WSPA-TV

WSPA-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Asheville, North Carolina–licensed CW station WYCW (channel 62). The station and WYCW share studios on International Drive in Spartanburg, and both broadcast from an antenna on Hogback Mountain.

WSPA-TV began broadcasting in April 1956. It was owned by the locally based Spartan Radiocasting Company for more than four decades and was a CBS affiliate from the start. The station's original studios in downtown Spartanburg were destroyed by fire in 1960, and it later built its current facilities in 1979. The station has had strong local news ratings over the years.

Early years

When the Federal Communications Commission ended a pause on new TV stations in 1952, it decided that channel 7 would go to Spartanburg, not the state capital, Columbia. Two local radio station owners wanted this channel. Walter J. Brown, who owned one of these radio stations, worked hard to make sure Spartanburg got the channel. The two owners eventually made a deal, and the new TV station got the call sign WSPA-TV.

First, the station was supposed to be built on Hogback Mountain. But to get TV to Spartanburg faster, the FCC let them use a temporary location on Paris Mountain closer to Greenville. Some other TV stations worried this would hurt their business. After many arguments and court cases, the FCC finally decided the station could stay on Paris Mountain temporarily. But later, the FCC said the station had to move to Hogback Mountain. In 1963, the station moved, and they added smaller transmitters to reach areas that couldn’t see the main signal.

Spartan ownership (1956–2000)

WSPA-TV started broadcasting in 1956 and initially showed programs for only part of the day. It also created fun local shows that people in the area could watch.

In 1960, a big fire damaged the station's old building, but the station kept broadcasting with help from other stations. They quickly moved into a new studio and improved it over time. In 1979, WSPA-TV moved to a larger building near major roads. The company behind the station changed its name in 1995. In the late 1990s, the station worked with other local stations to bring more programming to nearby areas.

Media General and Nexstar ownership

On December 8, 1999, Spartan Communications was bought by Media General for $605 million. This helped Media General grow its group of TV stations in the Southeast.

In 2009, WSPA's digital tower on Hogback Mountain fell down during a storm. The station used another station’s signal until a new tower was built. Later, in 2015, Media General planned to buy another company but the deal did not happen. Instead, Media General was bought by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group in 2017.

News operation

In the Greenville–Spartanburg–Asheville area, people watch news from different cities, so WSPA-TV's viewers are mostly in and around Spartanburg. The station focuses on stories from Upstate South Carolina. While another station, WYFF, usually has more viewers, WSPA has often been a close competitor, especially for viewers in Upstate areas. In 2007, WSPA even had more viewers than WYFF during evening news for the first time.

WSPA-TV has news offices in Greenville, including a studio that opened in 2017. The station also produces a lifestyle show called Your Carolina from this Greenville studio.

Greenville studio

WSPA-TV has helped other stations with their news programs. From 1996 to 1999, it made a 10 p.m. newscast for WHNS. Since 2002, WSPA has provided news for WASV-TV/WYCW, and in 2022, this newscast was extended to a full hour.

Notable former on-air staff

Mike Gallagher — editorial commentator, 1992–1994
Leeza Gibbons – anchor and reporter, 1978–1979
Jane Robelot – anchor and reporter, 1983–1990
Sibila Vargas – anchor, since 2016

Technical information

Subchannels

The WSPA-TV and WYCW transmitter is located on Hogback Mountain in northeastern Greenville County, South Carolina.

Broadcast on behalf of another station

Translators

WSPA-TV’s signal is also shown on these additional stations, mostly in North Carolina:

Subchannels of WSPA-TV and WYCW
License	Channel	Res.	Short name	Programming
WSPA-TV	7.1	1080i	WSPA-HD	CBS
	7.3	480i	ION	Ion Television
	40.2	480i	TBD	Charge! (WMYA-TV)
WYCW	62.1	1080i	WYCW-HD	The CW
WYCW	62.3	480i	REWIND	Rewind TV