Logopedia
Register
Advertisement
Not to be confused with KJLA, WJAL or WLAJ.
This page only shows primary logo variants.
For other related logos and images, see:
1947 1947-1951 1951–1971 1971–1975 1975–1984 1984–1998 1998–2001
1947 1947-1951 1951–1971 1971–1975 1975–1984 1984–1998 1998–2001
2001–present 2001–2007 2007–2013 2013–2019 2019–2021 2021–present
2001–present 2001–2007 2007–2013 2013–2019 2019–2021 2021–present

WTVW[]

1947[]

Logopedia InfoWhite LOGO MISSING

The District of Columbia's third television station began broadcasting on October 3, 1947 as WTVW, owned by the Washington Star, along with WMAL radio (630 AM, now WSBN, and 107.3 FM, now WLVW). It was the thirteenth overall and first high-band VHF television station (channels 7-13) in the United States, plus the third TV station in the nation's capital. Channel 7 started as a CBS station since ABC had not yet established its television network.

WMAL-TV[]

1947–1951[]

Logopedia InfoWhite LOGO MISSING

A few months later, the station changed its call letters to WMAL-TV after its radio sisters. WMAL radio had been an affiliate of the NBC Blue Network since 1933, and remained with the network after it was spun off by NBC and evolved into ABC. When ABC launched on television in 1948, WMAL-TV became ABC's third primary affiliate; the station continued to carry some CBS programming until WOIC (channel 9, now WUSA) signed on in 1949. During the late 1950s, the station was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network.

1951–1971[]

WMAL 50s 70s

1971–1975[]

WMAL-WJLA (1973)

1975–1977[]

Wmal70s

In 1975, Houston businessman Joe Allbritton, the owner of the now-defunct Washington-based Riggs Bank, purchased a controlling interest in the Star's media properties, which by that time also included WLVA radio and WLVA-TV in Lynchburg, Virginia; and the former WCIV in Charleston, South Carolina. As a condition of the purchase, Allbritton was given three years to break up the Washington newspaper/broadcast combination, which the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was seeking to prohibit under the tightening of its concentration of media ownership policy.

WJLA-TV[]

1977–1984[]

WJLA logo 1976

As FCC regulations at the time prevented separately-owned stations from sharing the same call sign, WMAL-TV became WJLA-TV on April 25, 1977, after Allbritton's initials. The station would keep its 1975 circle-split 7 logo even with the change.

1984–2001[]

1984–1998[]

WJLA 1976

Notice the "7" in this version has a slight notch on it and is squared off as opposed to rounded off previously. Australia's Seven Network would use a logo similar to that of WJLA from 1989 to 1999. After WJZ-TV in Baltimore switched to CBS in 1995, WJLA-TV became ABC's longest-tenured television affiliate.

1998–2001[]

WJLA 1999

2001–present[]

Circle 7 1962

In 2001, WJLA-TV adopted the standard version of the "Circle 7" logo, refueling speculation that ABC would purchase the station, a deal that would never come to pass. WJLA-TV is the largest ABC affiliate to use the Circle 7 that is not an ABC owned-and-operated station. In addition, sister station KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas, has used the standard Circle 7 since 1965, longer than all WJLA-TV versions combined.

2001–2007[]

WJLA 2001

2007–2013[]

WJLA 2007

2013–2019[]

WJLA 2013 logo

2019–2021[]

WJLA-2019

A similar design is shared with ABC O&Os WABC-TV in New York City and KGO-TV in San Francisco, which the latter used until 2003.

2021–present[]

WJLA ABC 7 2021

For the first time since 2001 when the ABC network logo was added to the station's logo, the ABC network logo is moved from the center left to the bottom left of the circle, following suit of two of ABC's owned and operated stations, KGO-TV and its West Coast flagship station, KABC-TV.

External links[]

Advertisement