This ownership group was led by a predecessor to Morgan Murphy Media and also included the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram along with WEAU radio (790 AM, now WEAQ at 1150 AM, and 94.1 FM, now WIAL).

The station initially broadcast from a tower immediately behind the WEAU studios on South Hastings Way in Eau Claire.

The tower in Eau Claire is now topped by the digital transmitter of rival ABC affiliate WQOW (channel 18).

WAXX and WAYY were spun off to Central Communications at the same time, and in 1985, the two radio stations moved out of the WEAU building to a new facility behind its parking lot.

Technology was the highlight of the following decade as WEAU-DT, which originally transmitted on channel 39, signed-on April 30, 2002, with the digital transmitter located at the top of the tower in Fairchild.

On March 22, 2011, this tower collapsed during an intense winter storm that brought a mixture of terrible weather conditions.

[11] WEAU tends to focus its local news coverage on Eau Claire and the Chippewa Valley, with a secondary emphasis on La Crosse.

On August 28, 2006, WEAU entered into a news share agreement with Fox affiliates WLAX/WEUX (then owned by Grant Broadcasting System II).

WLAX/WEUX features a majority of WEAU's on-air team except for maintaining a separate weeknight meteorologist and weekend news anchor (although they can fill in on the NBC outlet when needed).