The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

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You just got home from school and it’s Channel 30 Fun Time! Or maybe Nancy Allen's Movie Matinee on Channel 24. Don’t forget the BOSS 30's #1 KYNO. If you were sophisticated, you only listened to KFIG on some new airwave called FM. We honor the late great Al Radka here at Lost Fresno whose motto was Lettuce Eat it!
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corplhicks
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The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by corplhicks » Fri May 28, 2010 1:11 am

Usually I'm pretty savvy with detective work when it comes to rediscovering past legends of my life. For instance, I searched ten years for a movie I faintly remembered on TV in the 80s; going off nothing but snippets I had great success in finding out the movie was "Northstar." But this one...truly, I have met my match.

If you YouTube various KMPH 26 idents--we're talking before FOX--a few will pop up, save for the one I remember most fondly. You had the four-note theme, usually plated very low-key on a flute, over a video file of some Central Valley landmark--the water tower, farmland in Kerman, Millerton. At last, you would hear the announcer proclaim those famous words: "We're your station, [city]. KMPH, 26." And sometimes--could have been a studio glitch--the video file would play on in absolute silence for an awkward number of seconds.

It may seem bizarre, but I used to get sleepy when it came to these idents, especially during the 5-7p block of sitcoms and game shows. I was between five and eight years old--perhaps it seems less bizarre since I mentioned that. Regardless, they are a pleasant piece of my mind I flutter back to now and then, but in trying to scout out a clip, my attempts have all but failed. I even sent out several emails to KMPH about the issue, and it turns out they had tossed out all the VHS copies that contained these. Very sad indeed.

I'm not giving up, however. Perhaps some of you may have access to what seems oh so inaccessible. Maybe you have a musty old unlabled VHS with that SP recording of Jaws or Futureworld that you timed your VCR for, since you were at Blackbeard's that day and hated missing the Saturday Afternoon Matinee. I don't know if it's possible that any of you may have it, but even discussing something as subtle and minor as this gives me great joy. It's one more reminder of how great and simple this city used to be.

I recently started a blog-zine, The Nostalgic, which discusses things of the past. I've been holding off doing a piece on the old KMPH idents until I found a clip of this particular one. Needless to say, the first person to bring this to me will receive both textual credit in the specific issue, and perhaps even receive (gasp) a cash reward. Hey, it won't be much, but I have to say "Thank God for you and thank you beyond all reason" somehow. The blog is located at thenostalgic.wordpress.com.

I'm glad this board is up and running. I plan of frequenting it for much of my free time, and look forward to discussing other relics of ancient Fresno, no matter how trivial they may seem ("say, do you remember how brown the soil was back in '92?")

Shay Clay
The Nostalgic

corplhicks
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by corplhicks » Thu Jun 10, 2010 12:16 am

I would love to at least discuss these idents. It's intriguing that the Brits put a high priority on their television idents--even to the point of archiving them--but Americans seem largely passive about them. Does anyone recall these?

Shay Clay
The Nostalgic

corplhicks
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by corplhicks » Wed Jun 30, 2010 3:40 pm

Soooo...I'm guessing no one really has any interest in this...

Big J
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by Big J » Tue Mar 08, 2011 3:45 pm

I am - just didn't see it till now. Some of those old idents are fantastic. I'll keep an eye out for the one you're looking for. I remember it vividly. I do quite a bit of video archiving for stuff of personal interest (mostly sports) and I sometimes come across locally recorded stuff.

brooke050870@comcast.net

Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by brooke050870@comcast.net » Thu Apr 21, 2011 7:05 pm

I am very interested! There is an old ident from KMPH that I remember from 1977, when we first moved to the Valley. I have never forgotten it, and I was very sad to read in one of the posts above that KMPH erased all of their old idents! The ident was a jingle that went, "Our world is your world at TV 26...it's where you belong... where you belong my friend!" Does anyone remember it? Again, this was 1977, a bit before everyone had a VCR, so I would be surprised if anyone has it on an old tape.

pixiecat

Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by pixiecat » Fri Dec 30, 2011 4:48 pm

I'm interested! I don't live in Fresno anymore, and I don't have any old VHS tapes, but I vaguely remember that ident. Have you tried contacting Pappas? They were in charge of KMPH TV during that time period, and they might have a copy of it.

Scott Whitney
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by Scott Whitney » Fri Apr 03, 2015 5:52 pm

I remember too. My job was from 1PM to 9PM. When I'd get home I'd watch 26 until I fell asleep. I had a cockatiel and he learned to mimic the channel 26 jingle. I was hilarious. I also remember just before 26 went off the air at night they'd show the 5 minute segment from the goofy guy at the Miami Planetarium talking about current astronomy events. I forget his name but I remember him saying, "Keep looking up".

LeonelVHS

Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by LeonelVHS » Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:28 pm

Just found this...

I remember in the late let 70's or very early there was a logo ident that i've been thinking of lately. it was set in space and the '26' was spinning quickly...there was a song in the background that went, "get to know us, get to know us, get to know us....tv 26, get to know us!"

it used to scare the hell out of me, i was only 6 or 7 from what i recall. i've been dying to find it just to prove to myself that i didn't fabricate it.

anyone remember that one?

Jibbajaba
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by Jibbajaba » Sat Apr 30, 2016 5:06 pm

It looks like OP isn't active here, but I know I have at least 1 VHS tape full of stuff that I recorded on channel 26, and there's no way that it doesn't have some of those channel idents on it, but this would be from the early 90's, right before it because a full-blown Fox affiliate. But I know exactly what he's talking about, with the "We're your station (city)..." with some local landmark being shown.

corplhicks
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Re: The old KMPH 26 ident that you cannot find on the net

Post by corplhicks » Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:03 am

Hey Jibbajabba, I'm still here, definitely interested about those tapes. Hope you get this.

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