WCBD-TV
Encyclopedia
WCBD-TV is the NBC
-affiliated television station
for the Lowcountry
area of South Carolina
licensed to Charleston
. It broadcasts a high definition
digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in Awendaw
. The station can also be seen on Time Warner
channel 2 as well as Knology
and Comcast
channel 3. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 432, Time Warner digital channel 1120, and Knology digital channel 903. Owned by Media General
, it has studios on West Coleman Boulevard (U.S. 701 Bus
/U.S. 17 Bus
/SC 703) in Mount Pleasant
. Syndicated
programming on WCBD includes: Jeopardy!
, Wheel of Fortune
, Oprah
, and Dr. Phil
.
, Knology channel 12, Comcast channel 14, and Time Warner digital channel 121 is the area's CW affiliate. Known on-air as Lowcountry CW, it gets all of its programming from The CW Plus
.
in Charleston and WBTW
in Florence
. The channel aired an analog signal on VHF channel 2 and was originally an NBC affiliate with secondary ABC
relations. The secondary status was with WCSC until 1962 when WTMA-TV (now WCIV
) signed-on and took the NBC affiliation. WUSN then became a full-time ABC affiliate. During the late-1950s, it was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
. In 1971, the station adopted its current call letters WCBD standing for Charleston
, Berkeley
, and Dorchester Counties (the three counties in the Charleston metropolitan area).
It remained the market
's ABC affiliate until August 1996 when the channel swapped affiliations with WCIV and became an NBC affiliate once again. This was a result of an affiliation deal between ABC and the Allbritton Communications Company
(WCIV's owner). Starting on September 18, 2006, the station began airing The CW on a new second digital subchannel
. WCBD-TV shut down its analog signal, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
. The station remained on its pre-transition channel 50 using PSIP to display WCBD-TV's virtual channel as 2.
WCBD spent most of the 1970s and 1980s in last place until Media General bought the station in 1983. Since then, it has been a runner-up to longtime leader WCSC. Like all CW Plus stations in the Eastern Time Zone
, WCBD-DT2 offers the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
on weekdays from 6 until 9. That station also repeats the main channel's weeknight 6 o'clock broadcast weeknights at 10. On weekdays, the secondary CW channel airs Daytime (produced at WCBD sister station WFLA-TV
) at 12 noon. WCBD is the only TV station in the Charleston, SC market doing newscasts in 4x3 standard definition.
Storm Team 2 Meteorologists
Reporters
Notable former staff
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
-affiliated television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
for the Lowcountry
South Carolina Lowcountry
The Lowcountry is a geographic and cultural region located along South Carolina's coast. The region includes the South Carolina Sea Islands...
area of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
licensed to Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. It broadcasts a high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter in Awendaw
Awendaw, South Carolina
Awendaw is a small fishing town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,195 at the 2000 census. As defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and used by the U.S...
. The station can also be seen on Time Warner
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
channel 2 as well as Knology
Knology
Knology Inc. is a cable company that formed in 1994 by ITC Holding Company, Inc, a telecommunications holding company in West Point, Georgia that also founded Internet service provider Mindspring. In late 1994, shortly after Knology's inception, two employees made a $600,000 investment to make...
and Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
channel 3. There is a high definition feed offered on Comcast digital channel 432, Time Warner digital channel 1120, and Knology digital channel 903. Owned by Media General
Media General
Media General, Inc. is a media company based in the Southeastern United States. Its major properties include newspapers such as The Tampa Tribune, the Winston-Salem Journal, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch, as well as numerous television stations, such as flagship station WFLA-TV.The company was...
, it has studios on West Coleman Boulevard (U.S. 701 Bus
U.S. Route 701
U.S. Route 701 is a spur of U.S. Route 1, although the two routes never intersect. However, using U.S. Route 301 or U.S. Route 501 would connect to U.S. Route 1. It runs 172 miles from Four Oaks, North Carolina at U.S. Route 301 to Georgetown, South Carolina at U.S. Route 17. It passes through...
/U.S. 17 Bus
U.S. Route 17 in South Carolina
In the U.S. state of South Carolina, U.S. Route 17 is a north–south highway located near the Atlantic Ocean. The route enters the state from Georgia at the Savannah River and serves Charleston and Myrtle Beach before entering North Carolina near Calabash.-Route description:US 17 enters into...
