WRAZ signed on the air September 7, 1995 as “WB 50,” an affiliate of Warner Brothers’ WB network. The Reverend James Layton’s Tar Heel Broadcasting Company owned the station at the time and Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. operated it under a local marketing agreement. WB 50’s offices and operations were located in the WRAL building on Western Boulevard in Raleigh.

On August 1, 1998, the FOX network announced it would not renew its affiliation agreement with WLFL-TV, and that foreshadowed a big change for WRAZ. Following the FOX announcement, WRAZ and WLFL switched affiliations and WRAZ became known as FOX50. As part of the network transition, WRAZ moved across the Triangle to the new facilities at the Diamond View building next to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

In April 2000 Capitol Broadcasting was able to purchase the station from Tar Heel Broadcasting, ending the Local Marketing Agreement and giving CBC outright control.

Programming has been a strong point for FOX50 over the years. During Season 5 of Fox’s mega-hit American Idol, WRAZ was consistently one of the network’s top-rated stations.
WRAZ has been willing to buck FOX’s program offerings on occasion; it was one of the few stations in the United States that refused to air reality television shows Temptation Island and Who Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionaire. FOX 50 managers viewed the programs as anti-family and they used the same rationale in 2003 to preempt episodes of Married by America — claiming the content of the show was demeaning to the institution of marriage.
In keeping with Capitol Broadcasting tradition, WRAZ has taken full advantage of new technology. Along with WRAL, WRAZ began digital broadcasting in May 2000—years ahead of most American television stations.

The new DTV signals gave WRAZ programming opportunities like never before. On September 10, 2007, the station added the Retro Television Network (RTN) to its 50.2 digital subchannel, while also airing live Durham Bulls home games during the baseball season. On April 1, 2011, WRAZ’s channel 50.2 switched to MeTV. The network, marketed as “The Definitive Destination for Classic TV,” mainly airs classic sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through the 1980s.

Since its inception WRAZ has provided local news for viewers in the Raleigh-Durham television market. Concurrent with its 1995 sign-on, WRAZ began airing a nightly primetime newscast at 10:00, produced by WRAL through a news share agreement.
Early in 2002 the station launched a 7:00 a.m. newscast called the FOX 50 Morning Connection. In March 2003, FOX50 again pushed the technical envelope when it began broadcasting its local news in high definition. In 2004, the morning news expanded to include an hour beginning at 8:00 o’clock. In addition to the daily WRAL-produced newscasts, WRAZ also airs the weekly public affairs program NC Spin on Sunday mornings.

WRAZ has a stellar record of service to the local community. The station has launched several campaigns, including: “Get Real, Get Tested” an initiative that promotes the importance of HIV testing, “Fight NC Foreclosure” to assist homeowners faced with losing their homes, “What Color Do YOU Bleed?” to encourage donations to the American Red Cross, “eCycling” to promote electronics recycling, and “FOX 50 Family Fest,” a free event featuring interactive family activities.

In 2010 WRAZ was recognized by the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) with the Service to America Award recognizing broadcasters’ best efforts to serve their local communities. WRAZ is the only FOX affiliate to ever win the award as of 2014.
In August 2012, WRAZ’s master control merged with WRAL’s in Raleigh. On September 1, 2012, the remaining FOX 50 departments moved from Durham’s Diamond View I back to CBC’s Raleigh campus, where new buildings were constructed to accommodate the reunited staffers.