WCSC-TV began broadcasting on June 19, 1953. Originally operating from studios located on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston, it was the second television station in South Carolina and the oldest continuously broadcasting channel in the state (the first was WCOS-TV in Columbia, now WOLO-TV). It is the only station in Charleston to keep its original network affiliation since sign-on. The channel aired an analog signal on VHF channel 5 and was originally owned by WCSC, Inc., which was headed by the Rivers family, along with WCSC radio (AM 1390 now WSPO, and 96.9 FM now WIWF).
"You and TV-5, We've Got the Touch" ID (1984–1985)
"TV-5 Spirit" ID (1987–1988)
The Rivers family sold WCSC-TV to Crump Communications of Houston in 1987 while the radio stations were sold to Ralph Guild of New York City. Crump kept the station until they sold channel 5 to the Jefferson-Pilot Corporation in 1994.
1996–2003
2003–2008
Jefferson-Pilot merged with the Lincoln Financial Group in 2006 with its broadcast properties assuming the new corporate name of Lincoln Financial Media. On November 12, 2007, Lincoln Financial Media entered into an agreement to sell WCSC-TV and the company's two other television stations (WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina and WWBT in Richmond, Virginia) and Lincoln Financial Sports to Raycom Media for $583 million. Raycom took ownership of the station on April 1, 2008. This made channel 5 sister stations with WIS in Columbia, WTOC-TV in Savannah, Georgia and WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach. Between them, the four stations cover the eastern two-thirds of South Carolina.
2008–2011
Variant used from 2010-2011
2011–2019
On June 25, 2018, Gray Television announced its intent to acquire Raycom for $3.65 billion, pending regulatory approval. The sale was completed on January 2, 2019.
1Owned by Branson Visitors TV, Gray holds a 50.1% interest in the company. 2Owned by Schurz Communications, Gray operated KGHZ through an SSA. 3Gray operates this station owned by American Spirit Media. 4Gray operates this station owned by Tegna through an SSA. 5The E.W. Scripps Company operates this station through an SSA. 6Gray operates this station owned by Tougaloo College. 7Joint venture with Ryman Hospitality Properties. 8Gray operates this station owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting through an SSA.
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