Rede Tupi was the first Brazilian television network launched by Assis Chateaubriand on September 18th, 1950 and was shutdown by the Brazilian government on July 18th, 1980.
PRF3-TV[]
1950–1951[]
BETTER LOGO NEEDED
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
September 18th, 1950
The first television channel of Brazil and South America started broadcasting on September 18, 1950 in São Paulo by Assis Chateaubriand on Channel 3 for ten years. The first logo was an inspiration from the Rádio Tupi logo at the time which the station adopted the name for TV Tupi the next year.
TV Tupi[]
1951–1972[]
Designer:
Mario Fanucchi
Typography:
None
Launched:
Unknown
Mario Fanucchi arrived at Tupi in December 1950, replacing other artists who made slides for program breaks and intermissions. He then designed the iconic mascot, a child version of the extant logo, of which the head was used as a branding device on several of its stations starting in 1951, sparking interest not only in children but also among viewers who weren't comfortable with the long program breaks. Airton Rodrigues gave him the name Tupiniquim, which was approved by Cassiano Gabus Mendes. On January 20, 1951, the second owned-and-operated TV Tupi was inaugurated in Rio de Janeiro with the signal of PRG3-TV Channel 6.
Despite having the same name, its affiliated and owned stations in Brazil had different programming, logos, productions, and operators that did not have a television network at the time. For example, in São Paulo, the logo was used on television cameras and featured an inverted television screen, a shield with a square and circle, and "CANAL 3" inside. Later on September 20, 1960, after TV Cultura was founded, TV Tupi changed the calletters to ZYE 439 and moved to channel 4, whose official logo was the number 4 in a gray circle. Meanwhile in Rio de Janeiro, the logo featured a different indigenous face; the call sign was changed to ZYB 513 on the same channel in 1970.
Rede Tupi de Televisão[]
1972–1977[]
Designer:
Renato Lage
Typography:
None
Launched:
Unknown
With the start of color TV in Brazil, and the formation of the network under the name of Rede Tupi de Televisão, Fanucchi's logo was replaced by a new logo, which was the result of a competition. Said competition was announced in the group's newspapers and magazines and would spark the interest of college students in graphic and industrial design. The new logo had elements related to television transmission, two intermingling oscilloscope lines with three circles - each in red, green and blue. The winner went to Paris under a trip paid by Air France to visit one of the main industrial design schools of France. In their book "TV Tupi: do tamanho do Brasil", authors Elmo Francfort and Maurício Viel revealed that the logo designer is the renowed carnival artist Renato Lage, who was part of the channel's graphic design team and a member of the Interuniversitário Musical Group, whose jury was responsible for choosing the logo.
1977[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
VAG Rounded
Launched:
Unknown
Briefly in 1976-1977, a six-pronged windmill was used in the São Paulo station, showing its integration to the network.
1978[]
Designer:
Unknown
Typography:
Helvetica
Launched:
Unknown
After massive rejection from viewers, the previous logo resumed its usage, with slight modifications. The circles in the logo now follow the correct RGB order.
1978–1980[]
Designer:
Cyro Del Nero
Typography:
None
Launched:
Unknown
The last logo of the network consisted of a T divided in three pieces, each of them with a curved edge, consisting of a small blue piece and two equal larger pieces, a horizontal one in red and a vertical one in green. Jokes had emerged within the network that, despite giving a sense of modernity, it was pejoratively nicknamed "tesão", referring to a possible double entendre in the design.
In 1980, due to financial problems and corruption of the television network's owner, the Departamento Nacional de Telecomunicações (DENTEL) revoked the license of Rede Tupi and ordered Diários Associados to shut down the transmissions. On July 14, it ceased broadcasting in São Paulo, and four days later all affiliates went off the air by order of DENTEL. In Rio de Janeiro, it continued broadcasting until the 18th, when it held a vigil, a protest against the then-president, João Baptista Figueiredo, a program called "Aqui e Agora," and a brief microwave transmission of Pope John Paul II. The final minutes were a message to the President of Brazil stating that the employees wanted to continue working, accompanied by the text «Até breve, telespectadores amigos». Finally at 12:36 (UTC-3), Rede Tupi went off the air for the final time.
