Channel 28 was launched as the Tampa Bay area's second independent television station in December 1981 by a company that went on to become Family Group Broadcasting.

In 1996, Scripps completed construction on the present studio facilities near Raymond 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.

[9] Christian Television dropped out, amended its application to specify channel 22 at Clearwater, and won a construction permit for WCLF in February 1979.

[12] Family stockholders included T. Terrell Sessums, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and former state senate president Louis A. de la Parte Jr.[12] WFTS first signed on the air on December 14, 1981,[13] operating as a family-oriented independent station with cartoons, off-network dramas, classic movies and religious programs.

[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 independent WTOG.

[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 in Detroit; and Cap Cities-owned ABC affiliates WKBW-TV in Buffalo and WTNH in New Haven, Connecticut;[19] WFTS and WXYZ-TV were sold to Scripps.

WFTS had already been planning a new studio facility in the vicinity of Tampa Stadium, and with the ABC tie-up confirmed, management scrambled to hire a news director.

[25] Another consequence of WFTS replacing WTSP (channel 10) in ABC's affiliate lineup was that it had a more centrally located transmitting facility, which then-ABC president Bob Iger cited as a positive in the switch.

[26] That meant that the network would no longer have had a need to affiliate with WWSB (channel 40) in Sarasota, which had aired ABC programming since its 1971 sign-on.

[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.

The task of building the first new full-scale news service in Tampa Bay against decades-long competitors meant low ratings.

[46] In 2001, Sam Stallworth and Bill Berra arrived from WSYX–WTTE in Columbus, Ohio, to serve as general manager and news director of WFTS-TV;[47] Jordan was later rehired by his former employer, WFTV in Orlando.

[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.