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 805, 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.
 
| |
| Charleston, South Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Branding | News 2
Lowcountry CW (on DT2) |
| Slogan | Count on News 2 |
| Channels | Digital: 50 (UHF)Virtual: 2 (PSIP) |
| Subchannels | 2.1 NBC2.2The CW |
| Owner | Media General
(Media General Communications Holdings, LLC) |
| First air date | September 25, 1954 |
| Call letters' meaning | Charleston/Berkeley/Dorchester (three counties in Charleston metro) |
| Sister station(s) | WSPA-TV, WYCW,WJBF/WAGT, WSAV-TV,WBTW |
| Former callsigns | WUSN-TV (1954-1975) |
| Former channel number(s) | Analog:
2 (1954-2009) |
| Former affiliations | NBC (primary, 1954-1962)
ABC (secondary 1954-1962; primary, 1962-1996) |
| Transmitter power | 1,000 kW |
| Height | 581 m |
| Facility ID | 10587 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 32°56′24.7″N79°41′43.5″W |
| Website | counton2.com |
Digital programming[]
On WCBD-DT2, Knology channel 12, Comcast channel 14, and Time Warner digital channel 807 is the area's CW affiliate. Known on-air as Lowcountry CW, it gets all of its programming from The CW Plus.
| Channels (virtual/physical) | Programming |
|---|---|
| 2.1/50.1 | main WCBD programming/NBC HD |
| 2.2/50.2 | WCBD-DT2 "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-TV 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 1975, 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. [1] The station remained on its pre-transition channel 50 [2] using PSIP to display WCBD-TV's virtual channel as 2.
Newscasts[]
News open seen every night at 6.
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 solid 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. [3] On weekdays, the main channel airs Daytime (produced at sister station WFLA-TV) after its midday show.
Newscast titles[]
- Channel 2 News (late 1970s–1982)
- TV-2 Eyewitness News (1982–1989)
- TV-2 Action News (1989–1997)
- News 2 (1997–present)
Station slogans[]
- "This is The Place to Be on TV-2"
- "Hello Lowcountry, Hello Channel 2" (1974-1975; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Welcome To The Bright New World on Channel 2" (1975-1976; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Let Us Be The One on Channel 2" (1976-1977; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "We're The One You Can Turn To, Channel 2" (1978-1979; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "You and Me and Channel 2" (1980-1981; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Now is the Time, Channel 2 is The Place" (1981-1982; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Come on Along with TV-2" (1982-1983; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "That Special Feeling on TV-2" (1983-1984; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "We`re With You on TV-2" (1984-1985; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "You`ll Love It on TV-2" (1985-1986; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Together on TV-2" (1986-1987; localized version of ABC ad campaign)
- "Something`s Happening on TV-2" (1987-1990; localized version of ABC campaign)
- "Lowcountry is Watching TV-2" (1990-1992; localized version of "America's Watching ABC" ad campaign)
- "Working Harder, Helping You" (early 1990s-1997)
- "If It`s The Lowcountry, It Must Be TV-2" (1992-1993; localized version of "It Must Be ABC" ad campaign)
- "Watched By More Lowcountry, TV-2, ABC"(1993-1996; final localized version of ABC ad campaign, before the switch to NBC in 1996)
- "TV-2, The Network Is You" (1996-1997; localized version of NBC ad campaign)
- "The Heart of the South Carolina Lowcountry" (1997–2006)
- "Count on News 2" (2006–present)
News team[]
Anchors
- Brad Franko - weekday morning news
- Octavia Mitchell - weekday morning and noon news
- Carolyn Murray - weeknight news and medical reporter
- Brendan Clark - weeknight news and Prep Zone Host
- Larry Collins- weekends
- Andy Wontor - weekend sports
Storm Team 2 Meteorologists
- Rob Fowler (NWA and AMS Seals of Approval) - Chief seen weeknights and heard on WLTQ-AM 730, WSCC-FM 94.3, WALC-FM 100.5, WXLY-FM 102.5, WEZL-FM 103.5, and WRFQ-FM 104.5
- Josh Marthers (AMS Seal of Approval) - weekday mornings and noon
- Joey Sovine - weekends
Reporters
- Larry Collins - "Problem Solver" segment producer
- Raymond Owens
- Cleve Bryan
- Rebecca Ryan
- Andy Wontor
Former on-air staff[]
|
|
References[]
- ^ "Require Prime Evening Time for NTA Films" ([dead link]), Boxoffice: 13, November 10, 1956, http://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_111056-1
- ^ http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-06-1082A2.pdf
- ^ CDBS Print