# Circle 7 logo

The Circle 7 logo is an often-used television station logo in the United States. Designed in the early 1960s for the American Broadcasting Company's five owned-and-operated stations (all of which broadcast on VHF channel 7), the logo, or a version of it, is being used not only by several ABC stations and affiliates, but also by a number of television broadcasters around the world.

## History and information

The Circle 7 logo was created by G. Dean Smith, a San Francisco graphic designer, and was first used in 1962 by ABC as the logo for its (then) five owned-and-operated television stations: WABC-TV in New York City; KABC-TV in Los Angeles; WBKB in Chicago; KGO-TV in San Francisco; and WXYZ-TV in Detroit. When ABC applied for television station licenses in the late 1940s, it was thought that the low-band channel frequencies (2 through 6) would be removed from use for television broadcasting, thus making these five stations broadcasting on VHF channel 7 the lowest on the television dial; those plans never came to pass. American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres, ABC's then-corporate parent, registered the Circle 7 logo with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1962.
When WABC-TV adopted the Eyewitness News format in January 1968, all reporters and anchors were required to wear a blazer with a Circle 7 patch (a lapel pin in later years) when they appeared on the air – a marketing practice that spread to the other ABC O&Os, and eventually to other ABC affiliates. Stations commonly used the logo on microphone flags, newscaster clothing and design of sets, as well as on-air graphics for locally originated programming.
Circle Seven Animation, a short-lived (2005-2006) division of ABC parent company Disney that was working on sequels to Disney-owned Pixar films, was indirectly named after the logo, as its studios were located on Circle Seven Drive in Glendale, California, a street which was renamed for the logo when KABC-TV moved its studios there.

## U.S. stations using the Circle 7 logo or a variant

| Station | Market name | Affiliation and ownership |
| KABC-TV | Los Angeles, California | ABC owned-and-operated station |
| KATV | Little Rock, Arkansas | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KETV | Omaha, Nebraska/Council Bluffs, Iowa | ABC affiliate owned by Hearst Television |
| KGO-TV | San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California | ABC owned-and-operated station |
| KIRO-TV | Seattle/Tacoma, Washington | CBS affiliate owned by Cox Media Group |
| KLTV | Tyler/Longview, Texas | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| KMGH-TV | Denver, Colorado | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company |
| KOAT-TV | Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico | ABC affiliate owned by Hearst Television |
| KPLC | Lake Charles, Louisiana | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| KQCD-TV | Dickinson, North Dakota | NBC affiliate owned by Gray Media, satellite to Bismarck, North Dakota, NBC affiliate KFYR-TV |
| KRCR-TV | Redding/Chico, California | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| KSWO-TV | Lawton, Oklahoma/Wichita Falls, Texas | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| KTVB | Boise, Idaho | NBC affiliate owned by Tegna |
| KVIA-TV | El Paso, Texas/Las Cruces, New Mexico | ABC affiliate owned by News-Press & Gazette Company |
| KVII-TV | Amarillo, Texas | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| WABC-TV | New York, New York | ABC owned-and-operated station |
| WBBJ-TV | Jackson, Tennessee | ABC (7.1) and CBS (7.3) affiliate owned by Bahakel Communications |
| WDAM-TV | Laurel/Hattiesburg, Mississippi | NBC (7.1) and ABC (7.2) affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| WHDH | Boston, Massachusetts | Independent station owned by Sunbeam Television |
| WHIO-TV | Dayton, Ohio | CBS affiliate owned by Cox Media Group |
| WJLA-TV | Washington, D.C. | ABC affiliate owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| WLS-TV | Chicago, Illinois | ABC owned-and-operated station |
| WSVN | Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Fox affiliate owned by Sunbeam Television |
| WWNY-TV | Carthage/Watertown, New York | CBS affiliate owned by Gray Media |
| WWSB | Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice/North Port, Florida | ABC affiliate owned by Gray Media; refers to being branded by cable channel 7 rather than actual virtual channel (station is on Channel 40) |
| WXYZ-TV | Detroit, Michigan | ABC affiliate owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, formerly an ABC owned-and-operated station |

## Non-U.S. use

* In Australia, Seven Network affiliate ATN-7 used the "Circle 7" logo from 1968 to 1969 with customized versions across the network from 1970 to 2000.
* In Malaysia, this logo was adopted by NTV7 from 2001 until March 5, 2018.
* In Peru, RTP (now TV Perú) adopted this logo in 1989 and used it until 1991.
* In the Philippines, GMA (also known as DZBB-TV) used the logo from 1961 until 1974 when it was dropped due to Marcos' martial law and the handover to new owners. The logo stayed until the latter part of the decade.
* In Indonesia, TV7 used the stylized Circle 7 logo from its launch in November 2001 until its relaunch as Trans7 in December 2006.
* In Brazil, RecordTV adopted the logo in 1965 and used it until 1970.
* In Bermuda, ABC affiliate ZFB-TV uses the Circle 7 logo, although the station refers to being branded by cable channel 7 rather than actual virtual channel (station is on Channel 19).
* In Turkey, Kanal 7 used the Circle 7 logo since 2002. The circle in the logo is slightly oval and leg of digit 7 through the circle.