KMPH-TV: Map

Categories: Companies that have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy > Television channels and stations established in 1971 > Channel 28 digital TV stations in the United States > New World TV Group > Fox network affiliates > Television stations in Fresno, California

Wikipedia article:

Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article:

KMPH-TV is a television station in Fresno, California

broadcasting digitally on television channel 28, and is licensed to nearby Visalia. It is the Fresno-area affiliate of the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is the flagship station of Pappas Telecasting and the sister station to KFRE-TV

, the Central Valley

's CW affiliate.

This station formerly operated KMPH-CA in Merced, California

on channel 17. KMPH Fox 26 can also be picked up in and around the Bakersfield area. However, local Fox affiliate KBFX-CA has more exclusive rights in the Bakersfield

television market. The television station's airwaves extend northward to Mariposa, California

as well the southern Sierra Nevada and sometimes can be received to the south in Kern County

for those who live about north of Bakersfield.

History

KMPH began broadcasting on October 11, 1971 as an independent station. The funding for KMPH came from station co-founder and General Manager Harry Pappas' plan of having hundreds of investors each investing a small amount of money needed to construct the station, rather than having one investor providing all the capital. Throughout the early- to mid-1980s, KMPH was one of the top independent stations in the country. The TV station can be received 100 miles/150 km from Visalia before its' move to an office in Fresno in the early 1990s.

Pappas signed an affiliation deal with Fox for KMPH and one of its two other UHF start-ups, KPTM

in Omaha, Nebraska

, in 1986 (The other Pappas-owned station, WHNS

in Greenville, South Carolina

, took the Fox affiliation from WAXA

two years later). KMPH and KSEE

are the two stations in Fresno to keep the same network affiliation unaffected by the network swaps of ABC and CBS in 1985 and the network changes of The CW Television Network and My Network TV in 2006. The Fox affiliation remains on KMPH to this day.

On May 10, 2008, 13 of Pappas' stations, including KMPH, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As a result of the bankruptcy, Pappas Telecasting had until February 15, 2009 to sell these stations. On January 16, 2009, it was announced that most of these stations, including KMPH, would be sold to New World TV Group, after the sale received United States bankruptcy court approval. On April 2, 2009, 22 station employees were laid off. Eventually, the New World TV Group formed a new holding company known as the Titan Broadcast Group (unrelated to the similarly-named smaller-market radio station owner Titan Broadcasting), which completed its purchase of most of the Pappas stations involved in the bankruptcy on October 15, 2009.

Programming

KMPH also airs court/reality/talk shows, sitcom reruns, and movies in addition to news and the Fox broadcasting schedule. In recent years KMPH has discontinued cartoons, relocating the 4Kids TV schedule to KFRE, which aired the 4Kids TV lineup on Sunday mornings Until December 28, 2008 (Under that technicality, since the mid-1990s, Fox allowed its affiliates (especially the newer ones formerly owned by New World) to preempt Fox Kids programming by sending it to another local station, a practice continued through the end of the 4Kids TV block).

On October 2009 the station added the This TV Network to its digital subchannel, Channel 26.2.

News Operation

KMPH airs 32 hours of local news each week, including the oldest 10 p.m. newscast in the Fresno market, as well as the "Great Day" morning show which debuted October 6, 2003 featuring long-time anchor Kopi Sotiropolous and Bay Area native Anchor, Kim Stephens. In spring 2007, "Great Day" expanded to 5 hours; it now runs from 5:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Newsreader Liz Gonzalez joined the morning newscast in 2007.

In January 2006, KMPH also produced a half-hour newscast for sister station KFRE that aired every night at 11:00 p.m., but due to low ratings, KMPH canceled that newscast in mid Feb of 2007. A few months later, KFRE news anchor Allison Ruddell re-joined KMPH as the "Midday" anchor.

On Wednesday, September 30 2009, KMPH became the second television station in Fresno (behind KFSN) to produce and broadcast its local newscasts in High Definition. With the switch came new graphics (using elements of the FOX O&O HD Graphics) and new music. [157084]

Current Personalities

Great Day

Kopi Sotiropolous - co-anchor and weather
Kim Stephens - co-anchor/Midday anchor
Liz Gonzalez - newsreader/Fill-in anchor/reporter
Clayton Clark - reporter
Mac and Maxine - 'Word of the Day' monkeys

KMPH News Midday

Kim Stephens - anchor

The Ten O'Clock News weekdays

Monty Torres - Weekday Anchor
Anna Laural Weekday co-Anchor
Kevan Ramer - Chief Meteorologist
Ralph Wood - Sports Director

The Ten O'Clock News weekends

Rich Rodriguez - Anchor
James DeLaVega - Weather
Jessob Reisbeck - Sports

Valley Life

Lesa Jennings - co-host
Rich Kreps - co-host

Reporters

Nicole Garcia - Reporter/Weekday Fill in co-Anchor
Clint Olivier - Reporter
Ashley Ritchie - Reporter
Norma Yuriar - Reporter
Rich Rodriguez - Reporter/Weekend Anchor
Liz Gonzalez - Reporter/Great Day newsreader

Contributors

Bill Coate - Historian Twists In Time
Mike Gish - Financial Contributor
Don Larson - Political Contributor
Elizabeth Laval - Historian Pop Laval Collection
Alysia Sofios - Freelance Reporter

