond shapes. They eventually merge into one and a additional one zooms out, in which a radio tower fades in with "RTP" written on both sides. The bottom zooms in and the tower scrolls up before eventually fading to the top, where radio waves emerge from the center. A painting of clouds then appear and zooms in, which cross fades to a bunch of antennas zooming out, all emerging radio waves. The background fades to black, leaving a single white antenna to rotate and collapse in, forming the RTP logo at the time.The logo starts out small, but eventually grows larger and larger in time to the music. The logo would gain color in the 1970's, being various shades of blue.

FX/SFX: Typical animation for the time, but not bad. Most of the animation in this logo isn't necessary, however.

Music/Sounds: Same as before.

Availability: Extinct. This was also used as a start up.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo (30th Anniversary) (March 7, 1987-1988)

Logo: On a black background with a blue gradient on the bottom, a thick silver ring is seen. The ring then breaks into 3 sections and they move into different positions, 2 on the left and 1 on the right. The 2 left sections form a skewed-out 3 while the one on the right becomes another full ring, making the number 30. 3 shiny balls in red, green, and blue, fly in and land inside the inner sections. The blue ball is on the top of the 3, the green ball is on the bottom, and the red is inside the ring. The text "RTP" in the typeface at the time fades in white to the left of it, along with "30 anos" below it. While all of this is happening, the gradient on the bottom slides away.

FX/SFX: The ring breaking and growing back, the balls flying in.

Music/Sounds: A acapella theme of female origins, while a upbeat piano version of it plays in the background.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo (September 1991-January 1, 1993)

Logo: On a blue gradient background, the "RTP" typeface is seen in a shiny blue color. Embossed into the background in "centro de producao de Libsoa" on top in a narrow font, and below is the year.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare, actually, as it may appear on programs from that era on RTP Memoria.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo (January 1, 1993-March 7, 1997)

Logo: On a strangely textured background, a sketch layout starts to draw in for the R, as it begins to spin on a invisible cube. The cube then stops as a blue liquid fills up the shape of the T, and a stone cube flies in. The cube then spins once before exploding to reveal the P, and all the letters turn blue. They come together and place themselves on the background, shining a bit before freeze framing. Then 3 things happen: "PORTO" appears above in a Helvetica font with a drop shadow. "centro de prouduco de libsoa" appears above while stacked, along with a blue and yellow striped "CPL". "centro de prouduco de madeira" appears above while stacked, along with a blue and yellow striped "CPM". Both may or may not have a copyright year in red.

FX/SFX: The letters forming and all coming together.

Music/Sounds: Sometimes the end theme of a show, or a rising drone synth with a "BOOM", ending with a 3 note synth rap.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo (March 7, 1997-October 12, 1998)

Logo: In what appears to be a cave with yellow lighting and a large spotlight, a blue grid of lines is seen, flipping over as it flies into the spotlight. As it flips over, it reveals a block with "RTP" on it in spaced out letters, and 2 lines, a red one from the left and top and a green one from the right and bottom, slide into the vacant spaces. The "RTP" block slides down and forms the 1996-2004 RTP logo. "PRODUCAO" zooms out below and a year can be seen on the bottom right.

FX/SFX: The grid flipping over, the lines and logo forming.

Music/Sounds: A triumphant, but quiet, fanfare.

Availability: Same as before.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo (October 12, 1998-October 2003) Logo: The screen is divided into 4 uneven rectangles. The top left is a orange-lighted globe slowly rotating, with a dark translucent bar on the bottom. The top right is what appears to be a old document slowly moving to the right, with a blue bar on the bottom. The bottom left is a dark-blue rectangle, with another section of a globe slowly rotating, and the bottom right is a white rectangle. The outlined letters "R T P" fade and zoom in slowly, before fading out again, as the sections start to change. The top right turns into a shot of red flowers, the bottom left section becomes partially white, and the top left turns into a light blue globe shot, with the globe upright. A chain of "RTP" words also starts to scroll in the bottom left. As this happens, a translucent version of the 1996-2004 RTP logo zooms out and swings into position, while a translucent rectangle appears behind it. Attached to the bottom is a blue rectangle with "R T P" on it. The entire logo then turns solid and metallic, shining as it rests. In the background, "R T P" words then appear on the blue bar, the white rectangle becomes part of the blue globe, and the top right shot briefly becomes a unknown area before becoming part of the globe. After a bit, the "R T P"'s slowly disappear, and the background (barring the top right) slowly turns back to normal.

