Channel 28 was launched as the Tampa Bay area's secondindependent television station in December 1981 by a company that went on to becomeFamily Group Broadcasting. It was purchased byCapital Cities Communications in 1984, though Capital Cities quickly sold it to Scripps the following year after it purchased the ABC television network. WFTS-TV became an affiliate ofFox in 1988.
Amulti-market affiliation switch in 1994 saw WFTS-TV become Tampa Bay's ABC affiliate. The network attempted to disaffiliate fromWWSB, its affiliate inSarasota, but that station was ultimately allowed to remain with the network. To start local newscasts, channel 28 was forced to rent studio space inClearwater. The newscasts debuted in fourth place in the market but have been more competitive since. In 1996, Scripps completed construction on the present studio facilities nearRaymond James Stadium; the building accommodates the news department and is large enough that several business functions for the entire station group are run from Tampa.
A channel 28 construction permit was first issued to Lucille Frostman, involved in the construction ofWSMS-TV inFort Lauderdale, in 1966,[3] for a station to be called WTSS-TV;[4] this was never built, and the permit was deleted in 1971.[5]
Christian Television dropped out, amended its application to specify channel 22 atClearwater, and won a construction permit forWCLF in February 1979.[10] The other two parties dropped out in settlement agreements in early 1981,[11] and Family received a construction permit in March.[12] Family stockholders includedT. Terrell Sessums, former speaker of theFlorida House of Representatives, and former state senate presidentLouis A. de la Parte Jr.[12]
In 1984, after having launched the station for just $6 million[15] and turning a profit in the first year,[16] Family sold the station toCapital Cities Communications for more than $30 million. The deal gave Capital Cities its first station in Florida and its first (and only) independent, as well as bringing the group to its then-maximum of seven stations.[15] Under Capital Cities, the station added more off-network sitcoms and reduced the number of religious programs and drama series on its schedule, improving ratings against established Tampa Bay independentWTOG.[17]
In March 1985, Capital Cities stunned the broadcasting industry with its announced purchase of ABC—a network that was ten times bigger than Capital Cities was at the time. In addition to WFTS-TV, Capital Cities owned four ABC and two CBS affiliates (which would change to ABC after the merger).[18] The combination of Cap Cities and ABC exceeded the new ownership limit of 12 stations and the 25% national reach limit, so the companies opted to sell WFTS; WXYZ-TV, the ABC-owned station inDetroit; and Cap Cities-owned ABC affiliatesWKBW-TV inBuffalo andWTNH inNew Haven, Connecticut;[19] WFTS and WXYZ-TV were sold to Scripps.[17]
Scripps continued the general-entertainment format on WFTS, running cartoons, sitcoms, movies and drama series. WFTS became the Tampa Bay market'sFox affiliate on August 8, 1988, after the network was dropped by WTOG.[20]
On May 23, 1994,New World Communications signed an affiliation agreement with Fox that resulted in twelve of New World's stations, including Tampa Bay's longtimeCBS affiliateWTVT (channel 13), being tapped to switch to the network. Among the stations making the switch were longtime CBS affiliatesWJBK-TV in Detroit andWJW-TV inCleveland.[21] Not wanting to be relegated to the UHF band, CBS heavily wooed Detroit's longtime ABC affiliate, WXYZ, as well as Cleveland's longtime ABC affiliate,WEWS-TV. Both were owned by Scripps, who told ABC that it would switch WXYZ and WEWS to CBS unless ABC affiliated with three of its stations: WFTS,KNXV-TV inPhoenix (which was also slated to lose its Fox affiliation to New World-owned CBS affiliateKSAZ-TV), andWMAR-TV inBaltimore. Scripps insisted on including WFTS and KNXV in the deal, even though a news department was in construction at KNXV and no movement had yet occurred to build one in Tampa.[22]: 16
The ABC affiliation, confirmed on June 15,[23] set off a mad dash. WFTS had already been planning a new studio facility in the vicinity ofTampa Stadium, and with the ABC tie-up confirmed, management scrambled to hire a news director.[24] With the station's new facility not planned to be ready until late 1995, the news department initially operated from former facilities of theHome Shopping Network in Clearwater.[25]
Another consequence of WFTS replacingWTSP (channel 10) in ABC's affiliate lineup was that it had a more centrally located transmitting facility, which then-ABC presidentBob Iger cited as a positive in the switch.[26] That meant that the network would no longer have had a need to affiliate withWWSB (channel 40) inSarasota, which had aired ABC programming since its 1971 sign-on. WWSB had become an ABC affiliate because WTSP's signal did not reach Sarasota.[27] However, this had become less necessary on technical grounds with highcable television penetration in the Sarasota area, while WFTS-TV's signal reached Sarasota.[28] Coinciding with the Scripps-ABC pact, ABC notified WWSB that it would be terminating its affiliation;[24] though the network gave no reason for its decision, WWSB cited conversations with ABC officials who described it as essential to the broader deal when the Sarasota station petitioned to deny channel 28's license renewal.[29] WWSB ended up winning its battle with ABC and signed a new affiliation contract in March 1995.[30]
The WFTS studios on Himes Avenue in Tampa were completed in 1996 and brought the news department and business offices under one roof.