/SC 703) in Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
Mount Pleasant is a large affluent suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. It is a member of the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area, for statistical purpose only, as designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget....
. Syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
programming on WCBD includes: Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
, Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show)
Wheel of Fortune is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin, which premiered in 1975. Contestants compete to solve word puzzles, similar to those used in Hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel. The title refers to the show's giant carnival wheel that...
, Oprah
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and Dr. Phil
Dr. Phil (TV series)
Dr. Phil is a reality/talk television show hosted by Phil McGraw. After McGraw's success with his segments on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Phil debuted on September 16, 2002...
.
Digital programming
On WCBD-DT2WCBD-DT2
WCBD-DT2 is the CW-affiliated television station for the Lowcountry area of South Carolina. The station is part of The CW Plus, a special CW feed that broadcasts on cable and/or over-the-air on a digital signal. It is a second digital subchannel of NBC affiliate WCBD-TV that is owned by Media General...
, Knology channel 12, Comcast channel 14, and Time Warner digital channel 121 is the area's CW affiliate. Known on-air as Lowcountry CW, it gets all of its programming from The CW Plus
The CW Plus
The CW Plus is a group of primarily digital sub-channels, analog, and non-broadcast cable television outlets for the CW Television Network, for markets below the top 99 television media markets in the United States....
.
| Channel | Video | Aspect Aspect ratio The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,... |
Programming |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | 1080i 1080i 1080i is the shorthand name for a high-definition television mode. The i means interlaced video; 1080i differs from 1080p, in which the p stands for progressive scan. The term 1080i assumes a widescreen aspect ratio of 16:9, implying a frame size of 1920×1080 pixels... |
16:9 16:9 16:9 is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9. Since 2009, it has become the most common aspect ratio for sold televisions and computer monitors and is also the international standard format of HDTV, Full HD, non-HD digital television and analog widescreen television ... |
Main WCBD programming / NBC |
| 2.2 | 480i 480i 480i is the shorthand name for a video mode, namely the US NTSC television system or digital television systems with the same characteristics. The i, which is sometimes uppercase, stands for interlaced, the 480 for a vertical frame resolution of 480 lines containing picture information; while NTSC... |
4:3 | Lowcountry CW |
History
The station signed-on as WUSN-TV on September 25, 1954. It was the third-oldest station in the state behind WCSC-TVWCSC-TV
WCSC-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for South Carolina's Lowcountry area licensed to Charleston. Its broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 47 from a transmitter in Awendaw. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 5 as well as Comcast and Knology...
in Charleston and WBTW
WBTW
WBTW is the CBS-affiliated television station for the Pee Dee and Grand Strand areas of South Carolina that is licensed to Florence. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 13 from a transmitter southeast of Dillon on Pee Dee Church Road. Owned by Media General, the station...
in Florence
Florence, South Carolina
-Municipal government and politics:The City of Florence has a council-manager form of government. The mayor and city council are elected every four years, with no term limits...
. The channel aired an analog signal on VHF channel 2 and was originally an NBC affiliate with secondary ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
relations. The secondary status was with WCSC until 1962 when WTMA-TV (now WCIV
WCIV
WCIV is the ABC-affiliated television station for the Lowcountry area of South Carolina licensed to Charleston. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in Awendaw. The station can also be seen on Time Warner channel 4 as well as Comcast and Knology...
) signed-on and took the NBC affiliation. WUSN then became a full-time ABC affiliate. During the late-1950s, it was also briefly affiliated with the NTA Film Network
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios...
. In 1971, the station adopted its current call letters WCBD standing for Charleston
Charleston County, South Carolina
Charleston County is a county located in the U.S. state of South Carolina. According to a 2005 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, its population was 330,368. Its county seat is Charleston. It is the third-most populous county in the state . Charleston County was created in 1901 by an act of the South...
, Berkeley
Berkeley County, South Carolina
Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. In 2000, its population was 142,651. The 2005 Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 151,673. Its county seat is Moncks Corner....
, and Dorchester Counties (the three counties in the Charleston metropolitan area).
