The station first signed on the air on October 19, 1954, as KAKE-TV (the "-TV" suffix was dropped in 2010). It originally operated as a primary NBC and secondary ABC affiliate, taking both networks from KTVH (channel 12, now KWCH-DT). Channel 10 lost the NBC affiliation after KEDD (channel 16) signed off on April 30, 1956 and KARD-TV (channel 3, now KSNW) assumed the full-time affiliation, leaving it exclusively affiliated with ABC. KEDD's shut down and the consequent move of NBC to KARD-TV, coupled with the loss of the NBC affiliation from KAKE resulted in Wichita becoming one of the smallest U.S. cities to have three television stations that each maintained exclusive affiliations with one of the major networks.