WKCF TV Clermont/Orlando FL

WKCF (channel 18) is a television station licensed to Clermont, Florida, United States, serving the Orlando area as an affiliate of The CW. It is owned by Hearst Television alongside Daytona Beach–licensed NBC affiliate WESH (channel 2). The two stations share studios on North Wymore Road in Eatonville; WKCF's transmitter is located in unincorporated Bithlo, Florida.

WKCF began broadcasting on channel 68 on December 8, 1988. It was an independent station owned by New Jersey–based Press Broadcasting, which had previously owned WMOD in Melbourne and struggled with an inadequate signal; the company saw WKCF as a transmitter upgrade for WMOD. Before channel 68 was even on the air, Press Broadcasting had reached a deal with Brevard Community College to exchange channel 68 for channel 18, which had been a non-commercial allotment as WRES.

After opposition from competing broadcasters, the swap was approved and took effect in October 1991, with WKCF moving to channel 18. Programming highlights of WKCF's first years on air included Orlando Magic road games, a kids' club known as the Buckaroo Club, and a 10 p.m. newscast produced by Orlando CBS affiliate WCPX-TV.

In 1995, WKCF became Orlando's affiliate of The WB. It was among the network's strongest affiliates throughout its tenure. Press Broadcasting moved the station to new studios in Lake Mary in 1998 and sold it the next year to Emmis Communications. Ratings continued to rise, but the newscast was scrapped because its viewers were older than those of The WB. During this time, Emmis acquired a 50-percent stake in the syndicated national morning show The Daily Buzz and moved production of the program from Dayton, Ohio, to the WKCF studios.