As an independent station WAMI-DT

wami logo; showing miami , later modified incorporate channel number.

on june 8, 1998 @ 6:00 a.m., channel 69 became independent station; station changed call letters wami-tv. relaunch of channel 69 known birth of station , soon-to-be mother giving birth miami thought-bubble station logo (the entire day before, channel stunted picture of sonogram of new logo lead introduction). after sketch, real-time traffic , weather reports shown. revamped station adopted general entertainment format strong focus on locally produced programs including daily news program called times; sports discussion show sportstown; generation ñ, program targeted @ latin american audiences; lifestyle programs ocean drive (which based on magazine of same name) , ten s (which broadcast on dallas sister station kstr-tv 1999 2001); dance program barcode; alternative lifestyle program called kenneth s frequency; , talk show out loud, hosted bill teck , produced miami producer , media personality paul bouche. station s programming aimed @ teenagers , young adults between ages of 16 , 34.

wami repackaged fox kids block, incorporating live, locally produced interactive children s show wami on miami. hosts of program hold wami hand sign, holding both hands, making l shapes , crossing hands form w , shouting; wami, baby! on-air audience. children show @ wami-sponsored fox kids/power rangers events held throughout miami-dade , broward counties, mimicking favorite wami on miami on-air host.

the station began heavily incorporate local remote interstitials broadcast live. wami-tv shot interstitials, live @ remote locations on miami-dade , broward counties, wami interstitial host literally pulled passers-by off streets read cue cards announcing programs shown on station during next hour. short program not seen on other usa-owned stations topical program lips, featuring pair of ruby red lips in front of black background, teasing day s stories or issues, concept thought inspired rocky horror picture show.

wami-tv prominently used on-air station bug or wami station id logo, variation of wami thought bubble ; station id graphic flash on lower part of screen, @ top , bottom of hour, or each time program returned commercial break, , fade out. wami s vice president of promotions ordered logo bug remain on-screen during programs, around clock, , give translucent appearance seen constantly. wami featured wami-cams , 3 5 second on-air spots used fill airtime, catching glimpse of south beach street life, scenic views or interesting goings-on in miami, followed pop sound , appearance of wami thought bubble graphic. rest of wami-tv s programming schedule supplemented first-run syndicated reality , talk shows, syndicated reruns of network sitcoms, movies, cartoons , few religious programs.

by december 1998, after 6 months on air, wami-tv had outbid upn owned-and-operated station wbfs-tv (channel 33) , wb affiliate wbzl land exclusive six-year contract local television rights major league baseball games florida marlins. wami had procured rights broadcast miami heat nba games prior station s relaunch.

by late 1999, wami had grown role flagship station of become usa broadcasting network, comprising thirteen stations scattered around country in major u.s. cities, twelve of former hsn affiliates. of these stations, owned barry diller, gradually converted follow wami s format, called city vision . city vision concept based on diller s theory local programming being ignored on broadcast stations, , general public wanted sense of going on in communities on television. scaled down version of format adopted usa broadcasting-owned sister stations khsx-tv in dallas (which became kstr-tv , rebranded k-star 49 ), whsh-tv in boston (which became whub-tv , rebranded hub 66 ; wutf-tv) , whot-tv in atlanta (which rebranded hotlanta 34 ; wuvg-tv). rest of former hsn-affiliated stations owned usa due converted whse-tv (now wfut-dt) , whsi (now wfty-dt) in new york city market (whose calls changed worx , rebranded works upon format change), wehs (now wxft-dt) in chicago (which become wnde , rebranded windy ), wqhs-tv in cleveland, khsc-tv (now kftr-dt) in los angeles (whose calls changed klik , rebranded click ), whsp (now wuvp-dt) in philadelphia, whsw (now wutb) in baltimore, khsh (now kfth-dt) in houston , wbhs (now wftt-dt) in tampa.