Shortly after Clear Channel took over the station, WPRI entered in an area advertising agreement (LMA) with Fox affiliate WNAC (then owned by Argyle Tv). Because Media Basic already owned NBC affiliate WJAR and the two stations ranked as the two highest-rated stations within the Providence market in complete day viewership, the businesses had been required to sell either WJAR or WPRI-Tv to another station owner to comply with FCC possession rules in addition to deliberate adjustments to these rules relating to similar-market tv stations which would prohibit sharing agreements; the LMA involving WNAC would be included within the sale. In late 1997, Argyle merged with Hearst Broadcasting, proprietor of ABC affiliate WCVB-Tv in Boston.

This was to accommodate the move of MyRITV, the market's MyNetworkTV affiliate, from WNAC-DT2 to WPRI-DT2 as part of a broader shuffle where the programming and CW affiliation of WLWC's primary channel was purchased by Nexstar a number of months earlier than after WLWC's owner, OTA Broadcasting, offered their spectrum within the FCC's 2016 incentive public sale and selected a channel share with WPXQ-Tv. WPRI and WNAC acquired an on-air overhaul introducing a brand new news set and updated graphics on March 17, 2008. LIN operated a shared Bell 206L3 Long Ranger helicopter with the registration N812TV branded as "News Chopper 12" until December 2008, which was shared with Connecticut sister station WTNH and had that station's imaging on the fitting, with WPRI's imaging on its left facet.

In October 2008, WPRI and sister station WALA-Tv in Mobile, Alabama, relaunched web sites through Information Company's Fox Interactive Media, since spun off as the independent firm generally known as EndPlay. The FCC ruled that HMTF managed enough Sunrise inventory that the company couldn't personal any stations in markets where LIN Tv-owned a station as effectively. A lot of the Web sites of the tv stations Media Common acquired since the announced merger with Younger Broadcasting have also adopted this platform. On PBN Hosting Links to an external site. , 2014, Media General announced that it could keep WPRI and the LMA with WNAC and sell WJAR to Sinclair Broadcast Group, regardless that WJAR had higher scores.