WTOG is a television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, serving the Tampa Bay market.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
WTOG is a broadcast television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. Operating on channel 44, it has historically been one of the market's most prominent independent and affiliated entertainment stations. The station was established by Hubbard Broadcasting and began broadcasting on November 4, 1968. Its original schedule consisted largely of older films, syndicated sitcoms and dramas, westerns, cartoons, and other low-cost general-entertainment programming. After a short testing period, WTOG expanded its daily schedule in January 1969. Its early success helped reshape the Tampa Bay television market and contributed to the departure of competing independent WSUN-TV in 1970. During the 1970s and 1980s, WTOG built a strong regional identity. It expanded its broadcast day, improved the quality and recency of its syndicated programming, and promoted itself as “Florida's Super Station.” Cable carriage and a network of low-power translators extended its reach beyond the immediate Tampa–St. Petersburg area into parts of central and southwest Florida. Sports were an important part of the station's appeal: WTOG carried syndicated Atlanta Braves baseball, games from several Major League Baseball team packages, Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer, selected NHL programming, and later became the flagship of the Tampa Bay Lightning television network from 1992 through 2003. WTOG became a charter Fox affiliate in 1986, but the relationship lasted less than two years. The station returned to independent programming after Fox affiliation was transferred to WFTS-TV in 1988. In 1995, WTOG became a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network, or UPN. Viacom's Paramount Stations Group acquired the station in 1996, making it a UPN-owned-and-operated outlet and prompting the adoption of the “UPN44” brand. Viacom's 2000 acquisition of CBS ultimately placed WTOG within the CBS station portfolio. When UPN and The WB were combined to form The CW, WTOG became a charter CW affiliate in September 2006 and operated as a CW owned-and-operated station. Its programming gradually shifted away from the older cartoons and films associated with its early years toward syndicated talk, court, reality, and entertainment programs, while network programming occupied the principal evening schedule. The station also provided centralized master-control services for other CBS-owned operations for a period, although those functions were later transferred to a facility in Virginia and subsequently returned. WTOG has had several distinct approaches to local news. Hubbard launched a full news department in 1982, producing a nightly 10 p.m. broadcast that underwent several title changes, including Tampa Bay Tonight and 44 News at Ten. The department was closed in 1998 amid corporate cost reductions and competition from established local newscasts. Local news returned in 2020 through a 10 p.m. broadcast produced by CBS sister station WFOR-TV in Miami. That service later adopted the Tampa Bay Now News branding and ended on August 31, 2023. Following Nexstar Media Group's acquisition of majority control of The CW in 2022, CBS exercised its contractual right to end WTOG's CW affiliation. WTOG stopped carrying CW programming on August 31, 2023, and became an independent station again on September 1, with Nexstar-owned WTTA taking the Tampa Bay CW affiliation. WTOG continues to operate as a local broadcast outlet, carrying syndicated programming, sports, and other entertainment content. In 2024 it began airing home matches of the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and in 2025 it announced a simulcast arrangement involving selected Tampa Bay Rays games and FanDuel Sports Network.
History
WTOG signed on November 4, 1968, as a St. Petersburg-licensed independent station founded by Hubbard Broadcasting. Hubbard had hoped to use the call sign WGTO-TV, matching its nearby radio operation, but Federal Communications Commission rules at the time prevented television and radio stations licensed in different communities from sharing the same base call sign. The modified WTOG call sign was adopted instead. The station initially broadcast only a limited test schedule, expanding to approximately eight hours per day in January 1969. Its early programming consisted of inexpensive syndicated material, older movies, cartoons, westerns, and off-network situation comedies and dramas. WTOG quickly became commercially successful and developed a loyal audience. Its growth helped force WSUN-TV, then another Tampa Bay independent station, off the air in 1970. During the following decade WTOG progressively extended its broadcast day and upgraded its syndicated inventory. In the 1970s and 1980s, WTOG cultivated a broad regional presence through cable carriage and low-power translators in communities including Sebring, Inverness, Arcadia, Ocala, and Okeechobee. The station marketed itself as “Florida's Super Station,” emphasizing its reach across central and southwest Florida. Sports programming reinforced that regional role. WTOG carried Atlanta Braves baseball before the expansion of the TBS superstation model, later aired syndicated packages from numerous Major League Baseball teams, and broadcast Tampa Bay Rowdies matches. It also carried selected NHL games and served as the Tampa Bay Lightning's flagship television station from 1992 to 2003. WTOG joined Fox as a charter affiliate in October 1986. Because Fox initially offered only a small amount of weekly programming, the station remained largely independent in practice. Dissatisfaction with Fox's early schedule contributed to the affiliation moving to WFTS-TV in August 1988. WTOG then resumed a general-entertainment format. It became a charter UPN affiliate in January 1995, airing UPN programs in prime time while continuing to fill much of the day with syndicated series and movies. Paramount Stations Group acquired WTOG in 1996. The purchase made the station a UPN owned-and-operated outlet and led to the “UPN44” identity. Viacom's later acquisition of CBS brought WTOG into the CBS-owned-station structure. In 2006, CBS and Warner Bros. combined UPN and The WB to create The CW, and WTOG became one of the new network's charter owned-and-operated stations. During this period its schedule moved further toward talk, court, reality, and syndicated entertainment programs, with cartoons and older films becoming less central. The station's local news history has been intermittent. It carried brief news capsules from sign-on and established a full news department in 1982, producing a nightly 10 p.m. newscast under several names. Viacom closed the department in 1998. CBS revived a locally focused late newscast in March 2020, produced by WFOR-TV, and later branded it Tampa Bay Now News. That service ended in August 2023. After Nexstar became majority owner of The CW in 2022, CBS exercised its right to withdraw WTOG from the network. WTOG returned to independent status on September 1, 2023, while WTTA assumed the Tampa Bay CW affiliation. The station subsequently expanded sports-related activity, including Tampa Bay Rowdies home matches beginning in 2024 and a 2025 announcement concerning selected Tampa Bay Rays simulcasts. WTOG's transmitter is in Riverview, Florida, while its studios remain in St. Petersburg.
