On July 1, 1954, at 6:00 p.m., the station went on the air for the first time. It was the third television station to sign on in the Indianapolis market, following WFBM-TV (channel 6, now WRTV) in May 1949 and Bloomington-licensed WTTV (channel 10, now on channel 4) six months later in November 1949. It was founded by C. Bruce McConnell, owner of WISH radio (1310 AM, now WTLC). WISH-TV was originally an ABC affiliate with secondary affiliations with DuMont Television Network and NBC. WISH-TV first broadcast from a tower shared with WISH radio; the following year, the station built a 1,000-foot (305 m) transmitter tower, allowing them to expand signal coverage in the market.