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Early Local US TV Mascots

SarahB98

SarahB98

Since PBS is airing peanuts..... I decided to start about a topic called Early Local US TV mascots. The Canadian channels will get separate and be on international tv page.
 
What exactly do you mean by a TV station mascot? An animal like the various frogs and wolves and cats that have been part of radio station imaging for a long time? I can't recall ever seeing one for a TV station. You mentioned "Peanuts." Has there actually been a local TV station that used Snoopy, Woodstock or any of the human characters in its branding?

Or are you thinking of the kids' show and monster movie hosts that TV stations used to have? Those characters were well known, but I wouldn't call them mascots in any conventional sense of the word.

UPDATED: Did WGR use those two cartoon kids in a series of slides or just to say good night?
 
A series of slides. Anyways peanuts was actually first introduced in the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (NBC) so there is proof snoopy was seen on all 3 big 3 networks. The mascots for tv channels are usually around post war 50s America.
 
SarahB98 said:
Oh and btw peanuts was mascot of national cbs in the 70s
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I'm still not getting your use of "mascot." CBS wasn't bringing a guy in a Snoopy suit to all of its live event coverage or showing a slide of Charlie Brown before "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Peanuts wasn't even a character, just the name of Charles Schulz's comic strip and licensing cash cow, so how could he/she/it be a mascot?

What else did WGR-TV use the two kids for?
 
SarahB98 said:
Anyways peanuts was actually first introduced in the Tennessee Ernie Ford Show (NBC)
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Like, before the comic strips? I find that hard to believe...
 
CTListener said:
I'm still not getting your use of "mascot." CBS wasn't bringing a guy in a Snoopy suit to all of its live event coverage or showing a slide of Charlie Brown before "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." Peanuts wasn't even a character, just the name of Charles Schulz's comic strip and licensing cash cow, so how could he/she/it be a mascot?
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The typical mascot is exemplified by the San Diego Chicken....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego_Chicken

It's a cartoon character outfit worn by a station employee and used everywhere from remotes and sporting events to concerts and charity fund-raisers.

Some stations have had live mascots; I had a kangaroo (actually a wallaby) called "Kanga-Q" at 11-Q in San Juan in the 70's. But live animals are usually tedious, so the costumed wolf, pig, vulture or armadillo is what generally is used.

Generally, someone else's registered design is not used as a radio or TV station mascot. It's a proprietary design created for the station.

Of course, there is a difference between a symbol and a mascot. There were plenty of B's... from B 92 to B 107. They all had cute and cuddly bumblebee logos, but they did not carry a bunch of bees and hornets around to remotes. Same goes for "Tiger radio" and "the Wolf" and other names based on dangerous wild creatures. Those are not mascots, as the station does not have a tiger or a wolf in a cage at the studios. Again, symbols.

A mascot is, today, most often seen in college football games where the school symbol is an animal and there is someone wearing a costume representing that character that leads the crowd in cheers and the like.
 
RadioPatrol said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9E1V9oHK0c


Dick Clark was the spokesman for KOST 103.5 FM Los Angeles from the 1980's to the 2000's.

Even though Dick Clark was known on the national level for his New Years specials, running shows for Dick Clark Productions and American Bandstand he managed to make appearances for KOST-FM.
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That's radio, though. TV station mascots is the topic of the thread. A listing of radio mascots would fill almost as many pages as a couple of the games in the Games section of RadioDiscussions. And it's a stretch to call someone who records an occasional liner for your radio station a mascot.
 
Trying to more directly address the original post here: what about "Kitirik," the cat that was the original mascot of KTRK-TV in Houston? There was a cartoon version they used in print ads, and then they hired an actress to dress up in a cat suit and play Kitirik on KTRK's kiddie show. It became a big thing in Houston for a few years.
 
fybush said:
Trying to more directly address the original post here: what about "Kitirik," the cat that was the original mascot of KTRK-TV in Houston? There was a cartoon version they used in print ads, and then they hired an actress to dress up in a cat suit and play Kitirik on KTRK's kiddie show. It became a big thing in Houston for a few years.
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"Back in the Day" WAPA Channel 4 in San Juan had a cartoon cat as a mascot.

It was in every ID slide and set graphic.

A play on words was part of it "hasta el gato te ve el canal 4" meaning "even the cat watches Channel 4". But "te ve" means "(you are) seen" as well as the abbreviation for Television, TV or "te ve". Hard to explain as all other language tricks are, but very well known and liked in PR.

Also, WAPA is the same as "guapa" in pronunciation... meaning "pretty" or "beautiful".

Here is one example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6gjpfcLLDI

And that is what a "mascot" is.
 
Yup. Used to see the KING Mike in promos in the 2000s, usually for the Home Team Harvest. Probably not anymore since TEGNA took over.
WSAW (ex-WSAU-TV) Wausau still uses the Sir Seven, knight in shining armor here and there.
 
Before McClatchy was national- when it consisted of Newspapers, TV and Radio stations in The Central Valley of Calif. it's newspapers were, The Sacramento Bee, The Modesto Bee and The Fresno Bee. Walt Disney created "The Bee" that signed-on and signed off the McClatchy TV stations. Here's the sign-off for KMJ-TV Fresno (now KSEE 24).
https://youtu.be/RDi4GYdFEqI
 
mofocat said:
Before McClatchy was national- when it consisted of Newspapers, TV and Radio stations in The Central Valley of Calif. it's newspapers were, The Sacramento Bee, The Modesto Bee and The Fresno Bee. Walt Disney created "The Bee" that signed-on and signed off the McClatchy TV stations. Here's the sign-off for KMJ-TV Fresno (now KSEE 24).
https://youtu.be/RDi4GYdFEqI
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Yes that bee that McClatchy used was also the station ID for KOVR 13 Sacramento when they owned the station.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqfRnkcpDKw
 
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