The station signed on the air on April 15, 1994 as KWLB (for "Word of Life Broadcasting"). operating as an independent station. It mostly aired religious programs, family-oriented shows and cartoons. In March 1995, Lafayette-based White Knight Broadcasting (owned by media executive Sheldon Galloway) purchased the station from Word of Life Ministries for $3.8 million; the sale received FCC approval on May 9, 1995. After switching from its religious programming, the station added UPN as its primary affiliation in June 1995.