going way back, the SF bay area once had KOFY, before KBWB 20, anyone remember the TV20 dance party's that were televised live???? I know they did one show live on the air at the alameda county fairgrounds, it totally rocked!!! ahh, the good ole days, and they always had animals on during the hourly ID. really innovative for the time. K-O-F-Y, TV20, stereo.....gotta love old tv.
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KOFY-TV 20, stereo.......
- Thread starter only1deejayman
- Start date
> going way back, the SF bay area once had KOFY, before KBWB
> 20, anyone remember the TV20 dance party's that were
> televised live???? I know they did one show live on the air
> at the alameda county fairgrounds, it totally rocked!!! ahh,
> the good ole days, and they always had animals on during the
> hourly ID. really innovative for the time. K-O-F-Y, TV20,
> stereo.....gotta love old tv.
>
I remember that too. At the San Mateo County Fair, I was on with a friend of mine (in his late 40's) who introduced his Mom as his lover and James Gabbert quickly pulled the mic away. Yeah those were the days!!!
> 20, anyone remember the TV20 dance party's that were
> televised live???? I know they did one show live on the air
> at the alameda county fairgrounds, it totally rocked!!! ahh,
> the good ole days, and they always had animals on during the
> hourly ID. really innovative for the time. K-O-F-Y, TV20,
> stereo.....gotta love old tv.
>
I remember that too. At the San Mateo County Fair, I was on with a friend of mine (in his late 40's) who introduced his Mom as his lover and James Gabbert quickly pulled the mic away. Yeah those were the days!!!
> > Owner James Gabbert was definitely unique - he struggled to get publicity and get people to watch the formerly unwatched and unwatchable Channel 20 (remember KEMO?). He would run weekend festivals of old TV shows (way before TVLand), and tried various stunts like 3D movies. I believe TV20 was the first Stereo station in the Bay Area. The Dance Party was a great retro idea - as was the Sunday Night Movie from the cocktail lounge of the "Sleazy Arms Hotel" which he hosted with an audience, and various hunky male "bartenders." I was surprised when Gabbert came out of the closet a few years ago because I thought he already WAS out. This wasn't so long ago either - I think he bought the station in the early 80s and it didn't become KBWB until he sold it in the mid 90s. Gabbert brought in the WB network, but continued with the KOFY call letters and cute dog IDs until he sold the station for a MAJOR profit - enough money for about five lifetimes.
going way back, the SF bay area once had KOFY, before KBWB
>
> > 20, anyone remember the TV20 dance party's that were
> > televised live???? I know they did one show live on the
> air
> > at the alameda county fairgrounds, it totally rocked!!!
> ahh,
> > the good ole days, and they always had animals on during
> the
> > hourly ID. really innovative for the time. K-O-F-Y, TV20,
> > stereo.....gotta love old tv.
> >
> I remember that too. At the San Mateo County Fair, I was on
> with a friend of mine (in his late 40's) who introduced his
> Mom as his lover and James Gabbert quickly pulled the mic
> away. Yeah those were the days!!!
>
going way back, the SF bay area once had KOFY, before KBWB
>
> > 20, anyone remember the TV20 dance party's that were
> > televised live???? I know they did one show live on the
> air
> > at the alameda county fairgrounds, it totally rocked!!!
> ahh,
> > the good ole days, and they always had animals on during
> the
> > hourly ID. really innovative for the time. K-O-F-Y, TV20,
> > stereo.....gotta love old tv.
> >
> I remember that too. At the San Mateo County Fair, I was on
> with a friend of mine (in his late 40's) who introduced his
> Mom as his lover and James Gabbert quickly pulled the mic
> away. Yeah those were the days!!!
>
Didn't James Gabbert sell TV20 for like $120Million plus, got an additional $10Million not compete in the Bay Area market for 5 years? That's in addition to when he sold KDIA and KOFY1050. It's time to come back!
Jaycifer666 said:
I don't know if $120 million is the exact figure, but I know that Gabbert, who was previously well-off due to his success in broadcasting, became a truly rich man when he sold KOFY. If you remember, at the time it was a WB affiliate...while The WB was never an unqualified success, they were doing quite well in those years with some popular shows, and I'm sure that inflated the value of KOFY.
The station's value must have plummeted when the WB folded. Bringing back KOFY and the 'Spirit of Gabbert' *(so to speak) was a clever move for an indy suddenly without an identity.
As for "coming back" - I suspect Gabbert is a happy man of leisure now. Filling in on KGO and doing 'cameos' for KOFY probably just amuses him. He probably gives the money to charity. He was a pioneer in FM radio, independent owner of one of the first successful FM CHR stations, pioneer in stereo broadcasting (FM, then TV). He's got nothing left to prove, and he obviously doesn't need the money.
radio dx said:
Even better - clips of the Real Don Steele Show from the mid-1970s on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles.
The commercial at the beginning of the first clip features the Shick hair styler and a pretty, but then unknown young woman named Farrah something or other...
Character actor Paul Dooley, who plays grumpy old men these days also shows up in a later candy commercial. And check out the hair-styles and disco-era clothing. A hilarious slice of the times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIs3AnyTCOo
Madmansam said:
I remember James Gabbert's stories about trying to make ends meet in the early days of "TV 20." The old KEMO studios were dilapidated and required big cash investment to bring them up to date. Being the small cash-poor indy, he was frustrated because he was often unable to pay the big money necessary to get the most popular syndicated shows and off-network reruns. The hot shows generally went to KTVU or the network affiliates during local access times. That's why he relied on "classic" TV shows, and did the various stunts to get viewers.
So I suspect that if infomercials were widely available at the time, Gabbert would have jumped at them. The plethora of cable channels isn't just hurting the networks, it has to be hurting the local independents as well.
I don't like it either, but if KOFY can make more running infomercials than they can make running more classic TV shows (that they would have to first pay for, then sell ad time for), I can understand it.
Dr. Phil to Jerry Springer! thats a pretty big change!
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