Retro: Fresno. Wednesday, Nov. 23, 1977

[DM601]

Source: The Fresno Bee

KMTF 18 (PBS)
AM
8 Sesame Street
9 In-school programming until 3 p.m. (specific shows not listed)
PM
3 Villa Alegre
3:30 Electric Company
4 Sesame Street
5 Mister Rogers
5:30 Lilias, Yoga And You
6 Zoom
6:30 English As A Second Language
7 Over Easy (guest: Richard Brooks, director of “Looking For Mr. Goodbar”)
7:30 Studio 18
8 Nova
9 Great Performances
10:30 Me And Stella
11 Dick Cavett (guest: William F. Buckley Jr.)

KFTV 21
PM
1 Un Demonio Con Angel
2 Todo Un Hombre
3 El Show De La Tarde
4 Manana Sera Otro Dia
4:30 Mi Hermana La Nena
5:30 Noticiero
6 Super Musical
6:30 Corazon Salvaje
7 24 Horas
8 La Usurpadora
9 Lucha Libre
10 Mundos Opuestos
10:30 Noticiero

KMJ-TV 24 (NBC)
AM
6:15 Noticias En Total
6:30 Early Childhood Reading
7 Today
9 Sanford And Son
9:30 Hollywood Squares
10 Wheel of Fortune
10:30 Knockout
11 To Say The Least
11:30 Chico And The Man
PM
12N News
12:15 Today in Agriculture
12:30 Days Of Our Lives
1:30 Doctors
2 Another World
3 Dinah
4 Get Smart
4:30 Emergency One
5:30 5:30 (name of the show is 5:30)
6 NBC News
6:30 News
7 Mary Tyler Moore
7:30 Tattletales
8 Grizzly Adams
9 NBC Movie of the Week: “The Last Mohicans”
11 News
11:30 Tonight Show (Johnny Mathis is guest)
1A Tomorrow

KMPH 26
AM
7 700 Club
8 Archies
8:30 Yogi and Huck
9 Little Rascals
9:30 Leave It to Beaver
10 Movie: “The Corn Is Green”
PM
12 Perry Mason
1 Movie: “The Swimmer”
3 Our Gang
3:30 Flintstones
4:30 Brady Bunch
5 I Dream Of Jeannie
5:30 Andy Griffith
6 My Three Sons
6:30 Hogan’s Heroes
7 Rookies
8 NBA Basketball: Los Angeles Lakers at Seattle Supersonics
10 Coral Jungle
11 Forever Fernwood
11:30 700 Club

KFSN 30 (CBS)
AM
6 Sunrise Semester
6:30 Right To Know
7 CBS News
8 Captain Kangaroo
9 Phil Donahue (guest: Muhammad Ali)
10 Match Game
10:30 Love of Life
10:55 CBS News
11 Young And The Restless
11:30 Search for Tomorrow
PM
12 News
12:30 As The World Turns
1:30 Guiding Light
2:30 All In The Family
3 Tattletales
3:30 Mike Douglas (guests not listed)
4:30 Merv Griffin (guests Sammy Davis Jr., Foster Brooks, Susan Anton, Marty Brill)
6 CBS News
6:30 News
7 Cross Wits
7:30 Hollywood Squares
8 Special: Brothers Grimm
10 Special: George Burns (guests: Bob Hope, Ann-Margret, Captain and Tennille, Gladys Knight and the Pips)
11 News
11:30 CBS Late Movie: 1: “Hawaii Five-O: The Child Stealers”; 2: “She Cried Murder”
1:30A Right To Know

KJEO 47 (ABC)
AM
7 Good Morning America
9 A.M. Fresno
9:30 Edge of Night
10 Happy Days
10:30 $20,000 Pyramid
11 The Better Sex
11:30 Family Feud
PM
12 All My Children
1 Ryan’s Hope
1:30 One Life To Live
2:15 General Hospital
3 Joker’s Wild
3:30 Hollywood Connection
4 Mickey Mouse Club
4:30 Bugs Bunny and Friends
5 Big Valley
6 ABC News
6:30 News
7 Newlywed Game
7:30 That’s Hollywood
8 Eight Is Enough
9 Charlie’s Angels
10 Baretta
11 News
11:30 Starsky and Hutch; Mystery of the Week (to 2 a.m.)

