WHA-TV

1st Logo (1954?)


Visuals: On a gray background, there are five black squares spaced out vertically and the letters "WHATV" inside each of them. The words "Channel 21 MADISON" are there. A darker gray stripe with "WISCONSIN" on the left part and "STATE BROADCASTING" on the right part is located on the middle of the fourth square, and "SERVICE" is under the right part of the stripe.

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer saying "This broadcast was planned and produced by the Wisconsin State BroadcastingService, WHA-TV, Channel 21 Madison Wisconsin".

Legacy: This is possibly the earliest known PBS/NET logo.

2nd Logo (1954-1960s)


Visuals: On a gray background, there are the words "WHA-TV" on the left, with the words "MADISON WISCONSIN" above. The map of Wisconsin is shown on the right, with an antenna near Madison. Particles can be seen behind the Wisconsin map. "channel" and "20" are partially shown next to it.

Technique: None.

Audio: An announcer that says "This is WHA-TV, the state radio council television in Madison, presenting..."

Availability: Was only seen on the Dedication Program.

3rd Logo (1970s)


Visuals: On a black background, there is a big blue line with a semicircle on its left side and a white line below. The stacked text "Serif" is centered under the semicircle on the line.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Was only seen on Target the State.

4th Logo (1970s)


Visuals: On a blue background, we see many houses with trees in front of them and the text "Serif", with "Serif" below the rest of the text, on top of the screen.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Was only seen on Target the State.

5th Logo (Late 1970s-Early 1980s)


Visuals: On a blue background, we see the text "from Madison" in cursive on top of the screen. As it fades out, orange lines come from the right, forming a "W". Then, cyan lines come from the left, forming an "H". While they form, more orange lines come out from the "H", forming an "A". After that, two cyan lines move right to out of the screen each, coming from the "H", and the "Impact" word fades in below "WHA", which fades to "Presents" in cursive.

Variant: There's a variant where it takes palace on a starry background with a lot of stars shine on it

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: An trumpet theme with cellos as the lines arrange.

Availability: Can be seen on the Wisconsin Energy Report.

6th Logo (1978-1984)
Visuals: On a black background, there is a couple of orange dots appearing on random positions, shining as they appear. More dots appear as the dots expand to form a bloated "W". The text "Wisconsin Educational Network" in a blue glowing font, with the words stacked on top of each other, appears inside the "W", as the camera zooms in on it. The text flashes and "Presents" flashes in.

Variant: There is a variant where on an another black background, we see many blue lines move from the left to the right, and as the lines move, they form (or create) a big "W". Then the black gaps that the "W" has were filled in by the color blue that the lines have. The "W" zooms out a little bit, and after that the text "Wisconsin Educational Television Network" in white appears underneath the "W" right when it stops zoom out.

Technique: Backlit animation.

Audio: A trumpet theme that kinda sounds like the 1976 Viacom logo with bongo drums beating when the W zooms in.

Audio Variants: For the variant, A funky tune with a ding sound when the text appears.

Availability: Can be seen on the Wisconsin Magazine, which can be viewed on the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

7th Logo (1984-1987)


Visuals: On a black background, a large orange "C", in a font that's thicker on one side than the other, flashes in with a tree-like object attached to it. When the glow starts to die down, the tree opens up and reveals an connected, abstract "tp". As it finishes dimming, "Times New Roman" fades in below in a stacked formation, along with a red line and the text "Times New Roman" below it.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: A ringing bell can be heard throughout, with a flute tune playing as soon as the logo appears. When the text fades in, a single ringing note can be heard.

Availability: Can be seen on Encompass, which can be seen on video.wpt.org.

8th Logo (1982-1987)


Visuals: On a black background, we see the "WHA" logo from the 4th logo, but the colors are now and blue. Two white lines come out and stop at the corners of the logo and "TELEVISION" is formed by the bottom laser. "Madison" fades in during the process.

Variant: A long version exists. It starts with several lines slanted to the left drawing downwards, followed by blue lines slanted to the left going upwards. Thicker, larger lines then form part of the logo then zoom out, with the other lines collapsing into the logo as well before the rest of the animation plays out, but "Madison" fades in later.

Technique: Computer animation.

Audio: A five-note trumpet theme.

Availability: Can be seen on Backlash and other WHA programs of the time.