WKCF - News Operation

News Operation

Although not in a traditional big three network affiliate time period, Orlando has been very competitive in the prime time slot at 10 over the years. WKCF was the first television station in the area to launch a prime time newscast. This effort was established in 1991 through a news share agreement with WKMG. Eventually, future sister station WESH would take over production duties of WKCF's broadcast. Meanwhile, WFTV entered into the 10 o'clock news race with its own production on WRBW. At some point in time, this newscast moved to sister station WRDQ where is remains today. In 1998, WOFL premiered the first thirty minute independently-produced newscast outside Orlando's big three network outlets. This effort would be expanded to an hour on weeknights in the fall of 1999.

WESH canceled its first WKCF newscast in September 2002 in response to increased competition from WOFL and WRDQ. There continues to be speculations that 10 p.m. news may return to WRBW. Station officials have not ruled out the possibility even though such a program would air in direct competition against sister station WOFL. However, this may not be the case if that station moves its local newscast to 11. From August 2004 until 2007, WKCF's studios were home based on the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz which could be seen on weekdays from 6 until 9. After Hearst-Argyle bought this station in 2007, the show moved operations to the Disney's Hollywood Studios while clearance in the Orlando area was picked up by WRDQ.

When WESH became a sister outlet to WKCF, it led to speculation the former would bring back a prime time show at 10 to this station someday. In January 2007, WESH began producing a two-hour extension of its weekday morning newscast on WKCF. This joined two other broadcasts airing at the same time on WOFL (established in September 2000) and WRDQ (launched at the same point as WKCF's morning show). A simulcast of the 6 a.m. hour of WESH's weekday morning newscast would subsequently be added to the station. On November 1, 2007, this station began airing local news in high definition after WESH made the upgrade. After a seven year hiatus, it was finally announced a nightly 10 p.m. newscast produced by WESH would return to WKCF on August 31, 2009.