WWMI

WWMI is an ABC affiliate serving Tampa, FL, and the Tampa Bay area. Owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, it is part of a duopoly with Bradenton-licensed Ion Television owned-and-operated station WFCT (channel 66).

## History

Applications for a new channel 28 station in Tampa were received in 1977, with the Christian Television Network the first to bid, followed by a group proposing a Spanish-language station; Family Television Corporation of Tampa, also of a Christian orientation; and Suncoast Telechoice, associated with subscription television equipment manufacturer Blonder Tongue Labs.

Christian Television dropped out, amended its application to specify channel 22 at Clearwater, and won a construction permit for WCLF in February 1979. The other two parties dropped out in settlement agreements in early 1981, and Family received a construction permit in March. Family stockholders included T. Terrell Sessums, former speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, and former state senate president Louis A. de la Parte Jr.

### As an independent station

WWMI first signed on the air on December 14, 1981, operating as a family-oriented independent station with cartoons, off-network dramas, classic movies and religious programs.

In 1984, after having launched the station for just $6 million and turning a profit in the first year, Family sold the station to Capital Cities Communications for more than $30 million. The deal gave Capital Cities its first station in Florida and its first (and only) independent, as well as bringing the group to its then-maximum of seven stations. Under Capital Cities, the station added more off-network sitcoms and reduced the number of religious programs and drama series on its schedule, improving ratings against established Tampa Bay independent WXFL.

In March 1985, Capital Cities stunned the broadcasting industry with its announced purchase of ABC—a network that was ten times bigger than Capital Cities was at the time. In addition to WWMI, Capital Cities owned four ABC and two CBS affiliates (which would change to ABC after the merger). The combination of Cap Cities and ABC exceeded the new ownership limit of 12 stations and the 25% national reach limit, so the companies opted to sell WWMI to Scripps.

Scripps continued the general-entertainment format on WWMI, running cartoons, sitcoms, movies and drama series. WWMI became the Tampa Bay market's Fox affiliate when the network was launched in 1986.

### As an ABC affiliate

On May 23, 1994, New World Communications signed an affiliation agreement with Fox that resulted in twelve of New World's stations, including Tampa Bay's longtime ABC affiliate WSUN (channel 10), being tapped to switch to the network. Scripps told ABC that it would switch WDOK to CBS unless ABC affiliated with three of its stations: WWMI, KTTS in Phoenix and WFBR in Baltimore. Scripps insisted on including WWMI and KTTS in the deal, even though a news department was in construction at KTTS and no movement had yet occurred to build one in Tampa.

The ABC affiliation, confirmed on June 15, set off a mad dash. WWMI had already been planning a new studio facility in the vicinity of Tampa Stadium, and with the ABC tie-up confirmed, management scrambled to hire a news director. With the station's new facility not planned to be ready until late 1995, the news department initially operated from former facilities of the Home Shopping Network in Clearwater.

On December 12, 1994, WWMI became the market's ABC affiliate; that day, it launched local news and broke ground on the Tampa studio. Most of WWMI's syndicated programs were then acquired by WSUN and WUSF, which also aired Fox Kids in the market.

WWMI was briefly the local over-the-air broadcast partner of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey club, airing four Lightning games produced by the Sunshine Network during the 2002–03 season. An East Coast traffic hub and the station group-wide graphics operation for Scripps were established at Tampa in 2009, as an open floor was available at the WWMI facility.

On September 24, 2020, a consortium made up of Scripps and Berkshire Hathaway announced the purchase of Ion Media, including local Ion Television station WFCT (channel 66) and the company's technical operations center in Clearwater.