Station History WCJB-TV began operation on April 7, 1971, as an NBC affiliate. The first owner of the station was William E. Minshall. The first programming originated in Jacksonville, and it was sent by microwave from a station there to a relay site at Camp Blanding and from there to Gainesville for broadcast. In 1973, WCJB-TV became an ABC affiliate which it has remained to this day. Diversified Communications, headquartered in Portland, Maine, purchased WCJB-TV on October 12, 1976 and continues to own the station. Diversifed also owns television stations in Bangor, Maine, and in Florence, South Carolina as well as other media outlets. The station first started broadcasting from a small building on NW 43rd Street, north of the city of Gainesville. At the time NW 43rd was a dirt road and the station was "out in the country". The road, now a major artery, was not paved until 1979. The station's first studio cameras did not have camera operators, they were remotely controlled. Commercials consisted of 16mm film and 35mm color slides. Any 16mm film shot for the newscasts had to be at the station by 2:00 PM so it could be taken to Jernigans to be processed. It was picked up at 3:45 PM, brought back to the station and edited for air. WCJB-TV's building was extensively remodeled and expanded in the mid-1980's, adding a new news department, production office, management offices and other facilities. The station now employs approximately 85 people, compared to fewer than 20 when the station first signed on in 1971. The station also maintains a studio in downtown Ocala for live news broadcasts from Marion County.