pinnacle sold wmgc to citadel communications in 1986; in 1995, citadel sold the station, along with wvny in burlington, vermont, to usa broadcast group, which was soon renamed u.s. broadcast group after a complaint from usa network. u.s. broadcast group put its stations up for sale in early 1997; wskg-tv contemplated acquiring wmgc and operating it as an nbc affiliate to raise money for its public broadcasting operations; during this time, a cable-only version of wetm (which would be replaced by wbgh-cd later that fall) served as the network's affiliate for the binghamton market following wicz's affiliation with fox in april 1996. the station would be purchased by the ackerley group, which changed the call letters to wivt on february 26, 1998. the call letters were derived from ackerley's station in syracuse, wixt (now wsyr-tv).