Which Local TV News Actually Covers Your Part of South Carolina?

Trying to keep up with weather alerts, school delays, and county meetings means knowing which local newscast is built for your part of the state and when it’s on. Here’s how South Carolina’s local TV news breaks down by market, what each outlet reliably puts on the air every day, and where you can watch without a cable login.

Upstate: Greenville–Spartanburg–Anderson (and Asheville spillover)

Two operations set the daily pace here. FOX Carolina (WHNS 21) runs one of the state’s longest live blocks. Its posted weekday schedule lists The Morning News from 4:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., a midday hour from 11 a.m. to noon, afternoon newscasts at 4 p.m., 5 p.m., and 6 p.m., plus 10 p.m. every night and an 11 p.m. weekday wrap. Those live shows stream free on the station’s site and apps when they’re on; between newscasts, the stream flips to a 24/7 national local-news feed, so you’ll still see live reporting even outside those hours.

WYFF News 4 (NBC) remains the legacy operation in Greenville and added a new 7 p.m. local newscast in late August 2026. That show airs on WYFF’s CBS subchannel (virtual 4.3) and leads straight into the CBS network lineup on that same 4.3 channel Monday through Friday. If you watch over the air in the Upstate, that entire 4.3 lineup is free once you rescan, and the main WYFF channel continues as NBC at the same time. For contact or newsroom visits, the station lists its studio at 505 Rutherford Street, Greenville, SC 29609.

Coverage along the Blue Ridge and into Oconee, Pickens, Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and Cherokee often overlaps with WLOS (ABC 13) out of Asheville. That station’s beat regularly includes Upstate jurisdictions, which is why you’ll see cross-border weather and traffic items in morning and evening blocks. For pure Upstate planning though, WHNS’s long morning window and WYFF’s evening blocks are the day’s anchors.

Practical angle for cord-cutters in the Upstate: WHNS’s full slate above streams free during the posted times, and WYFF’s new 7 p.m. on 4.3 is free over the air. If you rely on a streaming stick, a flat indoor antenna under $30 commonly picks up Greenville’s full-power signals around the city core; your mileage outside the city depends on terrain and distance, but the over-the-air route remains the only option that’s both free and carries the exact local lineup in-market.

Midlands: Columbia’s morning extensions and prime-time fill

Columbia’s lineup spreads across main channels and subchannels. WIS News 10 simulcasts on Columbia’s CW and spells out exactly when it’s there: 7–8 a.m., 8–9 a.m., a 12–1 p.m. midday, and 10–11 p.m. nightly on channel 10.2 in addition to its NBC shows on 10.1. That means if you need a 10 p.m. local wrap without waiting for 11, you can flip to 10.2 over the air or find The CW on your live-TV provider. WIS lists its newsroom at 1111 Bull St., Columbia, SC 29201 for viewer contact, and it maintains a separate First Alert Weather app for the Midlands with push alerts.

WLTX News19 (CBS 19) emphasizes streaming access through its News19 app. The station’s streaming page spells out that you can watch live video during active events without a cable login, and the app is free to download. WLTX also runs mid-morning local news on weekdays, so if your workday starts after a school drop-off, you can usually catch a full late-morning newscast on the station’s digital platforms while it airs on 19.1.

WOLO (ABC Columbia) fills the ABC side and posts its newsroom contacts publicly; the operation runs standard morning, early evening, and late news blocks and has continued to hire for a 6 p.m. producer slot, a signal that the traditional local dinner-hour program remains staffed in-house. For prime-time local news in the market without staying up to 11, WACH FOX runs an earlier evening newscast and a 10 p.m. program on 57.1, and its news app streams live newscasts during those hours at no cost.

One more Midlands detail that’s statewide-useful: public media. South Carolina ETV and South Carolina Public Radio operate from 1041 George Rogers Blvd., Columbia, SC 29201. SC Public Radio carries Morning Edition 5–9 a.m. weekdays, and SCETV’s engineering line answers outage calls Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. If you want on-demand PBS and ETV programs, SCETV Passport is available to donors at $6.25/month or $75/year, which unlocks extended streaming libraries while the over-the-air SCETV channels remain free.

Lowcountry: Charleston’s tri-county coverage and free 24/7 streams

In Charleston, Live 5 WCSC (CBS 5) is explicit about how to watch online. When the station is live on TV, the website and app carry that show in real time; when it isn’t, the livestream switches to Local News Live so you still get continuous news. WCSC also runs a dedicated free streaming app called Live 5+ on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and mobile. The station lists its address for viewer contact and business hours at 2126 Charlie Hall Blvd., Charleston, SC 29414, with a newsroom phone of 843-402-5755 for tips and questions.

WCBD News 2 (NBC) continues its daily morning, evening, and late newscasts for the Charleston DMA, while ABC News 4 (WCIV) posts a live schedule that includes ABC News 4 at 5 and a full late block on weeknights. If you want a 10 p.m. newscast, FOX 24 WTAT runs one nightly and keeps a schedule page that confirms an additional local half-hour at 6:30 p.m. The Charleston cluster also makes heavy use of free streaming: WCIV and WCSC publish app-based viewing that doesn’t require a pay-TV login, which is useful when tropical weather closes in and you need a backup to over-the-air reception.