KMPH Alumni

Terry Adams - weathercaster/sportscaster
Tom Adams - anchor/reporter (now at KVAL-TV in Eugene, Oregon)
Eric Alvarez - 10 PM weekend, then Great Day and midday anchor/reporter (now freelancer at KNTV in San Francisco)
Andrew Amador - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter (currently hosting a TV show in Los Angeles[157085])
Andy Asher - reporter
Michael Bennett - radio newscaster/talk show host
Bill Bird - reporter
Mike Bryant - sportscaster
Gerrick Brener - reporter (2000-2002; now at WTVD in Raleigh, North Carolina [157086])
Terry Bryant - anchor/weathercaster/sportscaster
Amy Carlisle - 10 PM anchor (1994-1995)
Dani Carlson - reporter (2006-2008)
Dick Carr - anchor/news director
Brendan Conway - reporter (now at WISN in Milwaukee)
Mike Cully - reporter (now President/CEO of The San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce)
Denise Dador - 10PM anchor/reporter (now health reporter at KABC-TV in Los Angeles)
Carlos F. Delgado - reporter (1998-2000; now part-time reporter at XETV in San Diego and at Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego as Media Relations Officer)
Steve Diddy - reporter/KMPH Newsradio reporter
Rich Dixon - anchor/reporter (now a college professor)
Debbie Dorian - news subject
Rusty Dornin - anchor/reporter (now at CNN)
Ariana Durarte - 10 PM co-rotating anchor/reporter,now at KGTV ABC San Diego
Matt Evans - anchor/reporter (now at American City Business Journals)
Jim Fannin - radio news anchor-reporter (now at KKOH radio)
Joanne Feldman - weekend weather anchor (now at WAGA-TV in Atlanta in same position)
Liza Fernandez - Great Day newsreader (2006-2007; now weathercaster at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
Dana Greene - 10 PM weekend sportscaster (now at KTVX in Salt Lake City[157087])
Elisa Hahn - reporter (now at KING in Seattle-Tacoma)
Silva Harapetian - reporter (now at WDIV in Detroit)
Tamara Henry - 10 PM weekend anchor (now at Santa Monica/Beverly Hills TV)
Brandi Hitt - Great Day newsreader/reporter/producer (now at KOVR /KMAX-TV in Sacramento)
Kristin Hoke - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter (now at WPBF in Palm Beach FL)
Cathy Isom - radio news anchor
Vic "The Brick" Jacobs - sportscaster (now at KLAC AM 570 in Los Angeles)
John Kessler - 10 PM anchor (now at KPIX in San Francisco)
Brian Loftus - Great Day live reporter (2006-2008; now at KLAS in Las Vegas)
Paul Lowe - anchor/reporter (now at KFWB radio in Los Angeles)
John Malos - 10 PM anchor/reporter (1996-2005; terminated by KMPH officials in 2005 after being booked at the Madera County Jail)
Josh McElveen - reporter (now at NECN in Boston)
Jadine MacLiver - 10 PM anchor (1997-2008; retired after 11 years with KMPH-TV)
Kye Martin - Great Day newsreader/reporter (now at WGN-TV in Chicago)
Marc Martinez - reporter (1995-1996; now weekend anchor/reporter at KSAZ-TV Phoenix)
George Mason - Valley Ag News anchor/weather/weekend weathercaster (retired in 2008)
Tom Maule - weathercaster
Steve Miles - 10 PM weekend anchor/reporter
Eric Mitchell - reporter
Bonnie Montevecchi - reporter
Kellie Morris - Great Day live reporter
Derrol Nail - 10 PM and KFRE 11 PM weekend anchor/reporter (2003-2008; now at WFTV in Orlando)
Leticia Ordaz - reporter (now at KCRA in Sacramento)
Laurie Penco - Great Day live reporter (Laurie Penco has worked at all four Fresno TV stations: KSEE , KMPH-TV, KFSN and KGPE )
Ken Pritchett - reporter (now at KTVU in Oakland/San Francisco)
Kim Quintero - reporter (2007-2008; now at KVAL-TV in Eugene/Springfield, Oregon)
Gary Radnich - sportscaster (now sports director at KRON-TV in San Francisco)
Evy Ramos - Great Day traffic safety advocate (now anchor at KGPE )
Erika Razo - reporter
Gil Reyes - reporter
Bill Rice - reporter
Larry Rice - reporter/weathercaster (now at KOB-TV in Alberquerque)
Robert Rodriguez - 10 PM weekend sportscaster
Allison Rudell - 10 PM weekend, then KFRE 11 PM weeknight and midday weekday anchor/reporter (2002-2007)
Nick Ryan - radio news anchor
Catalina Salmeron - reporter
Veronica Sanchez - reporter (now at KPNX in Phoenix)
Julie Sedenko - reporter
Richard Smoker - reporter
John Soderman - 10 PM anchor (now at KUSI-TV in San Diego)
Janet Stoll - 10 PM weeknight/weekend anchor/radio newscaster (now at Clovis, CA Police Department as Public Affairs Officer)
Mark Thomas - radio newscaster
Sean Michael Thomas reporter (now at Russia Today Moscow, Russia)
Angelic Urquijo - 10 PM anchor (1995-1997; now at University of Southern California: School of Dentistry as Director of Public Relations)
Heidi Watney - great day traffic safety advocate/10 PM weekend sportscaster (now at NESN)
William Wycliff - post newscast consultant
Cynthia Yip - Great Day newsreader/reporter
Kim Yonenaka - reporter (currently host of 49ers Total Access at KTVU in San Francisco)
Lloyd Lindsay Young - weathercaster
Don York - Valley Ag News anchor/reporter (1995-1998); KMPH-TV Marketing Department Commercial Producer (2001-2009; now freelance video talent/producer)
Karen Zarsadiaz - reporter (now at KNX-AM in Los Angeles)