Columbia TriStar Television

Background
Columbia TriStar Television was a merger of Columbia Pictures Television and TriStar Television (after the re-branding of 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", now Sony Pictures Television International) already in operation since the early 1990s, all three became part of Sony Television Entertainment umbrella (which was later renamed to the Columbia TriStar Television Group in July 1995). On June 4, 1994, CTT folded Merv Griffin Enterprises and took over the rights to Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, as part of an overall deal with Merv Griffin himself. However, CPT and TriStar continued producing their own series until TriStar Television became in-name-only in 1999 and CPT folded in 2001. Columbia TriStar Television was officially incorporated on July 12, 1996.

On New Year's Day 2001, CTT folded CPT in a failed attempt to become a network television syndication division called Columbia TriStar Network Television. However, the formation of CTNT was blocked due to FCC-related television and syndication laws (also known as the "Fin-Syn" laws) prohibiting network participation in the financial interest of the television programs they aired beyond first-run exhibition and the creation of in-house syndication arms, especially in the domestic market. Another reason why CTNT's formation failed was due to its Japanese ownership (Sony). Ultimately, on October 25, 2001, CTT and CTTD were merged into Columbia TriStar Domestic Television with CTIT remaining. CTDT also replaced Columbia TriStar Network Television.

On September 16, 2002, CTDT was reincorporated into what is known today as Sony Pictures Television.

1st Logo (July 25, 1994-May 27, 2000)
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Visuals: On a solid background, there are two boxes. The left one contains the Columbia Torch Lady, and the right one contains the TriStar Pegasus (over Columbia's 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 a Sony Pictures Entertainment byline.

Variant: On GSN and Project G.e.e.K.e.R., the names and the byline stay on-screen for a split second longer before fading out.

Technique: A still image.

Audio: A re-arranged version of the 1993 Columbia Pictures Television theme done by Steven Kaplan.

Audio Variants:
 * Like the CPT logo, from 1994, the logo theme was re-orchestrated.
 * From 1996-2000, the logo fades out at the last note. This doesn't happen on Jeopardy! or Wheel of Fortune.
 * On some episodes of Early Edition from the 4th season such as "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", it uses the 1993 TriStar Television theme.
 * On Jeopardy! for the Philips CD-i and the VHS promo for Godzilla: The Series, it's silent.
 * On some airings of season 4 Early Edition episodes, the 1993 TriStar Television music is heard over the logo.
 * From September 1994-November 1996 on Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (when production of both shows were taken over by Columbia TriStar Television), the CTT logo was integrated into the announcers' ending spiels; typically, the 1994 theme would play underneath the announcement of the CTT name.
 * A version exists with Charlie O'Donnell announcing the company name, primarily used to cover up King World logos/references on GSN reruns of Wheel and Jeopardy! from the timeframe.

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. Although said show was last seen 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, while the latter features the SPT logo following it.
 * It can also be found on VHS releases of the 1998 movie 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.

2nd Logo (Early 1995-February 14, 2003)
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Visuals: The sequence starts out against a forming cloud background. Then a square with the footage of the 1993 Columbia Torch Lady in it fades in, and slides to the left, revealing a box with the footage of the 1993 TriStar Pegasus, which slides to the right. The words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" appear above the boxes and "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" on the bottom with "a SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT company" below everything else.

Trivia: The cloud background is the same one used in the 1993 Columbia TriStar Home Video logo.

