WBNG TV 12 history

Philadelphia-based Triangle Publications, owner of various broadcasting and newspaper properties, purchased the WNBF stations in 1955.

Binghamton was also too close to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and New Haven, Connecticut to reallocate channel 8 into the market; the original channel 8 allocation would later be moved to Rochester. As a result, WNBF was the only station in Binghamton until WINR-TV signed on in 1957.

As a condition of the purchase, Gateway sold the WNBF radio stations to Des Moines-based Stoner Broadcasting and retained channel 12 which was renamed to its current call sign, WBNG-TV on October 28, 1972.

In the early days of broadcast television, there were twelve VHF channels available and 69 UHF channels (later reduced to 55 in 1983). The VHF bands were more desirable because they carried longer distances.

In September 1998, an agreement between WBNG, The WB 100+ Station Group and the area's cable provider allowed the station to launch the WB-affiliated "WBXI" cable channel, which replaced superstation WPIX on Binghamton-area cable systems.

In 2000, Gateway was purchased by SJL Broadcasting which reduced staff from 100 to 58 over five years to fit the aggressive SJL automation model.

In 2002, WBNG's digital signal on VHF channel 7 signed on.

Granite would close on its purchase of WBNG on July 26, 2006.

Beginning in September 2007, CW affiliate "WBXI" began to be simulcast on a new second digital subchannel of WBNG; the faux "WBXI" call sign, which was inherited from the former WB 100+ cable-only channel, was then dropped.

In December 2008, it was announced a deal was reached between Granite and Time Warner Cable to carry WBNG's high definition feed throughout the Binghamton region.

Until April 25, 2009, WBNG served as the longtime default CBS affiliate for the Elmira–Corning area.

On February 11, 2014, Quincy Newspapers announced that it had reached a deal to purchase WBNG from Granite along with other company-owned and/or managed stations in three other markets.

The sale was approved on September 15, 2015 and completed on November 2.

However, WBNG continues to be shown in Otsego County (alongside WKTV-DT2) as a result of viewer complaints caused when the station was taken off Time Warner Cable systems on August 31, 2016.