NTIA / PTFP: Public Broadcasting Coverage

SOUTH CAROLINA


State population (2000 census)		4,012,012

Population receiving a FM public radio signal		3,897,433	97.1%
(from both in and out-of-state stations)
Population in uncovered FM areas		114,579

Stations in State	FM stations	10
	FM translators	1
	AM stations	0

1989 PTFP Study:	Population receiving a
	FM public radio signal	2,920,000	94%

Broadcast Coverage Maps

FM Stations - Detail FM Stations - Printable

AM Stations - Detail AM Stations - Printable

Public Radio Stations in State

Main stations in bold followed by associated repeaters and translators
Facilities in italics operated by out‑of‑state broadcasters
Location in ( ) - actual location of transmitting facilities
N - New facility since 1989 study # - Station now meets study criteria

FM Stations

WACG ¹
90.7
Augusta, GA    WHMC
90.1
Conway

(Aiken, SC)    WEPR
90.1
Greenville

WLTR
91.3
Columbia    WNSC
88.9
Rock Hill

   WLJK N
89.1
Aiken    WRJA
88.1
Sumter

   WJWJ
89.9
Beaufort W247AB² N
97.3
Greenville

   WSCI
89.3
Charleston WSSB
90.3
Orangeburg

AM Stations
None
¹ Operated by WJSP, Warm Springs, GA.
²Operated by WNCW, Spindale, NC.

General Comments
South Carolina is served by a statewide public radio network operated by the South Carolina Educational Television Commission (SCETC), which also operates the state's public television system. SCETC operates eight stations which provide three different programming services to different portions of the state. A ninth station is licensed to a South Carolina educational institution. Residents of Aiken receive public radio from multiple sources, one of which is from a station located near Aiken but licensed to Augusta, GA. Residents of Greenville receive programming from SCETC and a translator operated by WNCW Spindale, North Carolina.
FM Service
Since the 1989 PTFP study, South Carolina's state network added one station, WLJK at Aiken. Public broadcasters have increased the percentage of South Carolina's population receiving a public radio signal from 94% in 1989 to 97.1% currently. The total number of unserved residents decreased from 202,000 in 1989 to 114, 579.
AM Service
Residents of the southeast coast of South Carolina can receive WWOI, the AM public radio station located in St. Marys, Georgia.
Service from Adjacent States
In addition to the facilities in South Carolina operated by Georgia and North Carolina public broadcasters, South Carolina residents also receive radio signals from several stations in each of those states.
Unserved Areas
Region A
About 32,000 residents of the west-central part of the state along the Georgia border, between stations in Aiken and Greenville, receive spotty coverage or no coverage at all. These people reside in Abbeville (5,273), Greenwood (8,567), McCormick (3,115), Saluda (4,102) Newberry (5,151) and Oconee (5,882) counties. Sumter National Forest occupies large portions of these counties.
Region B
Three counties in the northeast part of the state along the border with North Carolina are home to more than half of the unserved population of South Carolina. Approximately 73,000 people who reside in Chesterfield (24,568), Marlboro (25,044), and Dillon (23,258) counties have no access to a public radio signal in their communities. A channel 6 television station in North Carolina will negatively impact any future efforts to provide coverage to these unserved areas of South Carolina.