In June 1979, WTSP began using a logo known as the "sunset 10" (which was later duplicated by its sister station KTSP in Phoenix, Arizona) along with the " Action News" format. New owner Alan Henry (of WINS New York fame), general manager Larry Clamage, and news director George "Bud" Faulder began to turn the station around, changing the call letters to WTSP-TV on September 12, 1978, and hiring several new on-air staff members who changed the face of the station. In 1977, WLCY-TV was purchased by Dallas, Texas-based Gulf United Broadcasting. It also operated at a lower power than the other Tampa Bay stations. Its transmitter location in Pasco County was the primary contributor to WLCY's low viewership (all of other stations serving the Tampa Bay area operated their transmitters in Riverview, in Hillsborough County). Ratings for the station during the early to mid-1970s were dismal, however, compared to WTVT (channel 13) and WFLA-TV (channel 8) and, as a result, channel 10 nearly lost its ABC affiliation. Tampa Bay residents had to use a special VHF antenna that faced away from Riverview in order to view WLCY (this setup was called the "Tampa Bay Special"). WLCY's transmitter was located at 1754 Solar Drive in Holiday, an unincorporated community in the southwestern corner of Pasco County (where it would remain until 2011). In October 1971, WXLT (now WWSB, channel 40) signed on to provide ABC network programming to the Sarasota area as WLCY's signal was mediocre to poor in most of Sarasota County. In the mid-1970s, the station aired Bowling for Dollars with host Jim Bradley. The most popular program on channel 10 during that era was the syndicated The Lawrence Welk Show. Another early local program was a morning exercise show, The Fran Carlton Show. From 1966 to 1967, the station produced 10 á Go Go, a teen dance show hosted by WLCY-AM disc jockey Roy Nilson. The station aired several local children's programs as Submarine 10, Romper Room with June Hurley, 10 Ultimate and This Side Up, and local talk shows such as Russ Byrd's Morning Show, The John Eastman Show, The Liz Richards Show and Murphy in the Morning. In-studio broadcasts were fully in color by 1966, but field reports during the station's newscasts remained in black and white until 1972. Its current studios on Gandy Boulevard, originally known as the "Rahall Color Communications Center" were dedicated on October 15, 1968. The station's first studio facilities were located at 2426 Central Avenue. Petersburg, but its studios have always been based in St.
Until 1981, the station was licensed to Largo, north of St. When WLCY landed the ABC affiliation, it finally gave the Tampa Bay Area market all three commercial television affiliates on the VHF dial alongside WFLA-TV (channel 8) and WTVT (channel 13), respective affiliates of NBC and CBS. As a condition for being placed on VHF channel 10 instead of a UHF placement, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required the station to produce 20 hours of public service programming each week. WLCY ultimately won and formally switched to ABC in a special ceremony on September 1, 1965. Petersburg, owners of WSUN-TV, had been one of the applicants for the Channel 10 license, having jumped in out of fear of losing its ABC affiliation. The station was affiliated with ABC, but spent its first month and a half of operation as an independent station, as previous ABC affiliate WSUN-TV (channel 38 frequency now occupied by WTTA) went to court to keep the affiliation. It was owned by Rahall Communications, along with WLCY radio (1380 AM, now WWMI and 94.9 FM, now WWRM). The station debuted a week and a half after the conclusion of a decade-long court battle between five prospective owners seeking the Channel 10 license, including the St. The station first signed on the air on July 18, 1965, as WLCY-TV, becoming the fourth commercial television outlet in the Tampa Bay region in a 12-year timeframe, and the fifth overall. Petersburg's northeast side, just off the Gandy Bridge its transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gandy Boulevard on St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of CBS. WTSP (channel 10) is a television station licensed to St.
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