One company, Parish Family Television, expressed an interest in broadcasting an independent station affiliated with the network in 1986 with the call letters WPFT.

Delays occurred as Southwest Multimedia of Houston expressed an ownership interest in Parish Family Television and rival company Louisiana Super Communications objected to this sale.

From April 1990 to February 1991, local NBC affiliate WVLA aired week-delayed episodes of Fox shows such as The Simpsons, Married... with Children, and In Living Color.

In 1996, WGMB became a sister station of WVLA when Thomas Galloway's son, Sheldon, purchased the NBC affiliate from businessman Cyril Vetter.

In 1999, WGMB, along with WVLA, WBBR (now WBRL), and WZUP (now KZUP), moved to their current studios on Perkins Road in Baton Rouge.

[8] WGMB did not produce a local newscast until 2007; however, it usually broadcast children's events and programming from around the Baton Rouge area in the 1990s as part of its Fox 44 Kids Club.

On August 20, 2007, WGMB debuted Fox News Louisiana AM to counter the national morning shows; the newscast, anchored by Rachel Slavik and Lauren Unger, featured eight weather updates an hour from meteorologist Jesse Gunkel.

On December 2, 2008, WGMB canceled its morning newscast due to cost cuts; at the same time, the station also laid off an undisclosed number of employees.

[12][13] As part of the SAFER Act,[14] WGMB-TV kept its analog signal on the air until June 26 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through a loop of public service announcements from the National Association of Broadcasters.