Had Akron & Canton succeeded in getting other network affiliates on the air in the 50s and 60s, they could have been a stand-alone market as well. They were slated to get a VHF frequency on Channel 11, but that was held up in the freeze, and later was re-assigned to Pittsburgh and became WIIC (WPXI). That could have been WAKR, but they opted for UHF and soldiered on as an second ABC affiliate for the market, at WEWS's dismay, but allowed them to take some levity in their schedule while WAKR generally cleared everything.
Ironically, the only part of WHIZ's original ownership is the 102.5 frequency, which originally served Zanesville as WHIZ-FM, but was moved to the exurbs of Columbus to become part of that market. It served as an automated country format, the new home of WWCD (after getting displaced from 101.1) and is now a hispanic station.
The current WHIZ-FM was sold to Marquee along with the other stations (AM & TV) as well.