Following the end of a self-imposed 1948 freeze on issuing television station licenses by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1952, a realignment of future channel allocations took place, including the creation of ultra high frequency (UHF) allotments.

[5] Cleveland Telecasting Co., headed by WDBN owner Ted Niarhos, filed a competing application on May 3, 1963, having secured a lease to KYW AM/TV's former transmitter facilities in Brecksville and promising a program lineup not constrained to a set schedule.

[23] Paperwork filed the following month had Superior transferring WAFT-TV's permit to WKBF Inc. for up to $200,000 (equivalent to $1.83 million in 2023) with Kaiser holding an option to become the full owner.

[26] By 1966, the Kaiser chain consisted of WKBD-TV in Detroit,[26] WKBG-TV in Boston,[27] KMTW-TV in Los Angeles (later renamed KBSC-TV),[28] and WKBS-TV in Philadelphia,[29] with KBHK-TV[30] in San Francisco in the planning stages.

[26] The Superior-Kaiser alliance took advantage of a loophole in FCC regulations intended to limit one company from owning more than three television stations in the top 50 markets; WKBG-TV was also a 50–50 joint venture between Kaiser and The Boston Globe.

[35] This was the same date that KBHK-TV would sign on, and it was planned that senior Kaiser executives attend opening events in San Francisco and Cleveland on the same day.

[36] While KBHK-TV signed on as scheduled,[37] WKBF's launch would be repeatedly delayed due to inclement weather, in particular wind and extreme cold[38] that prevented the completion of the transmitter tower and hookup to the electrical grid.

[39][40] A combination wind and sleet storm the weekend of January 13–14, 1968,[41] pushed back the sign-on date by another week, as the tower was covered in ice.

[43] Kaiser committed to a substantial investment into local productions, not just at WKBF-TV, but throughout the entire chain, a practice largely appropriated from Metromedia's station group.

[44] General manager Jay Q. Berkson described this commitment as "...Kaiser (intending) to add a new dimension to local television ... TV should entertain, inform and enlighten its viewers".

[50] The program was best known for controversial topics and stances taken by Douglas meant to invoke passionate responses; a reviewer in The Plain Dealer regarded the show as "...the most stimulating discussion I have ever seen on TV".

[45] The debut episode alone elicited multiple complaints when guest Josiah Thompson discussed conspiracy theories related to the John F. Kennedy assassination.

[53] Complementing an existing early-afternoon children's programming block (including the Hanna-Barbera catalogue, Astro Boy, The Three Stooges and Little Rascals, typical among the Kaiser chain[44]) was Captain Cleveland,[34] starring ventriloquist John Slowey and puppet sidekick "Private Clem".

[52] Despite such lofty efforts, Kaiser Broadcasting faced mounting financial losses—compounded by a weak national economy and a marketplace slow to UHF acceptance[67]—which threatened the company at large.

[67] WKBF-TV never reinstated its news department, with reporter Alan DePetro reassigned as public affairs manager, a role he held for the rest of the station's existence.

[72] Newsroom, an attempt at a replacement local newscast, began in 1971 but consisted of "rip-and-read" news wire stories and light discussion at 10:30 a.m.; Roldo Bartimole's newsletter Point of View noted, "even considering this program as news is rather stretching the definition of the word", while Cleveland Press critic Bill Barrett criticized the station for failing to employ an announcer at all times after an untrained staffer struggled to read a severe weather bulletin.

United Artists signed on WUAB on September 14, 1968, using WKBF-TV's transmitter tower in Parma, featuring a similar lineup of off-network reruns, cartoons, movies and sports.

[74] While WKBF-TV immediately launched with an array of local programming, WUAB's output was severely limited due to being temporarily housed at WVIZ's facilities in Brook Park[74] and a semi-trailer next to a Parma bowling alley while their permanent studios were being built.

[78] The differences between Cleveland's two UHF outlets soon became pronounced: William Hickey, a television columnist for The Plain Dealer, remarked that WKBF-TV "in no time ... was reduced to audience shares of 4%, and that was on good days.

Added to the station's schedule in September 1971 at 6:30 p.m. nightly, Star Trek quickly became channel 61's highest-rated program, so much so that a private celebration marking WKBF-TV's fifth birthday was headlined by DeForest Kelley.

[83] Of course the program director had to go back to his management and say that a guy in a lab coat full of buttons with a pair of glasses with one eye out and a wild wig was telling him he could double his ratings.

[87] Only 21 years old when WKBF-TV debuted Creature Features, Sweed oriented The Ghoul to focus on explosions, slapstick and lowbrow humor,[88] a marked departure from Ghoulardi's cerebral-driven beatnik persona.

[87] Sweed was occasionally criticized for being a poor imitation of horror hosts that preceded him,[89] while one newspaper review called the show "one long Polish joke interrupted by a boring monster movie".

[104] WKBF's final day of operations on April 25, 1975, ended after a Perry Mason rerun with a five-minute long tribute and a brief on-air statement by Bennett.

[101] Lucie Salhany, who had been a station employee at the start and end of WKBF-TV's on-air existence, continued with Kaiser as program manager for WLVI (the former WKBG-TV).