KAIL 53
PM
6 Public Policy Forum (no listings for Ch. 53 before 6 p.m.)
7 Athletes
7:30 C.S.U.F.
8:30 Faith That Lives
9 Praise The Lord

 

[ShawnHill1]

For a market as small as Fresno, even back then, they sure had plenty of TV stations.

I saw the KMPH listing for the Lakers-Sonics telecast (two pretty good teams back--in fact, Seattle won the Western Conference title that season), but didn't the Golden State Warriors have (or ever had) their games televised in the Fresno market? I could sworn I saw a listing once for a Warriors telecasts in Fresno.

 

[genius]

Interesting about KFSN it was a Capital Cities station prior to their surprise purchase of ABC in 1985(which the couldn't have done without the help their biggest owned station, WPVI in Philly). When Capital Cities merged they decided to keep KFSN, and they changed its affliation from CBS to ABC, in process selling off historic ABC O&O WXYZ in Detroit(Remember the O&O limit went from seven to twelve, and they were still over the limit with the merger).

Capital Cities/ABC would end up being bought out by Disney and with the ushering of the Telecom Act of '96, KFSN still remains to this day an ABC O&O in Market #55

 

[classictvfan]

When exactly did KMPH and KAIL sign on?

 

[azumanga]

When exactly did KMPH and KAIL sign on?

According to Wikipedia, KMPH signed on October 11, 1971, while KAIL opened in 1961 (though I thought it went on the air earlier than that).

 

[Markd]

According to Wikipedia, KMPH signed on October 11, 1971, while KAIL opened in 1961 (though I thought it went on the air earlier than that).

Actually I got some old Fresno listings from the archives online. KAIL TV did sign on in 1961 and was on the air from 2 to 11 PM most days. It had a mix of old movies and 40's and 50's syndicated shows and very old cartoons and some local productions back in the 60's. The station never went color in the 60's or early 70's. The TV station was co-owned with an AM FM combo station as well. In 1971 KMPH signed on and they tok the better programming and KAIL found it tough to compete. They were on the air from Noon to midnight. Still no color though most of their movies and shows were black and white anyway.

In 1973 the station had financial problems as well as maintainence issues with equipment. The station went dark April of 1973. They sold programming they had left to KMPH. Back then an owner could turn the station dark and hold onto the license which KAIL's owners did. In 1976 the station got color equipment and a new transmitter and went back on the ari October of 1976. Initially just 2 hours a day from 6 to 8 PM with shows they ran free and public affairs shows. By 1977 the station expanded but still did not go on till 6 PM and off by Midnight. They sold 3 hours to TBN and ran Praise The Lord along with free public affairs shows. Soon after they added PTL Club with Jim Bakker in the Spring of 77 and began 4 PM sign on and then expaned to 2 PM adding 700 Club which moved from KMPH.

So by late in 77 the station was on the air 10 hours a day with religion which they sold time to air 8 hours a day. Sunday they ran a ton of televangelists. Though the owners were not religious oriented they used religion to get the station on the air and pay the bills. By 78 the station was about 12 hours a day on at NOON. They added Bill COsby (his 60's early 70's sitcom) and Little Rascals then. By 1979 they signed on at 10 AM and added a few old sitcoms from the 50's and a couple drama shows like I Spy and Fugitive and very old movies. The station still ran religion about 2/3 of the time. In 1981 the station expanded to sign on at 7 AM and ra religion till 2, very old shows till 8 and religion after 8. In 1982 they expanded secular shows and pulled religion back to 7 AM to 2 PM and after 10 PM. In 83 the station began to get more viable entertainment shows and got into the cartoon business and by 1985 moved away from religion cutting it to mid mornings only and began 20 hour a day operations. So kAIL did struggle for a while but slowly grew. Still they spent less money than competitors for proramming.