| WTOG - "As far as the eye can see" Station ID WTOG-TV began operations on November 4, 1968 as an indepedent station. It was originally owned by the St. Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting Corporation. In the station's early days, its slogan was: "WTOG...as far as the eye can see", which was made famous by a 1970s station identification package. WTOG caught on with the viewers immediately; so much so, in fact, that it forced competitor WSUN-TV (channel 38, frequency now occupied by WTTA) off the air in 1970. For the rest of the 1970s and well into the 1980s, WTOG was the only independent station in the Tampa Bay area. Becoming a superstation This distinction finally ended in 1981, when WFTS-TV, then owned by Family Group Broadcasting, signed on. However, the station remained the clear leader in the market for the next two decades. In the early 1980s, the station's slogan was "We're 44...we show you the good life". During the 1970s and 1980s, WTOG was seen on many cable systems in central and southwestern Florida. In the 1980s, WTOG also had a network of low-powered repeaters, with repeaters in Sebring, Arcadia (in the Ft. Myers market), Ocala (Orlando market) and Okeechobee (West Palm Beach market). It billed itself as "Florida's Super Station", which "Covered Florida Like The Sun". There was also some consideration to put WTOG on cable in Tallahassee, but that never came to fruition. WTOG was one of the most profitable independent television stations in the country. In fact, during the late 1970s, a man named Ted Turner called the station to ask how it was that WTOG could be so profitable. It is believed that WTBS in Atlanta was modeled after WTOG. Tags: WTOG tv Tampa Bay Tampabay Lion Cub Cubs television station ID As far as the eye can see 1970 1970s 1980 1980s |