WTLV's newscasts, which was then known as "12 News" until the merger with WJXX in 1999, had been a distant runner up to longtime leader WJXT in the ratings. As a CBS affiliate, WJXT had a strong lead in the number of households viewing its newscasts. However, once WTLV and WJXX merged their news departments, the gap in viewership slowly closed to create tough competition in the Jacksonville market. The gap fully closed after WJXT dropped its CBS affiliation in July 2002 due to a compensation and programming dispute with the network. In the May 2007 Nielsen ratings, WTLV and WJXX had a powerful lead, with their newscasts winning in every timeslot except at 5:00 p.m. (losing that half-hour to WJXT due to its powerful lead-in from "The Oprah Winfrey Show"). The 11:00 p.m. newscast had higher viewership than any other station in the market. However, in the November 2007 Nielsen ratings, WTLV/WJXX's "First Coast News" newscasts lost the lead to WJXT in the 5:30 and 6:00 p.m. slots.