An operational note you can use on storm days: both Gray- and Sinclair-owned newsrooms in the market program special weather streams on their apps during extended coverage windows. Live 5 has stood up a 24/7 weather stream alongside its main channel on big weather weeks, and ABC News 4 keeps its live page active with a daily schedule so viewers can match a time to a platform quickly.

Grand Strand and Pee Dee: Myrtle Beach–Florence’s 10 p.m. shows and 24/7 feeds

The Myrtle Beach–Florence market is a four-way split among WMBF News (NBC 32), WBTW News 13 (CBS 13), WPDE ABC 15, and WFXB FOX 43. WMBF’s live page states that when the station isn’t on the air, its stream flips to Local News Live, mirroring the Charleston setup. WFXB maintains a dedicated “Watch Live” page for its local newscasts, and WPDE’s live page routinely lists the current hour’s local block such as “latest local headlines at 7:30 a.m..”

If you want a guaranteed 10 p.m. local newscast in this DMA, you’ll find it on WFXB on 43.1. NBC and CBS both keep late news at 11 p.m., with WMBF leading into its prime-time NBC block and WBTW pairing CBS primetime with local headlines and sports at 11. WBTW and WPDE both offer free mobile apps that push breaking news and livestream the newscasts when they’re on. For viewers in Horry County who split time between over-the-air and streaming, WMBF’s 24/7 streaming channel and WFXB’s live page are the fastest way to get a local broadcast in minutes without logging in.

Because this market sprawls across coastal and inland counties, radar and weather brand matters here. WMBF and WBTW both publish First Alert upgrades and “First Alert Weather Day” advisories in-app, which translates to longer streaming windows, additional digital-only live hits, and frequent push alerts on days when pop-up storms flood roads along U.S. 17 or I-95.

Statewide public media and border overlap that actually changes your options

SCETV’s statewide PBS network and SC Public Radio add daily news you can plan around. The Columbia headquarters at 1041 George Rogers Blvd. fields calls to engineering on weekdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and publishes a nightly TV schedule for ETV and ETV World. SCETV’s live channel on the PBS app is free to watch, and the SCETV Passport benefit at $6.25/month or $75/year is the route to extended on-demand series.

Border markets also matter. Viewers in Beaufort and Jasper often use Savannah stations for network primetime and morning news, while northern Upstate fringe homes sometimes pick up Asheville or even Charlotte signals. The practical step is the same statewide: check the station’s live page or app listing before a weather day, because every outlet above runs a free live stream while their local newscast is on. Between shows, many flip to a 24/7 news feed, which is helpful but not a substitute for tornado warning cut-ins or county-commission coverage you’re expecting at a specific time.

Side-by-side: when, where, and how to watch

Quick things that change your choice day to day

• If you need a 10 p.m. local newscast: WIS runs one on 10.2 in Columbia, WTAT does in Charleston, and WFXB does in Myrtle Beach–Florence. Those are free over the air and typically stream free while live.
• For continuous video when a station isn’t live: WCSC and WMBF state that their players switch to Local News Live between newscasts, so there’s always something on-screen without a login.
• Public media for statewide context: SC Public Radio’s 5–9 a.m. weekday block is a fixed habit. For on-demand PBS, SCETV Passport at $6.25/month or $75/year opens extended libraries while regular SCETV remains free over the air.
• Hands-on help: SCETV’s engineering line takes outage calls Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and several commercial stations list newsroom phone numbers publicly. WCSC’s is 843-402-5755, and WYFF publishes 505 Rutherford St., Greenville for studio contact.

Reader Q&A

Where can I watch local TV news in the Upstate without cable?

WHNS posts a free live stream during its listed newscasts, including mornings from 4:30–10 a.m. and nights at 10 and 11. WYFF’s main NBC channel and the new CBS subchannel (4.3) are free over the air, and the new 7 p.m. WYFF newscast runs on 4.3 weeknights.

I need a 10 p.m. newscast in Columbia. What channel is it on?

WIS lists “Columbia’s 10 p.m. News” from 10–11 p.m. on its CW subchannel 10.2. That’s in addition to NBC programming on 10.1, so you can choose the earlier local wrap on 10.2 without waiting for 11 p.m.

Is there a truly free way to watch Charleston local news on a TV streaming device?

Yes. Live 5 WCSC offers the Live 5+ app free on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. When the station isn’t live on TV, its player switches to Local News Live, so you still have video news around the clock.

What’s the paid option for PBS shows in South Carolina, and does it affect live TV?

SCETV Passport unlocks extended on-demand libraries at $6.25/month or $75/year. It doesn’t change the live SCETV channels, which remain free over the air. Passport is a donor benefit for extra streaming access.

To narrow your choice, match your daily window to the outlets that publish exact hours: Upstate mornings fit WHNS’s 4:30–10 a.m. span, Columbia’s earlier nights line up on 10.2, and Charleston’s Live 5+ keeps a free stream up even between shows. If severe weather is in the forecast, add each station’s app now so you’re not downloading in the dark.

Published: September 7, 2026