The station first signed on the air on October 22, 1990, as WNPL-TV, which was founded and run by chief executive officer William Darling of Southwest Florida Telecommunications.
Originally operating as an independent station, it filled a void in the market after WFTX-TV (channel 36) joined Fox four years earlier in October 1986.
WNPL-TV filed for bankruptcy in 1993 after several lawsuits from creditors, including the Associated Press,[2] as well as two investors who claimed that Darling made misrepresentations to them when they were told they would be part of a general partnership to operate the station.
[4] (Darling and his wife would be found guilty of bankruptcy fraud charges for filing fraudulent claims in connection with the WNPL sale in 1996.
Second Generation also relocated the station's operations to the former WEVU studios in Bonita Bay, which offered more room and easier access to satellite feeds.
[6] In March 1998, Second Generation announced that the station would be sold to Acme Television for $15.5 million—nearly four times what it had paid three years earlier.
On March 26, 2007, WINK-TV began producing a half-hour prime time newscast for WXCW under a news share agreement.
WXCW has been digital-only since February 17, 2009, which was the original date for TV stations to switch to digital, which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009.