Even though cable had gained significant penetration in the region by the mid-1980s, WLYH remained a CBS affiliate rather than become an independent. This was mainly because at the time, South Central Pennsylvania was not large enough to support what would have essentially been two independent stations; even after WPMT joined Fox in 1986, it was still programmed as an independent (as was the case with most Fox stations until 1993). Even without this to consider, Philadelphia's WPHL-TV and WTAF-TV (now Fox O&O WTXF-TV), had been available on cable for years. These two factors made Gateway balk at the added cost of buying an additional 16 hours of programming per day. WLYH did, however, add a secondary affiliation with UPN when the network launched on January 16, 1995.