Variants:
 * Depending on the unit that the show originated (Television, Television Distribution, or Domestic Television), the logo was modified accordingly.
 * The Television variant of this logo was introduced in February 1997, with it having a number of differences to the Television Distribution variant. In this version, the word "TELEVISION" along with the Sony Pictures byline, do not have the drop shadow effect while the words "COLUMBIA TRISTAR" still have the drop shadow effect intact. Plus, the logo has either the red-pink tint or the blue color 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 (footage re-used from the 3rd CTHV logo) zooms back and then splits to form the logo (similar to the 1993 Columbia TriStar Home Video logo). This version was seen on Walker, Texas Ranger, Seinfeld, and Born Free: The New Adventures.
 * On widescreen international versions of some programs such as season 2 of The King of Queens and seasons 3-5 of Dawson's Creek on French airings, there is a widescreen version of the CTT and the CTDT logo.
 * 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 high-definition programming. This version has been nicknamed "Enhanced Boxes of Boredom". The animation here is a bit cheaper and is filmed, the cloud background is updated, 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 drop shadow effect and are in blue color. The "Television" and "Television Distribution" units were merged together on October 25, 2001, forming Columbia TriStar Domestic Television with "DOMESTIC TELEVISION" below the boxes and the SPE byline a bit smaller.
 * There is an off-center version of the 2001 byline variant which was spotted on a 2004 airing of Jackie Chan Adventures on Cartoon Network.
 * There are three versions of the Domestic Television variant of the logo. The first version is 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 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 logo for CTT.
 * This variant was also used for Columbia TriStar Film und Fernseh Produktions GMBH.
 * On several Columbia TriStar Television Distribution-produced shows, the words "TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION" are set in Eurostile Thin, while the Sony byline is set in Futura Medium. Plus, the words (except for "COLUMBIA TRISTAR", which is the only text remaining in its standard font) don't have the drop shadow effect.
 * There is another version of this variant seen on a handful episodes of What About Joan?, in which the logo is stretched to 4:3 and the text "IN ASSOCIATION WITH" is seen above to the left.
 * A variant for CTDT exists and appears on the TV movies Blood Crime and Breakaway (also known as Christmas Rush). Both movies can be found on DVD.
 * On DVD prints of the Get a Life episode "Married", the logo stutters and shakes, presumably due to a master tape error.
 * There is also a variant for CTTD. So far, it has been seen on the TV movies The Linda McCartney Story and First Shot (the latter using a filmed version), which were last seen on Sony Movies (however, a recent airing of the latter had SPT instead, while the DVD has Domestic Television instead, but is retained on Crackle's print). It can be also seen on season 3 (and early episodes of season 4) episodes of V.I.P (Tubi prints retain it).
 * A still/filmed version was seen on ATF (1999).
 * On original international airings of the Seinfeld episode "The Betrayal", the Television Distribution logo plays in reverse while the audio plays forwards (the Castle Rock Television logo, which is also in reverse video and forward audio, follows the logo, adding more to the "backwards" effect presented in the Seinfeld episode). The original NBC airing of the episode only started with Castle Rock.
 * A warp speed version of CTDT (with the ending theme) was spotted on an Escape (now Court TV Mystery) airing of The Juror.
 * A black-and-white version of the Television Distribution variant (apparently in telecine format) was spotted on a Retro TV print of the Naked City season 2 episode "The Day It Rained Mink". This plasters the original Screen Gems Torch Lady logo.
 * Sometimes, the logo fades in lately and fades out earlier than usual. Other times, the logo fades in early and cuts out to black as usual.
 * On some episodes of Flamingo Fortune (in which the company produced for its final years, alongside Game Show Network), the blue text "Copyright 1998" is seen below the Sony byline.
 * On Kids' WB! broadcasts of the first season of Jackie Chan Adventures, the logo plays and appears on a split-screen, due to the block's split-screen credits format.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: Same as the previous logo. NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC airings used their generic themes. Starting in 1999 with CTT (and later CTDT), the first note is cut off.

