WNED

Background: WNED is a PBS affiliate located in Buffalo, New York, which also serves for Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was first known as WBUF when it went on the air in 1953 when it was later sold to NBC, which later donated its license to the New York Public Broadcasting Association and renamed the station to WNED on March 30, 1959.

1st Logo

(1966-1975)

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Nicknames: "Proto-Scanimate", "Scanimate WNED"

Logo: On a black background, we see two street like lines wipe in to reveal that it was actually part of a giant "17", which stretches in and stays still for 5.5 seconds and it animates in reverse.

FX/SFX: Outdated by today's standards, but a great logo for its time.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extinct.

Editor's Note: This is one of the first logos to use Scanimate, an animation medium that was heavily used by companies in the seventies and eighties.

2nd Logo

(1975-1983)

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Logo: On a black background, we see the words "WNED BUFFALO", colored yellow, with "WNED" outlined and the whole thing morphs into "PRESENTS".

FX/SFX: The fading.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on One Woman's Divorce.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo

(1977-1993)

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Logo: On a black background, we see a giant "17" with the "1" in blue and "7" in green. Between the "1" and "7" of the "17" is "WNED Buffalo."

Variant: There's a variant with a ribbon saying "Our 25th Season!" and with "WNED Buffalo" next to and at the bottom of the "7".

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Just a male announcer saying "This is WNED Buffalo."

Music/Sounds Variant: Rarely, the announcer may give a viewer discretion warning instead. This is possibly because PBS, according to Wikipedia, was the first TV network to show programs that involved nudity.

Availability: Extinct. It was used as a local ident.

Editor's Note: None.

4th Logo

(1983-1991)

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Nickname: "The Skyline"

Logo: We pan over a live-action view of Buffalo, New York, seeing the words "WNED BUFFALO", colored yellow, with "WNED" outlined. "BUFFALO" then morphs into "PRESENTS".

Variant: There is an extended version that just starts with the camera panning of the Buffalo skyline. Seconds later, the logo fades in.

FX/SFX: Just "BUFFALO" morphing into "PRESENTS".

Music/Sounds: None on the short version, the long version uses a patriotic horn tune.

Availability: An old VHS of a Mark Russell comedy special might have this logo.

Editor's Note: None.

5th Logo

(1987-1989)

Logo: On a black background, we see a blue version of the logo from the 1st logo with "WNED" in the top of the "7" and "Buffalo" below it.

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: Usually it's the announcer saying what's coming up next. Before or after that, one of the following tunes plays:


 * A jazzy '60s-like clavinet tune.
 * An instrumental version of the PBS "TV Worth Watching" jingle, played on a synclavier, violins, drums, and a saxophone.

Availability: See the 1st logo.

Editor's Note: None.

6th Logo

(1988-1993)

Nickname: "The Reading Rainbow Logo"

Logo: Against a blue background, a rainbow quickly forms, then slowly fades away, as the words "WNED", in gold, appear from the left and stop at the top of the screen,followed by the Great Plains National Television logo (the gold letters "GPN" in a futuristic font with a stylized red "N" (the same logo from Nebraska ETV) in the middle of the P and several small lines below the whole thing) coming in from the left and arranging itself in the center. "present", in spaced-out white letters, appears below via a "glowing" effect.

Variants:


 * Subsequent uses of this logo from 1990 to 1993, begin after the rainbow is formed and ends four seconds early.
 * There is an alternate variant that exists on several 1990-1993 episodes of Reading Rainbow, in which "GPN" is at the top and "WNED" is at the bottom.

FX/SFX: The zooming and the fading rainbow.

Music/Sounds: A nine-note synth fanfare with some "dinging" sounds.

Availability: Rare. It appears on some old Reading Rainbow tapes, including PBS Home Video releases.

Editor's Note: None.

7th Logo

(1991-1998)

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Nickname: "Another Buffalo Skyline"

Logo: We see the Buffalo skyline again, but this time, with water below, at morning. The text "FROM WNED BUFFALO" ("FROM" and "BUFFALO" being smaller than "WNED") is below, colored with "WNED" in old gold and "FROM" and "BUFFALO" in goldenrod.

FX/SFX: Live-action.

Music/Sounds: A synthesized orchestral fanfare including a synth flute and strings.

Availability: Seen on Mark Russell comedy specials of the '90s.

Editor's Note: None.

8th Logo

(1999-2000s)

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Logo: We see a glass rectangle on the left on a dark night sky background filled with many shades of blue, maroon and pink. The word "WNED" in a glowing, fluorescent pink Helvetica font zooms out as the words "Buffalo" and "Toronto" appear in the glass rectangle.

Variant: On a Reading Rainbow episode from 2000, the GPN logo appears above the logo, and "Buffalo - Toronto" appears below "WNED", but without "Buffalo" and "Toronto" at all.

FX/SFX: The sky background and WNED letters zooming out. Awesome animation.

Music/Sounds: A xylophone and cello sounder.

Availability: TBA

Editor's Note: None.

9th Logo

(2000s-2006)

Logo: On a white background, we see the text "WNED" with the PBS logo next to it and below is "Buffalo - Toronto"

FX/SFX: None.

Music/Sounds: The closing theme of the show.

Availability: Seen on Reading Rainbow episodes from the era.

Editor's Note: None.

10th Logo

(2006-2008?)

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Nicknames: "The Flags", "United States and Canada", "Star-Spangled Banner and the Maple Leaf"

Logo:We see shots of American and Canadian flags with the word "WNED" and below that is "Buffalo · Toronto", with white glow around it, and zooming towards us.

FX/SFX: The zooming and the flags.

Music/Sounds: A four note horn fanfare.

Availability: Rare.

Editor's Note: None.

11th Logo

(2008?-March 13, 2016)

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Nicknames: "The Flags II", "United States and Canada II", "Star-Spangled Banner and the Maple Leaf II"

Logo: Similar to the previous logo, but without any glow, and less choppy and different flag waving.

FX/SFX: The flags waving.

Music/Sounds: An orchestral note.

Availability: Common.

Editor's Note: None.

11th Logo

(March 13, 2016- )

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Nicknames: "The Flags III", "United States and Canada III", "Star-Spangled Banner and the Maple Leaf III"

Logo: Similar to the previous logo, but darker, plus it has a reflection, and the text reads "An Original Production of" above a big, white "WNED-TV" to the left of a sphere containing half of the US and Canadian flags, each in order. Below "WNED-TV" is "Buffalo-Toronto" with a white dot between the words.

FX/SFX: The flags waving, and the logo zooming.

Music/Sounds: A different orchestral note, the same from the previous logo, or the closing theme.

Availability: Current. Seen on a rebroadcast of The Klondike Gold Rush.

Editor's Note: None.