Ping Pong

Ping Pong was a daily Channel 1 kids-and-youth strip that aired during 1994 in the afternoon.

It mixed live studio with originals and acquisitions, regular segments, guests and participation by children and teens, and also ran live broadcasts outside the studio.

Hani Nachmias was among its presenters, and a documented Monday-afternoon computer-games corner was hosted by Guy Barnea.

Ping Pong appeared during a major change in Channel 1 kids programming.

It followed the older continuity-studio format associated with Children's and Youth Programs, and later in 1994 was succeeded by Zap laRishon, which continued and developed the live afternoon format.

Ping Pong was not just a short run of announcements between series.

Alongside presenting the programs in the strip, it included live studio segments, themed corners, guests, performances and content with children and teens.

Some corners aired on fixed weekdays.

The computer-games segment, for example, aired on Monday afternoons.

The strip sometimes left the regular studio for live broadcasts from events and locations around the country.

Hani Nachmias

Hani Nachmias was among Ping Pong's 1994 presenters and is associated with the strip in several contemporary sources and recordings.

In one documented clip she appears with another presenter named Eyal and presents a segment from the stage show «הפלאות בארץ עליסה». That presenter's full identity is unclear today, so no surname is given here.

Guy Barnea

Guy Barnea hosted a regular computer-games corner on Ping Pong.

According to a 1994 issue of Zombit magazine, the corner aired on Monday afternoons.

Children and teens

Some of the strip's content included children and teens in the studio and segments.

Documented young participants include Tamar Ish-Shalom and Marilyn Venig, who appeared while Hani Nachmias was hosting.

Writer and screenwriter Maayan Rogel also took part as a teenager in cinema and journalism segments, including Ping Pong and later Zap laRishon.

Computer-games corner

One documented Ping Pong corner covered computer games and was hosted by Guy Barnea.

A Zombit magazine notice said the corner «returns» on Monday afternoons, indicating a regular slot in the strip.

Guests and performances

Studio segments also hosted artists and presented pieces from various productions.

In one documented clip, with Hani Nachmias and a presenter named Eyal, a segment from «הפלאות בארץ עליסה» was shown, featuring Idit Limor and Sigal Farhi-Amir, with music by Danny Amir.

Ping Pong was not limited to Israeli Television's regular studio.

The Broadcasting Authority archive, for example, preserves a Ping Pong clip broadcast live from «אשכולנה».

That record reinforces the strip's character as a live magazine show that could leave the studio and include events and activities from the field.

Before Ping Pong, Channel 1 kids and youth broadcasts were framed for years by a continuity studio where rotating hosts introduced programs, spoke with viewers and presented letters and drawings sent to the production.

During 1994 the channel's kids format changed, and Ping Pong represented a newer, more live afternoon stage of that strip.

Early that year Channel 1's schedule division also changed and the channel gained an additional afternoon slot.

There is not enough documentation today to say that schedule change was the direct cause of creating Ping Pong.

Ping Pong was short-lived and aired during 1994.

Later that year Channel 1 introduced the Zap laRishon brand.

Zap continued live afternoon studio broadcasts and over the years developed a wider system of programs, corners and hosts.

Zap laRishon is documented on air by December 1994, but the exact transition date between the two strips has not yet been firmly established.

Later sources sometimes mix Ping Pong with Zap laRishon, or even attribute to Zap activity that predates the brand launch.

Archives and contemporary sources treat Ping Pong and Zap laRishon as separate names.

Despite its short run, Ping Pong is an interesting stage in the development of Channel 1 kids and youth broadcasting.

It kept the studio's role as a frame connecting different programs, but expanded it into a more live, magazine-like format with regular corners, guests, children and teens, and broadcasts outside the studio.

Those traits continued to develop within Zap laRishon, which later became a central Channel 1 kids-and-youth brand.