WVLA used to air nightly 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts during the 1980s. In 1987, the 6 p.m. newscast moved to 5 p.m.; however, both newscasts were canceled in 1989, citing poor ratings, with reruns of off-network sitcoms airing in their place. Vetter supported this move with a desire to make channel 33 a complete entertainment station, taking into account the station's poor primetime news ratings against WAFB and WBRZ. Nonetheless, this proved successful ratings-wise, as the station's share jumped from 3 percent to 7 percent after the move. Later that year, it premiered a morning news program called "Morning Edition" that aired before "The Today Show", originally lasting a half-hour before expanding a full hour; this newscast was cancelled in January 2005 in favor of airing NBC's early morning newscast "Early Today" in the slot. In the early 1990s, the station had an information hotline service for viewers to call to get news updates.