Early years
After the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) lifted their "freeze of 1948" for any additional television stations, WLOK, Inc., owner of WLOK (1240 AM) and WLOK-FM (103.3), filed an application on June 25, 1952, to broadcast on the ultra high frequency (UHF) band;[1] WLOK was one of 95 such filings across the country.[2] As part of the application, WLOK proposed expanding the transmitter site of the radio stations—in use since their December 1936 launch[3]—to house both television and radio production.[2] WLOK's transmitter was located on a parcel of land at the intersection of Rice and Woodlawn Avenues, which necessitated a rezoning from residential to commercial.[4] The FCC granted a permit for WLOK on November 20, 1952, to operate on channel 73;[5] competing stations WIMA/WIMA-FM also applied for a permit[6] and received one several weeks later on channel 35, initially planning to house WIMA-TV at the Cook Tower in Lima's downtown.[7] WLOK-TV took to the air on April 18, 1953, becoming one of the first UHF stations to operate in the United States.[8] George E. Condon, television critic for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, witnessed WLOK-TV's debut and praised the station for persevering through construction despite a factory strike preventing the station from getting all the necessary transmitter equipment in time.[9]
In addition to live local shows, WLOK-TV carried programming from NBC, CBS and DuMont, all initially via kinescope and film. NBC filed a request to connect the station into the Bell System coaxial cable network,[10] and by September 1953, WLOK was carrying network programs live via microwave relay, signing on every day at noon.[11]
WLOK radio and television was majority-owned by Lloyd Pixley, a famed Ohio State football player who purchased the radio stations from Fort Industry Broadcasting in 1951.[12][13] In early November 1953, Pixley issued additional stock in WLOK, Inc., to Columbus-based interests that already held a stake in the stations,[14] reducing his share to 34 percent.[15] Several days later, Pixley suffered a heart attack while watching the 1953 Ohio State–Michigan game and was hospitalized ever since; Pixley died on July 30, 1954, at the age of 54.[16] The same day, WLOK personnel were notified that the stations were in the process of being sold, but the buyer's name was not revealed.[17] The buyer was named on October 30 as the Northwestern Ohio Broadcasting Company, parent of WIMA-AM-FM, acquiring WLOK for $750 in stock and $188,691 in assumed obligations.[18]
As part of the deal, WLOK's license was to be shut down and the license surrendered due to FCC regulations banning one company from owning more than one AM station in a market.[20] The FCC approved the deal on December 1, 1954, and WLOK ceased broadcasting seven days later.[21] No loss in personnel took place, and Northwestern kept both WIMA and WLOK-TV operating at their existing studios.[22] Northwestern applied to "move" WLOK-TV to channel 35 on December 7, 1954;[1] the move took place on April 24, 1955, and the station was renamed WIMA-TV. A move to channel 14 was also considered, but Northwestern opted to expedite the process by utilizing their existing channel 35 permit.[23] Owing to WIMA's existing affiliation with ABC Radio, the station contracted to carry select ABC shows in late 1954, which it informally had been doing since earlier in the year.[22]
In its early years, the station had a range of local programs, including a local franchise of Romper Room, two other children's programs, and Little League baseball broadcast from a ballfield at the studio site which was known as "Telecast Field", as well as the long-running Easter's Parade and Blue Flame Theater.[25] By 1962, it was no longer a CBS affiliate.[26] One of the longest-running local programs originating from the WIMA-TV era was The Ric Bratton Show, a talk show that debuted in 1969; Bratton, who had joined the station in 1967 and also served as a telethon host, news anchor, and announcer,[27] was fired in 2002 amid a felony theft trial.[28]
Split from radio
In 1971, the owners of the WIMA stations opted to sell, splitting the radio and television operations. In June 1971, the locally owned Lima Broadcasting Corporation acquired WIMA-AM-FM.[29] As a result, the news staffs for radio and television were split. Channel 35 could no longer use the WIMA-TV call sign and changed to WLIO-TV on September 1. WLIO was sold to the Lima Communications Corporation, headed by three businessmen from Toledo, two associated with the Toledo Blade newspaper and the third with Midwestern Broadcasting, owners of Toledo radio station WOHO.[30] After receiving FCC approval for the $1.5 million purchase, the new owners assumed control on February 1, 1972.[31] Midwestern Broadcasting sold its stake in the station to Blade Communications (also known as Block Communications) in 1982.
Under Lima Communications, the station was stable in upper management. Jim Dages served as general manager from 1976 until he died of a heart attack in 1995;[32] George Dunster served as news director from 1973 to 1999.[33]
