WACY-TV (channel 32) is an independent television station licensed to Appleton, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Green Bay area. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside NBC affiliate WGBA-TV (channel 26). The two stations share studios on North Road near Airport Drive/WIS 172 in the Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon; WACY-TV's transmitter is located in the Shirley section of Glenmore, Wisconsin.

The station first signed on the air on March 7, 1984, as WXGZ-TV, and was the first television station licensed to and based out of Appleton; it was originally owned by Appleton Midwestern Television. The station's original studio was located on North Marshall Road, southwest of the Interstate 41/WI 441 interchange on Appleton's north side. The Post-Crescent reported on January 31 that the station began operations by testing its signal, although it formally began programming on March 7. WXGZ originally operated as an independent station during its first three years, showing off-network sitcoms and other syndicated programming. On October 6, 1986, under the "Super 32" moniker, WXGZ became a charter affiliate of the Fox network. However, like most early Fox affiliates, the station continued to essentially program itself as an independent station. The network's only program at the time was the late night talk program The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers; prime time programming followed in 1987. After joining Fox, WXGZ became the first station in the Green Bay–Appleton television market to begin broadcasting in stereo.

A noted local personality on WXGZ was "Oscor the Clown" (played by Wayne Lowney), who served as the mascot of the WXGZ children's lineup and hosted a Sunday morning program starting in 1986 called Oscor's Place, a show whose major sponsor was Chuck E. Cheese's predecessor brand, ShowBiz Pizza Place. Outside of Fox programming, WXGZ was noteworthy for airing the successful first-run syndicated programs Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Arsenio Hall Show.

By November 1991, Appleton Midwestern Television ran into financial problems and declared bankruptcy. After an unsuccessful search for a new buyer for the station or more financing, WXGZ was forced to sign-off permanently on the night of February 14, 1992, ending its eight-year history with a half-hour retrospective featuring on-air and behind-the-scenes footage at the station. WXGZ staff announcer Ed Myers and general manager Roy Smith said the last of the station's goodbyes, after which WXGZ closed operations at midnight. The next morning, fellow independent station WGBA-TV (channel 26) became the market's new Fox affiliate, and acquired some of WXGZ's syndicated programming inventory (including Arsenio and Star Trek: The Next Generation).

After WXGZ's shut down, the station's license was left in the hands of a holding company from March to August 1992, at which point it was bought by Ace TV Incorporated, a corporation solely owned by Shirley A. Martin. Channel 32 remained off-the-air for two years with occasional word that the station intended to begin broadcasting again "in the near future".

WXGZ's license to operate was put back into use in June 1994. License holder Ace TV put WXGZ back on the air with the help of WGBA and its then-owner Aries Telecommunications, who arranged to put WXGZ on solid financial footing through the entrance of a local marketing agreement with Ace TV, allowing WGBA to operate and program WXGZ through its studios and sell advertising time for the station.

At the outset, programming on WXGZ (whose logo was an ace of spades as a nod to its owner) consisted of second-run airings of off-network reruns (including such series as Gunsmoke, St. Elsewhere and Newhart), along with select airings of Milwaukee Brewers baseball and Milwaukee Bucks basketball games (which WGBA previously aired but no longer had room to run due to its own commitments with Fox). By the fall of 1994, first-run syndicated programming would be included on WXGZ's schedule, including Family Feud and programming from the Prime Time Entertainment Network syndication service. On January 16, 1995, WXGZ became a charter affiliate of the United Paramount Network (UPN). The station also maintained a secondary affiliation with The WB for the network's first four years before WIWB (channel 14, now WCWF) became the Green Bay market's WB affiliate in June 1999.

By August 1995, the station – which would change its call sign that month to WACY-TV – benefited from WGBA's affiliation switch to NBC (due to WLUK-TV, channel 11, joining Fox). With WGBA now committed to NBC and its programming lineup, programs that WGBA no longer had room to broadcast were moved over to WACY, including some syndicated programming (most notably reruns of The Simpsons) and daytime children's programming. With this move, WACY adopted the "WACkY 32" branding for its kids' lineup (running roughly 6–11 a.m. and 1–5 p.m.), which over the years would include Garfield and Friends, Scooby-Doo, Dennis the Menace, Pokémon, Sailor Moon and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog; programs from the UPN Kids, BKN and The Disney Afternoon blocks (as well as from Kids' WB as the Green Bay television market did not have a full-time WB affiliate); and educational and informational-compliant programs like The New Zoo Revue. The live character "Cuddles the Clown" provided host continuity for "WACkY 32" programming. The station's children's lineup would dwindle over the years, thanks in part to increased cable competition from cable channels such as Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon and the decreased financial justification of airing a more-than-necessary amount of children's programming, although it would continue to air UPN's Disney's One Too until the network discontinued its daily children's block in 2003. After that, WACY would rely on general syndicated entertainment and infomercials for its daytime lineup.