The station was founded by Alpha Broadcasting, which heavily invested in the new operation. However, the local market situation immediately sent the station into the red. Like many ABC affiliates that signed on during this time in medium-to-small markets, WIIL was hampered by ABC's marginal ratings; the network would not be on par with CBS and NBC in terms of affiliates and ratings until later in the decade. Additionally, viewers had strongly entrenched viewing habits with longer-established VHF stations WTWO and WTHI – although WTWO was less than a decade old. It didn't help matters that most of the southern half of the market was able to receive ABC programming from WTVW in Evansville. Indiana's mostly flat terrain allowed WTVW's signal to penetrate further than would have been the case in hilly or mountainous terrain.