For most of its first 20 years in service, "TV-16" aired local programming and content from various sources, including the American Christian Television System.

Channel 16, with the call sign W16AF, was on the air in Columbus by May 1987, when it placed advertising in local newspapers announcing its existence.

[5] Mick Walsh, television columnist for the Ledger-Enquirer, credited the cable carriage with ensuring channel 16's survival.

[8] A former candidate for the Georgia state legislature, James White, hosted the conservative commentary The Right Side, which debuted in 1993.

Walsh called trying to tune it in "like trying to find a pearl in a dishpan full of dirty dishes" and noted, "If TV-16 was a horse, it would have been shot long ago.

It also announced its intention to move the transmitter to the tower of McClure-owned WCGQ and fight for a spot on the TCI-TeleCable system, the only one of three in the city that did not carry channel 16.

[22] His estate then sold WCGT-CA to the Christian Television Network of Largo, Florida, for $300,000 in November 2005; CTN immediately assumed operational control under a local marketing agreement.