As the first commercial television station to launch in Bowling Green, WBKO has been a longtime leader on the Nielsen ratings. Even after the sign-on of WQQB (now WNKY) in 1989, the station has remained the dominant outlet for south central Kentucky. However, it has also competed with Nashville stations transmitting rimshot signals into parts of the Bowling Green area. WBKO's first newscasts were branded as "Channel 13 News Report" and began airing in 1963. In the 1970s, the news operation was known as "13 News". The broadcasts were re-branded to "WBKO 13 News".