Channel 17 signed on February 19, 1966, as WJKS, Jacksonville’s first full-time ABC affiliate. It confidently declared it was ready to “create our own shock wave of interest,” serving a market that had been without a full-time ABC station long enough. In 1980, Channel 17 picked up NBC, then in 1982, Media General purchased the station from Ziff Davis. During this period, Media General invested in the station as never before and NewsWatch improved to a solid No. Allbritton had recently purchased a station in Brunswick, and would later purchase a license and build another Jacksonville station from the ground up.