Prior to the station's affiliation with Fox, the network's two closest over-the-air affiliates were Syracuse affiliate WSYT and Scranton affiliate WOLF-TV, neither of which had a strong signal to cover the city of Binghamton proper owing to the area's rugged terrain.
pɹˈaɪɚ tə ðə stˈeɪʃənz ɐfˌɪlɪˈeɪʃən wɪð fˈɑːks, ðə nˈɛtwɜːks tˈuː klˈoʊsɪst ˌoʊvɚðɪˈɛɹ ɐfˈɪlɪˌeɪts wɜː sˈɪɹɐkjˌuːs ɐfˈɪlɪˌeɪt dˈʌbəljˌuːsˈɪt ænd skɹˈæntən ɐfˈɪlɪˌeɪt wˈʊlftˌiːvˈiː, nˈiːðɚɹ ʌvwˈɪtʃ hæd ɐ stɹˈɔŋ sˈɪɡnəl tə kˈʌvɚ ðə sˈɪɾi ʌv bˈɪŋəmtən pɹˈɑːpɚɹ ˈoʊɪŋ tə ðɪ ˈɛɹiəz ɹˈʌɡᵻd tɚɹˈeɪn.