CW17 signed on 55 years ago as WJKS
Channel 17 began broadcasting on Feb. 19, 1966
Dave Hall, WCWJ promotions director
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The station we know as CW17 today has a rich history in Jacksonville broadcasting.
Channel 17 signed on February 19, 1966, as WJKS, Jacksonville’s first full-time ABC affiliate. Rust Craft, primarily known as a greeting card company, built the station. 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.
Programming in this first ABC phase included numerous panel discussion shows, telethons, as well as children s news briefs (News For Little People) and an innovative, concise 5:55 p.m. newscast that broke the day s top stories literally minutes before the competition.