On December 12, 1994, WFTS became the market's ABC affiliate, WTSP switched to CBS, and WTVT joined Fox; that same day, WFTS launched local news and broke ground on the new Himes Avenue studio.[31] Most of WFTS's syndicated programs were then acquired by WTVT[32] andWTTA, which also airedFox Kids in the market.[33]
WFTS was briefly the localover-the-air broadcast partner of theNHL'sTampa Bay Lightning, airing four Lightning games produced by theSunshine Network during the2002–03 season.[34] An East Coast traffic hub and the station group–wide graphics operation for Scripps were established at Tampa in 2009, as an open floor was available at the WFTS facility.[35]
On September 24, 2020, a consortium made up of Scripps andBerkshire Hathaway announced the purchase ofIon Media, including localIon Television stationWXPX-TV (channel 66) and the company's technical operations center in Clearwater.[36]
As an independent station, channel 28's local news staff consisted of just one staffer who produced and hosted news breaks.[37]
Unlike the two Fox stations owned by Scripps that also became Big Three affiliates—KSHB-TV inKansas City, Missouri, and KNXV-TV—no movement had occurred prior to the affiliation switch on establishing a local news department at WFTS-TV, though station management had been considering the expansion.[38] By the time the affiliation switch was announced, the station was planning a move to the Himes Avenue facility;[39] the station's existing studios atI-4 and Columbus Drive were too small for a news department.[40]
To start producing news, WFTS needed to lease facilities, opting to set up shop in the former Clearwater studios of the Home Shopping Network.[40] Bob Jordan ofKCBS-TV in Los Angeles was hired to be the founding news director for28 Tampa Bay News, which began broadcasting on December 12, 1994.[31][41] Originally starting with 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts, a flurry of expansions took place during the first four months of 1995, including morning,[42] 5 p.m.,[43] and 5:30 p.m.[44]
The other stations have a 50-year head start and are doing great jobs. And then being on ABC hasn't helped when the network has a weak prime time. And there's an ABC station in Sarasota that takes viewers away from us.
Martie Tucker, WFTS-TV anchor from 1994 to 2003, diagnosing the station's low ratings in her tenure there[45]
The task of building the first new full-scale news service in Tampa Bay against decades-long competitors meant low ratings. WFTS typically rated in third or fourth place in most time slots in its first five years of local news.[46] In 2001, Sam Stallworth and Bill Berra arrived fromWSYX–WTTE inColumbus, Ohio, to serve as general manager and news director of WFTS-TV;[47] Jordan was later rehired by his former employer,WFTV in Orlando.[48] The duo refocused the newsroom onhard news and investigative reporting,[47] a prelude to the station rebranding as ABC Action News in October 2002 after a brief time as "28 News".[49]
Ratings remained low, but the station made progress under general manager Richard Pegram, who arrived in 2009 and oversaw the launch of channel 28's first weekend morning newscast.[50] In November 2012, WFTS overtook all other local stations in all evening and late news ratings in the demographic of adults 25–54; this marked the first time WFTS won at 5, 5:30, 6 and 11 p.m. in the key demographic during one ratings period.[51] Pegram was dismissed in 2014, with one source noting he was a difficult boss and heavily involved in the news department.[52]
In 2019, WFTS launched "ABC Action News Streaming Now", a digital news product that included daytime rolling news coverage, simulcasts of channel 28's existing newscasts, and a new 3 p.m. newscast to air on TV and online.[53]
WFTS is also available inATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) on the signal ofWMOR-TV (channel 32). In exchange, WFTS hosts WMOR's main subchannel in the ATSC 1.0 format.[58]
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^abBelcher, Walt (June 17, 1994)."TV stations focus on change".The Tampa Tribune. pp. 1,10.Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. RetrievedJanuary 30, 2021.
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^Belcher, Walt (February 20, 1995)."Fledgling WFTS news expands at 5".The Tampa Tribune. p. BayLife 4.Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. RetrievedDecember 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Belcher, Walt (April 24, 1995)."Channel 28 expands 5:30 news coverage".The Tampa Tribune. p. BayLife 4.Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. RetrievedDecember 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^abDeggans, Eric (April 20, 2001)."New news director at Ch. 28".St. Petersburg Times. p. 2B.Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. RetrievedDecember 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^Saxe, Frank (April 29, 2002). "Jordan returns to WFTV".Mediaweek.ProQuest213636020.
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^Harmon, Rick (July 29, 2000)."Miller to put down the gavel".The Tampa Tribune. p. Sports 8.Archived from the original on February 5, 2022. RetrievedDecember 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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