SFM Entertainment

Logo description by Argus Sventon, James Fabiano, Matt Williams, Dan DeCosta, Nicholas Aczel, Kris Starring and Cameron McCaffrey
Logo captures by wisp2007, Eric S.and V of Doom
Editions by V of Doom, Shadeed A. Kelly, TrickyMario7654, KramdenII and indycar
Video captures courtesy of MachineryNoise, mcydodge919, and Dean Stewart Rumsey


Background: SFM Entertainment, LLC (formerly known as "SFM Media Service Corporation" and "SFM Media Corporation") is a television syndication company established on September 29, 1969 by Walter Staab, Robert Frank, and Stanley Moger (hence the initials of the company). SFM didn't use a logo until 1977.


(January 17, 1977- )

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Nicknames: "SFM Rainbow (of Doom)", "Rainbow Fill", "Rainbow of Darkness", "RKO's Child"

Logo: On a black background are white outlines to the letters "sfM" (in Optima medium font) Each letter is then filled with a rainbow pattern of colors. All but the "M" are filled from the top. The "M" is filled starting at its left.

Variants:

• The original version had the text "AN SFM MEDIA SERVICE CORPORATION PRESENTATION" fading-in below. This was seen on 1977-1978 prints of The New Mickey Mouse Club.
• A black and white version exists.
• Since 1998 onward, the word "ENTERTAINMENT" appears under the SFM logo. Sometimes, a copyright stamp is seen below.
  
• Two main variants of the 1978 version exist. One is a filmed version and the other is a videotaped version.
• A shortened and sped-up version exists that only shows the rainbow filling the letters.
• Another version had the SFM logo shifted downwards and featured the words "Distributed by" above it.
• An in-credit variant can be seen in the 1982 game show pilot The Origins Game.
  

FX/SFX: The letters filling. For the in-credit variant, the text zooms in from the center to its place.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over: A series of Morse code beeps typing out "SFM" in Morse code four times. Sometimes, the voice of SFM co-founder Stanley K. Moger was heard saying various announcements; these are seen below:

• 1977-1978: None.
• 1978-1980: The announcer's spiel was "An SFM Media Service Corporation Television Presentation".
• 1980-1998: The announcer's spiel was "Distributed by the SFM Entertainment Division of SFM Media Corporation", and the Morse code beeps were lower-pitched.
• 1998- : Just the beeping sound.

Music/Sounds/Voice-over Variants:

• On some shows like Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, it has a theme consisting on seven dreamy synthesized notes.
• A special variant features an announcer saying "Developed and Produced in Association with the SFM Entertainment Division of SFM Media Corporation".
• Another special variant from SFM Holiday Network airings has the announcer saying "A Television Presentation from the SFM Entertainment Division of SFM Media Corporation".
• A silent variation of the 1998 logo was spotted on Encore Mystery's print of Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions and pre-split-screen airings of Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer on Cartoon Network, while The CW airings of the special feature the normal beeping sounds.
  
• The shortened and sped-up version is silent.
• The beeping sounds can sometimes vary in pitch and speed, as seen on The Joey Bishop Show on Antenna TV.
  
• Other times, it's the closing theme.
  

Availability: Uncommon, despite it still being used. Was seen on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In on the now-defunct Cloo, The Flip Wilson Show on TV Land (in the mid-'90s when the network began) and later TV One, and before that in the 1990s after reruns of The Care Bears on Disney Channel. The original version was seen 1977 to 1978 prints of The New Mickey Mouse Club. The 1980 version with the announcer can be seen on The Care Bears Battle the Freeze Machine and on one episode of The Care Bears television series as a bonus feature on the MGM DVD 25th Anniversary release of The Care Bears Movie and was recently spotted on an Antenna TV airing of The Joey Bishop Show S4 episode "Larry's Habit". The 1998 version can be currently seen on The Danny Thomas Show (the title used for syndication broadcasts of Make Room for Daddy) on Me-TV, The Jerry Lewis Show and reruns of the NBC soap opera The Doctors on RetroTV, The Joey Bishop Show on Antenna TV, the Christmas special Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer on Cartoon Network and The CW and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp on Starz Encore Westerns. The shortened version can be seen on Encore Westerns broadcasts of Death Valley Days.

Editor's Note: The logo's longevity is impressive, being used for over 40 years and it continues to be used to this day. However by this point, its age really shows. The animation was alright for the '70s, but is really simple and primitive by modern standards. Some also have been crept out by the Morse code beeps, announcer (if any) and black background.