The two stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of the St. Johns River in Jacksonville; WCWJ's transmitter is located on Anders Boulevard in the city's Killarney Shores section.

Media General, then primarily a newspaper publisher, acquired the station and in 1983 relaunched the news department with weekend reports and increased production values.

Ratings for WJKS-TV slumped and remained in third place; its most-watched newscast by 1996 was the 10 p.m. news it produced for Jacksonville's Fox Broadcasting Company affiliate, WAWS.

Allbritton Communications agreed to buy WBSG-TV in Brunswick, Georgia, in February 1996 and simultaneously obtained ABC affiliation for it, replacing WJKS-TV, in a group deal.

When The WB and UPN merged in 2006, channel 17 became an affiliate of The CW and adopted its present WCWJ call sign.

[4] After obtaining the permit on September 11, 1963,[5] it applied to switch to channel 17 in service of its efforts to obtain network affiliation,[6] a request the FCC approved; previously, an applicant seeking the addition of VHF channel 10 to Jacksonville had told the FCC that ABC was unwilling to affiliate with a UHF station because not enough sets were converted to receive UHF in the area.

[7] A final revision to the technical plans was approved by the commission in June 1965,[8] and WJKS-TV began broadcasting on February 19, 1966, with an episode of Porky Pig.

WJKS-TV was affiliated with ABC,[9] supplanting WJXT and WFGA-TV, which had previously split carriage of the network's programming.

[11] He was replaced by veteran newsman and former WFGA-TV employee Bert Roselle in January 1978;[12] that August, the station debuted a feature-oriented 5:30 p.m. early newscast, designed to avoid competition with WJXT and WTLV at 6 p.m.[13] In June 1977, the Ziff Corporation, parent of magazine publisher Ziff-Davis, made a bid for Rust Craft, primarily seeking its six television stations.

Ziff-Davis had previously hired I. Martin Pompadur, a former ABC executive, as part of the company's plan to acquire television stations.

[20] The rumors were further bolstered by remarks made by ABC network president Jim Duffy stating that he had talked with other Jacksonville stations.

Media General, a Tampa-based publishing company, agreed to acquire channel 17 for $18 million in a deal announced November 24, 1981.

[26][27] While the WJKS purchase was pending, Media General sold off the WFLA radio stations[28] and acquired WCBD in Charleston, South Carolina.

[30] The station introduced new anchors on its weeknight evening newscast at the end of April and its first weekend news programs a week later, as well as a new set and presentation elements as part of a $225,000 investment.

Media General announced its sale to New Jersey–based Gateway Communications, which owned stations and a newspaper in the Northeast, for $25 million in November 1984.

[42] WTLV's general manager, Linda Rios Brook, later commented that the market had "never fully accepted" the 1980 affiliation switch.

[43] Gannett agreed to buy WTLV from Harte-Hanks in December 1987;[40] the purchase reignited speculation about an affiliation change.

Fox 30 First Coast News at 10 was the first full-length prime-time newscast in the Jacksonville market and featured a dedicated producer, reporter, and videographer.

[57] On February 16, 1996, Allbritton Communications simultaneously announced an agreement to purchase of WBSG-TV (channel 21) in Brunswick, Georgia, in the northern reaches of the Jacksonville media market, and an affiliation agreement with ABC to make WBSG-TV the new ABC affiliate for Jacksonville, replacing WJKS-TV effective January 1, 1997.

The Allbritton–ABC pact moved ABC's affiliation to Allbritton stations in four markets, affecting not only WJKS-TV but Media General sister WCBD in Charleston, South Carolina.

[60] WJKS conceded defeat on August 6, 1996, after the FCC permitted WBSG-TV to double the height of its existing tower at Hickox, Georgia, to 2,000 feet (610 m) in lieu of a move to Kingsland.

[61] At this time, employees began to depart, with the sports director and lead female anchor announcing their departures within two months of the news.

After talks with WJKS about renting its existing facilities broke down when Media General opted to retain the equipment for use in other cities,[62] WAWS hired several WJKS-TV news employees as part of its operation.

The schedule change was so abrupt that it came after The Florida Times-Union published its weekly television listings; viewers were told to consult the paper's daily program grids instead.

[71] The compressed timetable forced Allbritton to build an interim facility to provide network coverage to Jacksonville, particularly the southern and western portions of the market.