Start-up
In 1985, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 13 applications for a new television station on channel 25 in Tequesta for comparative hearing.[1] The field thinned to six before an administrative law judge gave the initial nod to Martin Telecommunications in July 1986, citing its ownership by a Hispanic woman, Betty Heisler, and its proposal to air closed captioning on all of its news programs.[2] Martin Telecommunications's entirely Hispanic ownership beat out a bid from Triple J Properties, a group of three women and Tequesta residents.[3] Several of the competing applicants appealed the award to Martin Telecommunications, and during that time, another firm, Tequesta Television secured additional investors and paid Martin and the other groups, anxious to avoid years of legal challenges, to drop their bids, clearing the way for Tequesta to be awarded the construction permit. The two additional investors that would own 98 percent of the company were John C. Phipps, who had built WPTV in West Palm Beach in 1956 and owned Tallahassee-area CBS affiliate WCTV, and Alan Potamkin, an owner of car dealerships in Miami.[4]
By the summer of 1988, negotiations were nearly being concluded on the former RCA site in Palm Beach Gardens, but no programming plans had been made public, nor had the tower been constructed. This caught the attention of local broadcasters because of impending turmoil in the Miami area. In 1987, NBC had bought WTVJ, the CBS affiliate in Miami; its existing contract with WSVN (channel 7) did not end until the end of 1988. CBS, in shopping for a new station in Miami, acquired WCIX, which broadcast on channel 6. Because channel 6 was also assigned in the Orlando area, WCIX's antenna had to be located further south than the other Miami stations, with the result being that key areas of Broward County were poorly served without translator stations or cable. CBS's existing affiliate for Palm Beach County and points north, WTVX in Fort Pierce, had only added significant coverage in Palm Beach County in 1980, when it made a major facility upgrade, and it was a UHF station. Rumors began to emerge that WPBF would be involved in a swap that could affect up to six stations. However, Phipps and Potamkin began buying programming with an eye to making the new WPBF the second independent station in the West Palm Beach market.[5]
CBS rectified its Broward County problem by poaching WPEC (channel 12) in West Palm Beach from ABC. That put ABC on the hunt for a new affiliate and started a three-way battle. The contenders were WTVX, the outgoing CBS affiliate with an existing news department; WFLX (channel 29), a successful Fox affiliate and independent station; and WPBF, a station that was not even on the air.[6][7] In September, officials from these three stations made presentations to ABC executives in New York.[8] WTVX was seen as being in the lead, with its established operation, but it was not based in West Palm Beach, the largest city in the media market; WFLX had solid ratings and viewership even into Broward County, though it had no news department; but WPBF was cited by media as a "dark horse" and by WPTV's general manager as a "sleeper" because of its proposed technical facilities and the track record of Phipps in running WCTV, one of the most successful television stations in the country.
ABC announced its choice on October 18, 1988: in a move that stunned broadcasters and the other two contenders vying for the affiliation, it selected WPBF. George Newi, the head of affiliate relations for ABC, noted the track record of Phipps in Tallahassee as a decision.[9] It also helped that Phipps was willing to pay for the affiliation, forking over an estimated $1 million (equivalent to $ million in ) at a time when networks typically compensated stations for carrying their programs; it was the first time a station had ever paid for a network affiliation, known in the industry as reverse compensation. In addition, WPBF agreed to cover most of its startup promotional costs.[10] The decision drew fire from the competitors. Murray Green, general manager of WFLX, called the decision "ludicrous" for awarding the affiliation to a station that was not even broadcasting yet.[11] Bob Morford, the news director for WTVX, felt that "ABC is apparently under the impression that it's better to sign on a new station in Palm Beach" than align with an outlet in Fort Pierce.[12] The precedent-setting reverse compensation deal, which was said to make affiliates of ABC "very nervous",[13] was so unusual that it spurred an editorial in Electronic Media calling the idea of selling affiliations to the highest bidder a "dangerously short-sighted move" with the potential to destabilize the industry.
The decision put Phipps and Potamkin on the clock to finish construction of WPBF. As late as November 10, the studio building was an empty warehouse; equipment had to be ordered and installed and a staff assembled.[15] The transmitter was turned on with days to go, and WPBF made it to air on January 1, 1989—a half-hour later than planned, because an engineer overslept.[16][17] However, the station struggled in its early years with signal issues in southern Palm Beach County, channel slot issues on some cable systems, and difficulty establishing viewer loyalty.[18] This was particularly acute because WPLG, the Miami ABC affiliate, was widely available on cable. These issues and the early 1990s recession, which softened the local advertising market, led to deep cuts. Between July and October 1991, WPBF dismissed more than 30 percent of its staff, and Capital Cities/ABC forgave $500,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) in affiliation fees that the station had pledged to pay its network.[19]
