Prevailing over WKBF-TV in a seven-year-long battle for advertisers and audience, WUAB became one of the highest-rated UHF independent stations in the country by 1971, aided by a strong lineup of off-network reruns, feature films, sporting events, and popular local talent.

Acquired outright by Malrite's successor Raycom Media in 2000, WUAB and WOIO have been in Gray Television's portfolio from 2019 onward, adding startup Telemundo affiliate WTCL-LD as a third station in 2022.

[3] The allocation was one of two designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for commercial broadcasting on the ultra high frequency (UHF) in Cleveland proper; prior construction permits granted to radio stations WERE and WHK in 1953[4][5] were never built and revoked in 1960.

[6] United Artists had filed to construct television stations in Cleveland, Houston and Boston, but the film studio having been a defendant in a civil antitrust lawsuit related to United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.[7] led the FCC to state it would reflect on "requisite qualifications" over the studio's fitness to own a television station, despite the lawsuit occurring ten years beforehand.

[26] The combined Cleveland–Akron–Canton television market was ranked in 1968 as the eighth-largest in the United States,[27] with the industry taking notice over the two competing UHF stations with well-financed ownership and substantial investment.

[22] The Plain Dealer critic William Hinckley retrospectively noted WUAB almost immediately entered the marketplace with better overall programming than WKBF-TV, promptly dividing the available audience.

[31] Several weeks earlier, a Saturday afternoon science fiction film showcase Mad Theatre launched, hosted by Sullivan under the Superhost persona.

[31] Sullivan created the character accidentally during rehearsals for a performance by The Four Lads when the audience reacted positively to his facial contortions; he then adopted a nasal vocalization to distinguish from his announcer voice.

[37][38] At the same time WUAB's fortunes rose, Kaiser Broadcasting began instituting cutbacks at both WKBF-TV and their station group, including the groupwide elimination of local newscasts on November 12, 1970.

Kaiser announced a pending shutdown of WKBF-TV on April 8, 1975,[43] after agreeing to sell WKBF's technical and programming assets to United Artists in exchange for a 36 percent equity stake in WUAB.

[44][45] WKBF-TV operated at a loss throughout the station's entire existence of 7 years and 96 days, with Kaiser officials admitting the market could not support more than one UHF independent.

[46] During a farewell on-air statement,[47] WKBF-TV general manager Alan B. Bennett stated that the sign-on of WUAB impeded consumer demand, in turn placing Kaiser in financial jeopardy, "... and that only one successful (station) must merge.

After a construction permit for channel 19, in place since 1968,[52] was sold to Joseph T. Zingale—a former co-owner of WIXY and with ownership interests in multiple area professional sports teams[53]—United Artists protested the sale.

[56] United Artists then offered to purchase the permit in January 1975 with the intent of moving WUAB to channel 19,[57][44] but Zingale filed a protest against the sale after renewed interest in it.

[63][64] WUAB then reacquired the local rights to Cleveland Cavaliers broadcasts from WJKW-TV effective with the 1980–81 season,[65] helping to establish a year-round sports presence.

[66] While WKBF-TV's closure raised doubts about the possibility of a second UHF independent in the market,[29] the imminent maturity of subscription television (STV) technology led a consortium of four Chicago-area companies to sign on WCLQ-TV (channel 61) on March 3, 1981.

[72] Despite WCLQ-TV's aggressiveness, WUAB maintained a position in 1985 as the top-rated independent station in town, buoyed largely by Indians and Cavaliers broadcasts, an extensive film library and well-established local programs.

[111] WUAB made the addition due to both networks launching with limited schedules: UPN on Monday and Tuesday nights and Saturday afternoons and The WB on Wednesday evenings.

[123] On March 11, 2000, after the FCC relaxed rules allowing common ownership of two commercially licensed television stations in the same market, Raycom acquired WUAB outright.

[125] The biggest change for WUAB came on October 18, 2001, when the Cleveland Indians signed an exclusive cable-only deal with Fox Sports Ohio for the 2002 season, removing over-the-air telecasts entirely.

[126] Bill Applegate, who became general manager for the two stations earlier in the year,[127] publicly hinted at such a deal weeks beforehand as a way for the Indians to increase revenue in a way WUAB could not provide.

[128] In a bid to revamp the station's image without the Indians games, WUAB rebranded as "43 The Block" on March 4, 2002, with locally produced comedy skits in between the early-evening lineup.

[145] The new WUAB contract took effect on July 16[146] and occurred several months after a foreclosure process was initiated on WBNX-TV parent Winston Broadcasting Network from Ernest Angley's ministry,[147] putting the future of that station in doubt.

[155] During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, WUAB partnered with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to provide an hour of airtime on weekdays for in-school instructional programming, beginning on April 20, 2020.

[159] Nexstar Media Group, owner of WJW, announced its purchase of WBNX-TV in late October 2024, with WBNX again becoming the market's CW affiliate on September 1, 2025.

[160] Gray Television concurrently announced WUAB's future relaunch as a sports-oriented independent, including play-by-play from the Rock Entertainment Sports Network (RESN), with MyNetworkTV programming as filler in prime time.

[40] While the rest of the staff were relative newcomers to Cleveland television—including Romona Robinson, Bob Hetherington and Frank Cariello[182]—Gib Shanley was hired as sports director,[183] fulfilling Acklen's hope of luring an established market personality to the station.

[184] The debut broadcast of The Ten O'Clock News on January 4, 1988, was marred by technical problems,[182] but WUAB's ratings for that evening doubled compared to the previous Monday.

[185] By the fall of 1988, Akron Beacon Journal television critic Bob Dyer credited multiple on- and off-air improvements made to the newscast but noted Shanley's veteran presence and 15-minute long sportscasts nearly overshadowed everyone else.

[190] Beginning in March 1996, WOIO and WUAB's newscasts were rebroadcast on an hour tape-delay over Akron station WAOH-LP (channel 29) and its Cleveland simulcast following the dissolution of WAKC-TV's news department.