Amharic Radio Television is a television Brodcasting company started and launched in June 13, 1957. The company then became independent in 1988.
1st Logo (June 13, 1957-1962)
Visuals: Over a gray background, there is a gray radio tower shooting radio signals with "ስነ ጥበብ", in a blocky font under it. The name of the company doesn't appear.
Technique/Cheesy Factor: Just a still image, which looks pretty tacky for the 50's.
Audio: A traditional Ethiopian theme.
Availability: Extinct.
Scare Factor: None to low.
2nd Logo (1962-1966)
Visuals: Same as the last logo but now the tower is small and at the left side of the screen, and the Amharic text is now replaced with "ART". Next to the tower is the text "AMHARIC RADIO TELEVISION" in a cursive font. The ident now has animation with the signals moving.
Technique: The signals moving...
Cheesy Factor: ...Which is pretty cheap and dated for the era.
Audio: Same as before, with a announcer.
Availability: Extinct.
Scare Factor: None to low.
3rd Logo (1966-1993, 2006-pres (On TV shows))
Nicknames: "Stolen Associated Television" "Ethiopian Associated Television" "Africa Parodying British Television Logo's" "Amharic Cheesy Television"
Visuals: On a grey or light blue background, 3 circles, colored red, green, and blue, grow in one after the other, intersecting each other and forming different colors. The caption "IN COLOUR" fades in underneath. The 3 circles then slide towards each other, forming one white circle as the background fades to blue. The white circle grows out into an eye shape and bands of color sweep across it, cutting out the circle part and adding in the striped "shadow" underneath. The logo turns yellow and the letters "A", "R", and "T" appear in the spaces. The whole logo copy's the Associated Television logo.
Variants:
Televison Idents:
- Sometimes a black and white version exists, where the first part is cut out.
- A clock variant exist, where it's just the still version, but with a digital clock displaying HMS time in the 24-hour format. This makes it rather unique among most of the timeframe, which were mostly analogue. Originally, it would have the clock mentioned in the 3rd logo.
- Starting in 1982, the logo is remade with CGI.
- In 1988, after the logo's animation, the logos zooms out as the background fades into footage of fireworks. Then a golden ring zooms out and places on the logo, and the text "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!" fades inside the ring.
- An alternate version exists, where text inside the three eyes are "A", "T", and "V". The text "Amharic Televison", fades in under it.
Televison Shows: Usually just a still print version of the logo with "PRODUCTIONS" under it in a tall font.
- Sometimes the logo is superimposed on to the closing credits of the show.
- On Yetu Malick, the logo is colored blue with the shows name at the bottom of the screen.
- There's an animated variant where the text "PRODUCTION" wiping in various styles.
- On The Arki Work, the text are in a Amharic language.
- The logo sometimes shares screens with other logos.
- On the first season of Raba Bamu, the logo is bordered with the 16TV logo.
- On a second and last season of the said show, the logos are now paired with the Walama Production logo.
- On Haylan House, the logo is on the top left corner of the screen and colored aqua with the Ultra Televison on the right bottom corner, all over a white background.
- On the Indian show Hegla Chaka, the logo is colored like the India flag next to the Ashoka Chaka Productions logos.
- On the French show Le Paris, the logo is paired with the TF1 logo.
- On shows like El Macho, the text now reads "Producciones de radiotelevisión amárica" and is now in an impact font.
- Some shows have the "PRODUCTIONS" text removed.
- On the last episode of Yuna, the logo is colored gold with the text now saying "ART TV PRDUCTION" under it in a cursive font.
- Starting in 2020, the text "PRODUCTIONS" is now replaced with "TELEVISION STUDIOS" in a handwritten font with the now current ART logo.
- Sometimes boxed variants exists.
Technique/Cheesy Factor: 2D animation, which looks very primitive for 1968. But the concept is entirely stolen for the British ATV logo, which makes the logo far off the charts, but at least it is a favorite logo to many people.
Audio: An abridged version of the "ATV IN COLOUR" theme. Almost sounds similar to the famous NBC chimes theme.
Audio Variants:
- For the clock version, it's silent, or in that case the sounds of the clock ticking.
- In 1982, the audio was synthesized.
- In 1988, after the theme, the rock theme was heard with a man saying "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY TO AMHARIC RADIO TELEVISION!"
- The television production variant is silent or has a closing theme of a show.
Availability: Extinct.
- The independent day version was extinct on June 18, 1988, the day went it became independent.
- The clock version was only extinct on August 2, 1992.
- The television production variant was seen on many shows.
- It was seen on Yetu Malick, Yuna, Raba Bamu, The Arki Work, Haylan House, 12345, The 100 Minutes, You Have To Prove It, F.B.I 911, Ethiopia at War!, TBA!