It remained the market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
's ABC affiliate until August 1996 when the channel swapped affiliations with WCIV and became an NBC affiliate once again. This was a result of an affiliation deal between ABC and the Allbritton Communications Company
Allbritton Communications Company
The Allbritton Communications Company is an owner of television stations and other media, based in Arlington, Virginia. All of its stations are affiliated with ABC after signing an affiliation agreement in 1997.-Currently owned:...
(WCIV's owner). Starting on September 18, 2006, the station began airing The CW on a new second digital subchannel
Digital subchannel
In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a means to transmit more than one independent program at the same time from the same digital radio or digital television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compression techniques to reduce the size of each individual...
. WCBD-TV shut down its analog signal, on June 12, 2009, as part of the DTV transition in the United States
DTV transition in the United States
The DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
. The station remained on its pre-transition channel 50 using PSIP to display WCBD-TV's virtual channel as 2.
Newscasts
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
, WCBD-DT2 offers the nationally syndicated morning show The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz
The Daily Buzz is a nationally syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. The show is produced by Fisher Communications and is owned and distributed by ACME Communications; it is broadcast every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida...
on weekdays from 6 until 9. That station also repeats the main channel's weeknight 6 o'clock broadcast weeknights at 10. On weekdays, the secondary CW channel airs Daytime (produced at WCBD sister station WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV
WFLA-TV, virtual channel 8, is the NBC-affiliated television station in Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida. The station is the flagship station of its owner and operator, Media General. Its transmitter is located in Riverview, Hillsborough County, Florida. WFLA is the only station in the market to be...
) at 12 noon. WCBD is the only TV station in the Charleston, SC market doing newscasts in 4x3 standard definition.
News team
Anchors- Brad Franko - weekday morning news and noon
- Octavia Mitchell - weekday morning news
- Carolyn Murray - weeknight news and medical reporter
- Brendan Clark - weeknight news
- Larry Collins - weekend anchor
- Andy Wontor - weekend sports
Storm Team 2 Meteorologists
- Rob FowlerRob FowlerFor the curler, see Rob Fowler Rob Fowler is a meteorologist in the South Carolina Lowcountry, and chief meteorologist for WCBD-TV. Fowler is married with three children: Trey,Kylie,and Tate.- Meteorologist with WCBD :...
(NWANational Weather AssociationThe National Weather Association is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities...
and AMSAmerican Meteorological SocietyThe American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...
Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights and heard on WLTQWLTQ (AM)WLTQ is a radio station licensed to Charleston, South Carolina, USA. The format is Catholic talk, with some programming shared with nearby WQIZ.-History:...
-AM 730, WSCC-FMWSCC-FMWSCC-FM , also known as "News Radio 94.3 WSC", is a radio station located in Charleston, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to the nearby community of Goose Creek and broadcasts on 94.3 FM with a effective radiated power of 25 kW.-History:94.3...
94.3, WALCWALCWALC is a radio station located in Charleston, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast with 13.5 kW on 100.5 FM...
-FM 100.5, WXLYWXLYWXLY is a radio station in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Owned by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasting at 102.5 FM, the station airs an adult contemporary format using the brand name Y102.5 and the slogan "Songs you can sing along with."- History :102.5 signed on the air July 17, 1962...
-FM 102.5, WEZLWEZLWEZL is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Charleston, South Carolina, USA, the station is currently owned by Clear Channel Communications....
-FM 103.5, and WRFQ-FM 104.5 - Josh Marthers (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and noon.
- Kyle Dennis - weekends
Reporters
- Matt Bise
- Larry Collins - "Problem Solver"
- Haley Hernandez
- Laura Hettiger
- Raymond Owens
- Rebecca Ryan
- Andy Wontor
Notable former staff
- Amy RobachAmy RobachAmy Joanne Robach is a national correspondent for NBC's Today, as well as the co-anchor of their Saturday edition.-Biography:...
- now anchor of Weekend TodayWeekend TodayWeekend Today is the unofficial title of the weekend editions of Today, an American morning news and talk show which airs daily on NBC.-History:... - Jon RobinsonJon Robinson (announcer)Jon Robinson was a longtime radio and television personality in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was also the public address announcer for the NFL's Carolina Panthers from the team's inception in 1995 until midway through the 2009 season...
- 2004–2006