Audio Variants:
 * September 27, 1997?-May 15, 2002: 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 the final season of V.I.P and Showtime's Going to California. On Dilbert, the last 2 1/2 notes of the short CTTD theme are played over the CTT logo.
 * On some TriStar produced shows, the 1992, 1993, and 1997 TriStar Television themes were used. However, some shows produced by CTT such as Cupid used the 1993 TriStar Television theme as well. This was started in 1997. On some current prints of the TV movie The Advocate's Devil, the TriStar theme plays over the filmed version.
 * The 1988 CPT theme was also heard on this logo on several Three Stooges shorts part of Stooge TV on The Family Channel, particularly Goof on the Roof. Short version of CTTD only.
 * On The Jeffersons episode "984 W 124th Street, Apartment 5C" aired on Me-TV, 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 and Bette.
 * On Antenna TV reruns of Gidget, the 1993 CPT theme can be heard over the Domestic Television logo.
 * On several 2001-2002 episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures, the high and low tone variants are included (based on the theme song of the series). Other episodes use the standard-pitched version.
 * The short-lived series Secret Agent Man has 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 CourtTV Mystery's airings of the film Eyes of Laura Mars, the 2002 SPT theme is heard over the 1995 CTTD logo.
 * On Crackle and Tubi prints of the Sheena episode "The Fool Monty", the high pitched 2002 SPT theme plays over the alternate "Eurostile Thin" CTTD logo.
 * On some Game Show Network reruns (mostly old episodes of Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune (excepting the 1988-1990 seasons), and Headline Chasers), 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 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons of both shows, the original voice over is intact, simply plastering the 1994 logo with this logo. This variant was also attached on reruns of other Sony-owned game shows, 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.
 * On the end of the VHS promo for Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (found on the 2002 VHS of Spider-Man), the second version of the CTDT logo plays silently.
 * On the short-lived series The $treet, only the final note of the logo music is heard on the CTTD logo.
 * Some episodes of Father Knows Best on Antenna TV have the Colex Enterprises logo music playing over this logo. This is due to a plaster error.
 * In other cases, the ending theme of the show plays over it, like on some episodes of Flamingo Fortune.
 * On one S2 episode of The Guardian, none.
 * On international and Disney+ printings of the 1999 Annie remake, the two first notes are cut off.
 * On one S1 episode of The Guardian on DVD, the 2007 CBS Television Distribution theme is played on the CTDT logo due to a plaster.
 * There is another version of the CTT theme that has a reverb effect and the last note cut short.
 * Episodes of the short-lived UPN series Guys Like Us uses the abridged 1996 TriStar Television theme used on The Nanny.
 * On two airings of two S5 episodes of One Day at a Time, either plaster error occurs.
 * One of them is "Small Wonder", where the first note of the 1982 CPT theme play faintly.
 * The other one is "Heart Attack", where the first three notes of the T.A.T. Communications Company jingle play faintly.

Availability: Seen on pre-2003 prints of shows from the company.


 * Appears 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); the first two season DVD sets and Tubi prints of said show retain it. The Distribution variant was recently spotted on Crackle prints on some episodes of Crazy Like a Fox (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 appeared on some TV movies like Rag & Bone, Into Thin Air: Death on Everest, and Double Platinum, and is preserved on the DVD releases of the latter TV movies.
 * 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, which can be bought here.
 * 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 shown surprisingly intact on PBS Kids Sprout (now Universal Kids) airings of Dragon Tales.
 * The CTTD version appears on season 1 episodes of Sledge Hammer! last seen on Me-TV, following the New World Television logo and followed by the SPT logo, 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 of this logo 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 of this logo 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 release, marking the logo's Blu-ray debut.
 * The CTT variant of this logo 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 of this logo 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 of this logo also appears at the end of Frank Capra's American Dream which appears on The Criterion Collection Blu-ray release of It Happened One Night (1934).

Legacy: This logo was disliked by people for several years due to its over-common presence and usage of plastering old logos, similarly to the SPT logo.

Copyright Stamps
Here is some information about the copyright stamps on the CTT series and TV movies: 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:
 * 1994-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Jeopardy Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Jeopardy!)
 * 1994-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Califon Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Wheel of Fortune)
 * 1996-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Adelaide Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on animated shows)
 * 1996-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 * 1996-1997: Copyright © [YEAR] ELP COMMUNICATIONS (Used on the final season of Beakman's World)
 * 1996-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Columbia TriStar Television Distribution. All Rights Reserved.
 * 1996-1998, 1999-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Ricki Lake)
 * 1998-1999: Copyright © [YEAR] Global Entertainment Productions GmbH & Company Medien KG. All Rights Reserved.
 * 1998-2001: Copyright © [YEAR] Trackdown Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Rock & Roll Jeopardy!)
 * 1998-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Columbia TriStar Television, Inc. and CBS Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Family Law and The King of Queens)
 * 1999-2000: Copyright © [YEAR] TriStar Television, Inc. and CBS Worldwide, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on the final season of Early Edition)
 * 2001-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] CPT Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on The Young and the Restless)
 * 2001-2002: Copyright © [YEAR] Corday Productions, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Days of Our Lives)
 * 2001-2003: Copyright © [YEAR] Columbia TriStar Domestic Television. All Rights Reserved.

Final Notes
In 2002, CTDT became Sony Pictures Television. When CTDT became SPT in 2002, the third version of the CTDT logo (also known as the "Open Matte" boxes) was used until 2003 on the 5th season of Hollywood Squares (H2) in syndication. The first two versions ended in 2002.