WFTS-TV
television station in Tampa, Florida, United States of America
WFTS-TV (channel 28), branded as Tampa Bay 28, is a television station in Tampa, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside independent station WXPX-TV (channel 66). The two stations share studios on North Himes Avenue on Tampa's northwest side; WFTS-TV's transmitter is located in Riverview, Florida.
Channel 28 was launched as the Tampa Bay area's second independent television station in December 1981 by a company that went on to become Family Group Broadcasting. It was purchased by Capital Cities Communications in 1984, though Capital Cities quickly sold it to Scripps the following year after it purchased the ABC television network. WFTS-TV became an affiliate of Fox in 1988.
A multi-market affiliation switch in 1994 saw WFTS-TV become Tampa Bay's ABC affiliate. The network attempted to disaffiliate from WWSB, its affiliate in Sarasota, but that station was ultimately allowed to remain with the network. To start local newscasts, channel 28 was forced to rent studio space in Clearwater. The newscasts debuted in fourth place in the market but have been more competitive since. In 1996, Scripps completed construction on the present studio facilities near Raymond James Stadium; the building accommodates the news department and is large enough that several business functions for the entire station group are run from Tampa.
“WFTS-TV” enters the record as television station in Tampa, Florida, United States of America. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what WFTS-TV, television and station can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“WFTS-TV” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, WFTS-TV, television and station provides the most credible route into that argument.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7949547. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1981, 1984, 1988 and 1994.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WFTS-TV”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WFTS-TV primary sources, WFTS-TV archive and WFTS-TV research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
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Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WFTS-TV” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.