Tesvisio (Finland)

Background
TES-TV was the first television channel in Finland. It was launched when the Finnish Foundation for Technology Promotion ("Tekniikan edistämissäätiö" in Finnish, abbreviated to "TES") performed the first wireless TV transmission in Finland on April 20, 1955, with the first public cable broadcasting taking place on May 24th, and regular broadcasting began on March 1956. Thoughts of commercializing the channel were in consideration, as a limited liability company called Oy Tesvisio Ab was founded in May 1959 and the channel was renamed as Tesvisio. Originally, the coverage area was limited to the Helsinki metropolitan area, but it was later expanded to Turku and Tampere in 1963. Before that, a sister channel Tamvisio, that was founded in 1957, aired the channel's programs in Tampere. Due to financial issues, Yleisradio bought both Tesvisio and Tamvisio in 1964. Tesvisio continued to air regularly until March 1, 1965, when it was replaced by Yleisradio's TV-Ohjelma 2.

(1959-February 28, 1965)
Nicknames: "tesVısıo", "Forming Vision", "Wide Letters"

Logo: On a black background, we see a white line moving from the right side of the screen to the left. Another vertical line moves down on the left side, curves on the bottom left corner, and ends in the middle of the bottom part of the screen. A third line forms from the top of the screen and forms a sharp tip point above the line's end point, moving back to the top of the screen. The letters "es isio", with the "i"s lacking their dots, slowly wipe in below the long, horizontal line from left to right, forming the word "tesVısıo". The logo stays on-screen for several seconds.

FX/SFX: Primitive animation.

Music/Sounds: A few chimes, leading into a proud fanfare, that is in fact the opening piece of the Finnish national flag anthem, "Lippulaulu (Siniristilippumme)", which was composed by V. A. Koskenniemi.

Availability: Extinct on TV. The archive footage could be spotted on Finnish television documentaries, such as a 1974 episode of the retrospective program Suomalainen rapsodia. A clip from the program can be found in the Yle Elävä Arkisto archive website.

Editor's Note: None.