in 1971 but consisted of "rip-and-read" news wire stories and light discussion at 10:30 a.m.; Roldo Bartimole's newsletter Point of View noted, "even considering this program as news is rather stretching the definition of the word", while Cleveland Press critic Bill Barrett criticized the station for failing to employ an announcer at all times after an untrained staffer struggled to read a severe weather bulletin. UHF competition WKBF-TV's success securing $700,000 (equivalent to $ in ) in advertising sales over the station's first few weeks of operation offered initial hope for long-time viability in the market, but the station was placed at a distinct disadvantage almost from the beginning. United Artists signed on WUAB on September 14, 1968, using WKBF-TV's transmitter tower in Parma, featuring a similar lineup of off-network reruns, cartoons, movies and sports. While WKBF-TV immediately launched with an array of local programming, WUAB's output was severely limited due to being temporarily housed at WVIZ's facilities in Brook Park and a semi-trailer next to a Parma bowling alley while their permanent studios were being built. In 1968, the combined Cleveland–Akron–Canton television market was ranked as the eighth-largest market in the United States, further attracting industry attention over competing UHF stations with substantial investment by their respective ownership. By the spring of 1969, WUAB claimed a portion of WKBF-TV's viewership, taking advantage of poorly-rated syndicated variety shows at WKBF-TV hosted by Donald O'Connor and Les Crane, but both stations had taken significant audience from the VHF competition. While WKBF-TV boasted coverage of the Cincinnati Royals and harness racing from Thistledown, WUAB-TV featured Ohio State Buckeyes football and men's basketball and Notre Dame Fighting Irish football. The arrival of "Barnaby" and Superhost (Marty Sullivan) at WUAB in late 1969, coupled with WKBF-TV culling much of their local offerings the following year, resulted in WUAB becoming by 1971 not only the leading UHF station in Cleveland but the second-highest rated UHF station in the country behind Boston's WSBK-TV. The differences between Cleveland's two UHF outlets soon became pronounced: William Hickey, a television columnist for The Plain Dealer, remarked that WKBF-TV "in no time ... was reduced to audience shares of 4%, and that was on good days." One bright spot for WKBF-TV occurred with reruns of the original Star Trek, which were broadcast in the same episode order as had been originally shown on NBC. Added to the station's schedule in