WKBF TV

Cleveland's first independent TV station was WKBF, Channel 61, which began broadcasting on January 19, 1968. Competition from Cleveland's second independent TV station, WUAB Channel 43, combined with a soft economy, set the stage for a merger of the two stations with the channel 61 signal going dark in April of 1975. The license remained dormant until 1980 when Balaban Stations purchased it and launched WCLQ on channel 61.