Set up by an American company with support from the Yapese government in 1979, it is a terrestrial television station broadcasting on channel 7.
[3] Commercials for subjects deemed taboo in local culture were left intact in the tapes due to a provision in the Copyright Law Revision of 1976 that forbade their removal.
[6] The operational costs of WAAB-TV and sister radio station WSZA were estimated to be at US$23,000 in 1983 and the recommended annual budget for 1984 was of US$17,000.
Attempts in the 1980s and 1990s at making WAAB-TV more self-sufficient have failed, causing the station to become the only one in Micronesia to fall under government control.
The study was undertaken by Tom Hogan from Australia and Guam-based engineer William "Butch" McBride and was completed in February 1990.
The schedule consisted of Sesame Street, sports and entertainment content, and a new news program had been created, Island Review.
[3] The documentary was produced in association with WGBH in Boston and aired on select PBS stations in the United States.
[6] In 2000, the Aries Report suggested a corporatization of the Yapese television system, with the possibility of cooperation from the FSM Telecommunications Corporation (FSMTC).
By 2004, WAAB was still operating with precarious equipment and S-VHS tapes coming in from California, arriving on a one-month delay, and broadcasting from 1pm to 11:30pm.