Alfred E. Anscombe, former general manager of WKBW-AM-TV in Buffalo, secured a construction permit for Binghamton's third television station on April 25, 1961.

[8][9] Pinnacle Communications bought WBJA in 1978[10] and changed the call letters to WMGC-TV on October 16,[11][12][13] reflecting its new "Magic 34" branding.

The station had a feed restored to Time Warner Cable for customers in the immediate Binghamton area, but was off-the-air for several months.

[22] After the aforementioned tornado caused severe damage to its newly renovated studios, the station temporarily relocated to the facilities of WSKG-TV in Vestal while rebuilding on Ingraham Hill.

Airing from 5 until 7, the regional newscast (separate from WIXT and originating from a secondary set at its East Syracuse studios) was simulcasted on sister stations WWTI in Watertown and WUTR in Utica.

The show included brief localized updates (focusing on Binghamton) twice an hour although most coverage was regional in nature with area-wide weather forecasts.

[32] The station eventually closed down its local sports department in 2006 and at the same time reduced its 11 p.m. newscast to a short five-minute update.

WIVT also began originating its early weeknight shows, featuring unique segments including exclusive musical performances, from secondary studios in the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City.

On June 5, 2009, WIVT and WBGH announced there would be a consolidation of news operations with sister station WETM-TV in Elmira after Newport Television made across the board cuts.

[35] WIVT and WBGH then began simulcasting WETM's newscasts with only regional weather coverage of the Eastern Twin Tiers.

[36] A separate newscast specifically focusing on the Binghamton area was brought back to WIVT and WBGH on June 28, 2009, through a simulcast on both stations.

During the broadcast, WSYR in Syracuse provides a local weather forecast (featuring rotating meteorologists) that is also recorded in advance.