About WPXI 11

On September 1, 1957, Pittsburgh's second commercial VHF station began broadcasting as WIIC. The station's construction permit was originally issued by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in June 1955 to WIIC Incorporated – a joint venture between the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which owned WWSW radio (970 AM, now WBGG), and Pittsburgh Radio Supply House, the then-owners of WJAS radio (1320 AM). Both radio stations had competed individually for the permit along with other applicants.

After the permit was granted, CBS signed a contract with the then-unnamed channel 11, seeking to gain its own full-time affiliate in the market. Before the "freeze" on television station licenses, the two stations were competing for the channel 10 license originally assigned to Pittsburgh, but was reallocated to Altoona by the FCC in 1952. The Hearst Corporation (then-owners of WCAE and eventual owners of WTAE-TV) and two other companies were also applying for the channel 10 license. WIIC went on to have a long and successful history as a CBS affiliate, serving the Pittsburgh community for over six decades.