Universal Worldwide Television
Background
Universal Worldwide Television was originally formed in 1998 by the breakup of United International Pictures' TV arm led to Universal reforming its own international television distribution branch. It also distributed shows from Studios USA Television internationally, while Studios USA distributed Universal's shows. In 1998, Seagram bought PolyGram Filmed Entertainment, which included PolyGram Television. The deal closed in 1999, and the name PolyGram was soon scrubbed and replaced with the Universal name, and thus, Universal Studios Network Programming was formed. However in 1999, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios used its debt to acquire most of the pre-1996 films (1,300 titles) by PolyGram from Seagram. In 2001, Vivendi Universal acquired USA Networks' entertainment assets for an estimated $10.3 billion and made Diller as chairman and CEO of Vivendi Universal Entertainment with Ron Meyer, the then-president and COO of Universal Studios adding VUE to his purview. The deal closed on May 28, 2002. In 2002, it merged with Studios USA Television Distribution to form Universal Domestic Television and Universal Television Distribution, with the latter name used for international purposes.
(1998-2002)
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Logo: Same as the 1997 Universal Television logo, but the name reads as "UNIVERSAL WORLDWIDE TELEVISION" as it fades in under the logo. The copyright notice is intact.
Variants:
- A long version exists.
- Starting in 1999, it's the last few seconds of the theatrical logo, complete with URL.
- On the 1999 TV movie Anya's Bell, some episodes of the first two seasons of Monk, as well as widescreen reruns of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the tail end of the movie logo, which features the globe zooming back, is shown.
- A print version of the logo exists on Maisy.
Technique: CGI animation.
Music/Sounds: Same as the 1997 Universal Television logo. It's either in a long or a short version. CBS airings of Anya's Bell used a generic theme.
Music/Sounds Variants:
- On-demand prints (i.e. Tubi and The Roku Channel) of Xena: Warrior Princess season 5 episode 4 "Animal Attraction" have the 1997 fanfare in a high pitch.
- On the R2 release of Baa Baa Black Sheep (a.k.a. Black Sheep Squadron): The Complete First Season on DVD, the French audio track has the 1977 logo music playing over the 1998 Universal Worldwide Television logo due to bad plastering.
Availability:
- It's virtually tacked on to any Studios USA show from the era when distributed internationally (i.e. the Law & Order franchise, Monk, Brother's Keeper, Payne).
- The long version of the Universal Worldwide Television logo was seen on reruns of In Search of... from the late 1990s.
- It was also seen on Anya's Bell, as well as Blind Date and The 5th Wheel.
- Strangely, on Horror Channel UK's print of The Incredible Hulk season 2 episode "Wildfire" and the Xena: Warrior Princess season 5 episode "Animal Attraction" on Tubi and The Roku Channel, the version with the website URL also plays before the start of the episode, confusingly enough.
- It also appeared at the end of the last 9 episodes of the 5th and final season of Sliders after the Studios USA logo.
Copyright Stamps
Here is some information about the copyright stamps on the Universal Television series and TV movies:
- 1999: Copyright © [YEAR] PolyGram Television LLC. All Rights Reserved. (Used on Anya's Bell)
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Universal Worldwide Television |
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