- 2025
Rays simulcast agreement announced
[1]The station announces selected Tampa Bay Rays game simulcasts with FanDuel Sports Network.
- 2024
Rowdies coverage expands
[1]WTOG begins airing home matches of the current Tampa Bay Rowdies.
- 2023
Return to independent status
[1]WTOG ends its CW affiliation and resumes independent programming.
- 2020
Local news returns
[1]A WFOR-produced 10 p.m. newscast launches on WTOG.
- 2009
Digital transition
[1]WTOG ends analog broadcasting and moves its digital signal to channel 44.
- 2006
The CW launches on WTOG
[1]WTOG becomes a charter CW affiliate and owned-and-operated station.
- 1998
News department closes
[1]The station ends its in-house news operation during corporate cost reductions.
- 1996
Viacom acquisition
[1]Paramount Stations Group acquires WTOG, making it a UPN owned-and-operated station.
- 1995
UPN affiliation begins
[1]WTOG becomes a charter affiliate of UPN at the network's launch.
- 1986
Fox affiliation begins
[1]WTOG becomes a charter Fox affiliate.
Products and positioning
A Tampa Bay-area broadcast television station with a long history as an independent entertainment outlet, network affiliate, and regional sports broadcaster.
Broadcast television · 1968
WTOG Channel 44 broadcast service
The station's primary over-the-air television service for the Tampa Bay market. It has carried a changing mix of independent programming, network schedules, syndicated entertainment, sports, paid programming, and other broadcast content since 1968.
Television news · 1982
Local news programming
WTOG has operated several local-news formats, including its former in-house 10 p.m. newscast and a later WFOR-produced service. Its most recent Tampa Bay Now News presentation ended in 2023.
Sports broadcasting · 1970
Tampa Bay Rowdies broadcasts
WTOG has a long association with Rowdies soccer coverage, including NASL matches in the late 1970s and early 1980s and home matches of the modern Tampa Bay Rowdies beginning in 2024.
Sports broadcasting · 2025
Tampa Bay Rays simulcasts
A 2025 arrangement provides for selected Rays games to be simulcast on WTOG alongside FanDuel Sports Network.
Brand decisions
2023
Return to independent programmingStrategyBackground
Nexstar's acquisition of majority ownership of The CW gave CBS the contractual option to withdraw its CW stations.
Action taken
CBS ended WTOG's CW affiliation, and WTOG resumed independent programming on September 1.
Aftermath
Nexstar-owned WTTA became the Tampa Bay CW affiliate, while WTOG continued as an independent station.
2006
Move from UPN to The CWStrategyBackground
CBS and Warner Bros. combined UPN and The WB to form The CW.
Action taken
WTOG became a charter CW affiliate and owned-and-operated station when the network launched.
Aftermath
The station carried CW programming until August 31, 2023.
1996
Paramount Stations Group acquisitionM&ABackground
Viacom's Paramount Stations Group was expanding its portfolio of UPN owned-and-operated stations.
Action taken
Paramount Stations Group purchased WTOG from Hubbard Broadcasting and adopted the UPN44 identity.
Aftermath
WTOG became the first network-owned station in the Tampa Bay market and remained within the Viacom/CBS station structure.
1988
End Fox affiliationStrategyBackground
WTOG and other early Fox affiliates were operating with a limited network schedule, and the station was dissatisfied with the effect of Fox's programming on its established independent lineup.
Action taken
WTOG ended its Fox affiliation and returned to an independent general-entertainment schedule; WFTS-TV took the affiliation.
Aftermath
WTOG remained independent until joining UPN in 1995.
Sources2 sources
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