On October 9, 1986, WCIX became a charter affiliate of the newly launched Fox Broadcasting Company, and was one of a handful of VHF stations to affiliate with the network upon its launch. The station was essentially still independent since Fox offered only an hour of late-night programming at the time (consisting only of the talk show "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers") and would only add two nights of primetime programming by the end of the station's tenure with the network.