The station is owned and operated by the Ion Media subsidiary of the E. W. Scripps Company and broadcasts from a transmitter in southwestern Camden County, Georgia, northwest of Kingsland.
Allbritton Communications purchased WBSG-TV in 1996 and immediately announced it would become the new ABC affiliate for Jacksonville, replacing WJKS-TV.
An attempt to move the tower from its original location at Hickox south to Kingsland was delayed, but a height increase allowed the station to put a fringe signal into areas of Jacksonville north of Interstate 10.
When WJKS-TV without warning preempted more than half of ABC's prime time shows beginning in January 1997, WJXX (channel 25) was rushed into service to fill the gap.
[13] WBSG-TV's existing signal did not reach Jacksonville, so Allbritton filed to build a new tower site near Kingsland.
[15] By August 1996, when the FCC approved the upgraded Hickox facility, the affiliation switch had been put off until at least February, and WJKS had given up its fight to remain with ABC.
With little warning, WJKS started extensive preemptions of ABC programs as part of its transition to become Jacksonville's affiliate of The WB.
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.
[18] Even though 70 percent of Jacksonville television households subscribed to cable, those that did not and could not receive WBSG-TV were at risk of losing all access to ABC network programming.
[17] 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.
The next day, November 16, the Gannett Company, owner of Jacksonville NBC affiliate WTLV, announced it would purchase WJXX from Allbritton.
[27] The new duopoly rules barred cross-ownership of two of the top four television stations in the same market, a restriction that typically prevented Big Four network affiliates from coming under common ownership.
However, WJXX's fifth-place finish in total-day ratings, somewhat lower than most ABC affiliates, allowed the deal to go forward.