The station first signed on the air on May 14, 1985, as the fourth commercial television station—after CBS affiliate KAUZ-TV (channel 6, which signed on as KWFT-TV on March 1, 1953), ABC affiliate KSWO-TV (channel 7, which signed on the air on March 8, 1953), and KFDX-TV (channel 3, which signed on April 12, 1953)—and the first commercial UHF outlet to sign on in the Wichita Falls–Lawton market. KJTL originally operated from studio facilities located on Call Field Road in Wichita Falls; the station based its transmitter facilities near Grandfield, Oklahoma, adjacent to the tower operated by KSWO-TV, to provide a signal that could adequately reach most of southwestern Oklahoma and western north Texas. Channel 18 initially maintained a programming inventory typical of an independent station, consisting of first-run and off-network sitcoms and drama series, classic off-network westerns, feature films and cartoons.