Under the station's third owner, Chase Broadcasting, WPTY cemented its status as the leading independent over channel 30 by securing the rights to Memphis State University basketball and the Fox affiliation, which had both been on its competitor.

As a result, WPTY-TV became the ABC affiliate in Memphis and started a local news department, though it has met with little ratings success.

Nexstar initiated a comprehensive overhaul of the station, moving it to its present studios and changing the call sign to WATN-TV.

[3] Two other applicants also sought channel 24 at this time: John McLendon and a consortium of Victor Muscat and Cliff Ford.

[5] Muscat never built the station: he ultimately pled guilty in a legal case involving giving false and misleading information to the FCC, and when the FCC asked him to build the station after the trial concluded, he was unable to sell the permit in a timely manner and surrendered it to the commission.

[10] In the weeks leading up to its launch, local dealers reported a surge of interest in UHF antennas to receive the new station.

[14] WPTY was the only independent station in Memphis until April 18, 1983, when TVX Broadcast Group launched WMKW-TV on channel 30.

[19][20] In 1989, as part of a process of divesting its smaller-market stations, TVX Broadcast Group sold WMKW-TV to MT Communications, which renamed it WLMT.

[27] Chase Broadcasting announced in 1991 it would sell some or all of its properties in order to invest in new business ventures in Eastern Europe after the end of the Cold War, particularly successful cable television systems in Poland.

[33] However, in August, Fox made its move by purchasing local ABC affiliate WHBQ-TV (channel 13) from Communications Corporation of America, which had just taken over ownership.

The sale was made so Clear Channel could refocus around its radio, outdoor advertising and live event units.

[49][50] The sale received FCC approval on December 1, 2007; after settlement of a lawsuit filed by Clear Channel owners Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital against Providence to force the deal's completion, consummation took place on March 14, 2008.

[53] Nearly immediately, Nexstar announced that it would move the stations from their aging five-story building in midtown Memphis into a former MCI call center on the city's northeast side.

[54] The relocation, in addition to providing more up-to-date facilities for the stations, was done because the impending replacement of the adjacent Poplar Viaduct would create vibrations and noise making the building unsuitable for television production.

[60] To plot the station's expansion into news, Clear Channel hired Los Angeles market veteran and consultant Jeff Wald.

[64][44] The 9 p.m. newscast, anchored by two Black men (Robb Harleston and Ken Houston), was intended to feature increased coverage of the city's minority communities.

The debut of News Watch 24 was particularly rough, owing to the simultaneous move to a new building and a lack of time to rehearse the newscasts.

[78][79] Under Nexstar, in 2013, the station rebranded as "Local 24" coinciding with the call sign change to WATN-TV and relocation to the Shelby Oaks studio.