On June 27, 1977, WPRI swapped affiliations with WTEV and became an ABC station. The station introduced a new logo to go with the switch.
1987–1990
Station ID (Late 1987)
On Screen Bug ID 1987
1990–1998 (primary), 1990–1995 (secondary)
Channel 12 Eyewitness News Open (1990)
Channel 12 Eyewitness News Open (1994)
1998–1999 (primary), 1995–1999 (secondary)
In 1995, Narragansett Television sold WPRI-TV to CBS, making WPRI-TV a CBS owned-and-operated station, and WLNE-TV reversed the 1977 affiliation switch between the two stations on September 10 of that year; WLNE returned to being an ABC affiliate, while WPRI reunited with CBS after 18 years. After Westinghouse (owner of WBZ-TV in Boston) purchased CBS in 1995, WPRI-TV was sold to Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) in 1996.
1Nexstar operates these stations owned by Mission Broadcasting. 2Nexstar operates this station owned by Cunningham Broadcasting. 3Nexstar operates this station owned by White Knight Broadcasting through an SSA. 4Nexstar operates this station owned by Vaughan Media. 5Predecessor company of LIN Media. 6Currently a repeater for WWLP. 7Joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery in which Nexstar owns 31% while Warner Bros. Discovery owns the remaining 69%.