KMPH (AM)

{{Infobox radio station

| name = KMPH

| logo =

| city = Modesto, California

| area = Modesto - Manteca - Merced

| branding = Relevant Radio

| frequency = 840 kHz

| translator = {{Radio Relay|97.9|K250BR|Modesto}}

| airdate = {{Start date and age|2006|7|10}}

| format = Catholic talk and teaching

| power = 5,000 watts

| class = B

| facility_id = 137401

| licensing_authority = FCC

| coordinates = {{coord|37|42|33.75|N|120|43|37.74|W|region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| callsign_meaning = From former station owners Mike, Pete and Harry Pappas; also used on Fresno sister television station KMPH-TV

| former_callsigns =

| affiliations = Relevant Radio

| owner = Relevant Radio, Inc.

| licensee =

| sister_stations =

| webcast = [https://relevantradio.com/wp-content/media/player.html Listen Live]

| website = [http://relevantradio.com relevantradio.com]

}}

KMPH (840 AM) is a radio station licensed to Modesto, California. It airs a Catholic talk and teaching format and is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc.{{cite web |url=http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?call=KMPH |title=KMPH Facility Record |work=United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division |access-date=July 19, 2010}} Most programming is provided by the Wisconsin-based Relevant Radio Network.

KMPH is a Class B AM station. Its power is 5,000 watts and covers a section of Central California. AM 840 is a clear channel frequency. To protect other stations from interference, it uses a directional antenna with a five-tower array. The towers and transmitter are off Claribel Road in Paulsell, California, about {{convert|15|miles|km}} east of Modesto. Programming is also heard over 250-watt FM translator K250BR on 97.9 MHz.

History

KMPH signed on in {{Start date and age|2006|7}}. It had an adult standards and middle or the road (MOR) format, with some talk programming.{{cite web|last=Pappas|first=Jim P.|title=An Open Letter to Our Employees, Listeners, Advertisers and Vendors|url=http://840thepatriot.com/Images/KMPH-AM--Open%20Letter--08%2019%202010.pdf|work=AM 840 KMPH The Patriot|access-date=August 21, 2010|date=August 19, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917055904/http://840thepatriot.com/Images/KMPH-AM--Open%20Letter--08%2019%202010.pdf|archive-date=September 17, 2010|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Modesto AM KMPH (840) will turn off the transmitter August 31|url=http://www.radio-info.com/news/modesto-am-kmph-840-will-turn-off-the-transmitter-august-31|access-date=August 21, 2010|newspaper=Radio-Info.com|date=August 20, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100825152115/http://www.radio-info.com/news/modesto-am-kmph-840-will-turn-off-the-transmitter-august-31|archive-date=August 25, 2010|url-status=dead}} It effectively replaced sister station 860 KTRB. KTRB had operated from Modesto since 1933, but had just signed off the previous month in preparation for a move to the San Francisco Bay Area. The station switched to an all-talk format on March 10, 2008.

KMPH was on the air for four years but ran into money problems. Its owner, Pappas Telecasting, shut KMPH down on August 31, 2010. It later returned to air with brokered programming provided by Paulino Bernal Evangelism of Texas. It later switched to a talk format in May 2013 simulcast with KOMY (1340 AM) in La Selva Beach, California.

On July 1, 2013, KMPH switched to a 1950s and 1960s "Graffiti Gold" oldies format. It was re-launching as "Modesto's Power House" and drew on Modesto's connection to hometown hero George Lucas's classic 1973 motion picture American Graffiti.Per David Jackson, program director of KMPH Radio (July 2013). The oldies format lasted a year.

On July 30, 2014, Immaculate Heart Radio's Catholic programming began airing on KMPH.{{cite news |url=https://ihradio.com/2014/08/immaculate-heart-radio-broadens-scope-central-california/ |title=Immaculate Heart Radio broadens scope in Central California |work=IHR website |date=August 7, 2014 |access-date=June 1, 2017}} IHR's purchase of the station was consummated on October 30, 2014, at a price of $50,000.

KMPH flipped to the Relevant Radio network programming when IHR Educational Broadcasting and Starboard Media Foundation consummated their merger on June 30, 2017.[https://ihradio.com/2017/06/relevant-radio-immaculate-heart-radio-complete-merger/ Relevant Radio and Immaculate Heart Radio Complete Merger] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170702174042/https://ihradio.com/2017/06/relevant-radio-immaculate-heart-radio-complete-merger/|date=July 2, 2017}}