Tele Monte Carlo

Background

Tele Monte Carlo (known as Telemontecarlo by Italian viewers, often abbreviated TMC) was the original television station in the city-state of Monaco, founded in November 19, 1954 as Télé Monte-Carlo. In 1972, the channel began doing dual operations with the establishment of an Italian-language feed. Both the French and Italian TMC channels would later separate in branding and ownership since 1984, with the French-language TMC being acquired by the TF1 Group and the Italian Telemontecarlo acquired by several other companies during its lifespan, including Rai, Globo and the Cecchi Gori Group until its rebranding to La7 in 2001.

1st Logo (November 20, 1956-1973)

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Visuals: There is the Tele Monte-Carlo logo with a sun moving to the top-left behind it, and the background has muted colors.

Technique: 2D animation.

Audio: A fragment of "Trumpet Voluntary" by Jeremiah Clarke.

Audio Trivia: The piece's audio was arranged by English conductor Henry Wood.

Availability: It appears to be a station ID, but it looks like the full logo hasn't been found yet, and the earlier black and white version is lost.

2nd Logo (1973-1984 (Italian); December 28, 1986 (French))

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Visuals: On a black background are the letters "tmc", connected together, flashing one-by-one in different arrangements. The animation is synchronized to the music. Multiple light trails appear behind and in front of the logo. A "cloudy" product is formed through these light trails sometimes, obstructing the logo. The text "télé monte carlo" (French) or "tele monte carlo" (Italian) appears on the bottom in a similar font, and has copies trailing behind it on occasion. This sequence continues for about 45 seconds.

Variant: A color variant with the light trails in various colors existed, and it eventually replaced the standard black and white variant by the end of the 70's.

Technique: Early video feedback effects.

Audio: A bombastic, high-tempo jazz-rock excerpt. It begins with a seven-note horn piece, which eventually includes violins, woodwinds, xylophones, drums, and many whooshes. It becomes increasingly bombastic as time goes on until it ends with a big finish.

Availability: Basically a station ID, but as said above, it preceded a program. It may show up on videotapes if they were in wide enough of a distribution. However, it was available in both languages. The Italian Telemontecarlo would utilize this ID until 1984, with the French TMC keeping it until 1986.

Tele Monte Carlo

TMC (French) Telemontecarlo (Italian) ►