FX/SFX: The sections changing, the "RTP" appearing, the logo zooming out and forming. Probably made by Novocom. Music/Sounds: A soothing piano tune. Availability: Extinct. Seen probably at the end of programs at the time, and probably on some programs on RTP Memoria. Editor's Note: None. 9th Logo (October 2003-March 31, 2004) Logo: On a blue-white gradient background, "Um programa da" types in above as a white rectangle fades in. The RTP logo then starts to draw in, starting with the top part of the antenna, followed by the lines, then the bottom part. A blue rectangle wipes in below and "RTP" fades and zooms into position as the remaining sections of the antenna fade in and slide into place. "Un programa da" gets switched out for "Produzido por", and "Meios de Producao" fades in below in blue, along with a shine.

FX/SFX: The text typing in, the logo forming. Music/Sounds: 2 synth drones with whooshing, and ending with a quick 4-note tune. Availability: Same as before. Editor's Note: None. 9th Logo (March 31, 2004-January 7, 2007) Logo: Basically a very short version of the RTP1 logo at the time, but there's no 1 and there is text below saying "MEIOS DE PRODUCAO" in the corporate font at the time. The year appears on the bottom right corner of the screen.

Variant: A version exist where the background is much darker and the text is replaced with "RADIOTELEVISAO PORTUGUESA".

FX/SFX: Same as the RTP1 logo. Music/Sounds: A smooth piano tune. Availability: Extinct. Was seen on productions at the time on RTP1. Editor's Note: None. 10th Logo (January 7, 2007-January 6, 2010) Logo: Like the same as before, but it just eliminates the 1 and adds a copyright date.

FX/SFX: Same as the RTP1 logo. Music/Sounds: A bombastic fanfare. Availability: Same as before. Editor's Note: None. 11th Logo (January 6, 2010-September 19, 2011) Logo: In a white room, part of the RTP logo swings in. More parts swing onto the piece, forming the full logo as the "RTP" typeface and "(c)P R O DUA C O (year)" rises up from the ground. The logo slowly rotates.

FX/SFX: The logo forming. Music/Sounds: Same as before. Availability: Same as before. Editor's Note: None. 12th Logo (September 19, 2011-January 13, 2013) Logo: Similar to the break bumper at the time, but with some additional animation, a bit more zoomed in, and has "PRODUCAO (c) RTP (year)" appearing in the bottom right in blue.

FX/SFX: Same as the break bumper. Music/Sounds: A digital-sound tune. Availability: Same as before. Editor's Note: None. 13th Logo (January 13, 2013-March 6, 2016) Logo: On a white background, a large section made of blue gemstone comes more into view, as the "swiriling" logo animation used in the logos at the time appears. "RTP" then appears beside it in white and a copyright year appears below.

Variant: Starting on March 7, 2015, the logo was moved to the center of the screen, the text turned black, and the background being moving white pieces. The theme here is the same as the 10th and 11th logos.

FX/SFX: The swirling logo. Music/Sounds: A calm-sounding jingle, with a twinkle at the end. Availability: Same as before. Editor's Note: None. 14th Logo (March 6, 2016-) Logo: Depends on the channel, but consists of the logo (now flat and the text being sharper) sliding in, with a copyright date in the bottom right corner being typed in. Here are the variants: Normal: The background is white and the full color logo is wiped in from the right (this time now have straight cuts for the logo, rather than curved), and the typeface is wiped in from the left in black. RTP1: A dark blue background is wiped away to reveal a blue background with a white RTP logo. "RTP" then slides out of it in white. RTP2: The background is yellow and the logo is in grey. The logo zooms in before the text slides out. RTP3: Similar to the RTP1 variant, but the background slides in from the top and the logo fades in. The animation is also smoother. RTP Memoria: Same as before, but with a white background and grey assets.

FX/SFX: The sliding. Music/Sounds: Either the end theme, or a 3 note piano tune with a delay to the final note. Availability: Current. Editor's Note: None.