as it was the only independent outlet in the market, wqrf stocked up much of its programming schedule with live sports including major league baseball (chicago white sox, st. louis cardinals and milwaukee brewers), the nba (chicago bulls and milwaukee bucks), nfl preseason action (chicago bears) and college sports (specifically big ten conference football and basketball). orion broadcasting sold wqrf to family group broadcasting in may 1986, sharing ownership and graphical imaging with wgba-tv in green bay, wisconsin, wvft-tv in roanoke, virginia, wpgx in panama city, florida, wfgx in fort walton beach, florida and wlax in la crosse, wisconsin. the station later relocated its operations to a new building located on south main street/il 2 in rockford.