WWMB

callsign	WWMB
city	Florence, South Carolina
atsc3	yes
digital	26 (UHF)
virtual	21
affiliations	21.1: Roar for others, see
founded	June 17, 1989
airdate	September 21, 1994
location	Florence–Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Lumberton, North Carolina
country	United States
callsign meaning	"We're Myrtle Beach"‡R1R‡
former callsigns	WFIL (1989–1990) WGRS (1990–1994)
former channel numbers	Analog: 21 (UHF, 1994–2009) Digital: 20 (UHF, 2006–2009), 21 (UHF, 2009–2019)
owner	Sinclair Broadcast Group
licensee	WWMB Licensee, LLC
sister stations	WPDE-TV
former affiliations	Independent (1994–1995) UPN (1995–2006) The CW (2006–2021) Dabl (2021–2025, now on 21.4)
erp	655 kW
haat	581 m
facility id	3133
coordinates	34.3675°N, -79.33°W
licensing authority	FCC

WWMB (channel 21) is a television station licensed to Florence, South Carolina, United States, serving the Pee Dee and Grand Strand regions of South Carolina with programming from the digital multicast network Roar. It is owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside dual ABC/CW affiliate WPDE-TV (channel 15, also licensed to Florence). The two stations share studios on University Boulevard in Conway; WWMB's transmitter is located on Pee Dee Church Road in Floydale, South Carolina.

History

WWMB went on the air September 21, 1994, as an independent station. It was owned by Atlantic Media Group, but operated by Diversified Communications, then-owner of WPDE, under an LMA. It joined UPN as a charter affiliate on January 16, 1995. By 1999, WWMB was airing Access Hollywood starring Myrtle Beach native Nancy O'Dell.[2]

Newscasts

In 1996, WWMB began airing the market's first prime time news on weeknights. Produced by WPDE, the show aired for thirty minutes and was originally called NewsChannel 15 at 10 on TV 21. It was initially anchored by Steve Hawley until late-1996 when he left the station. The program was then alternately hosted by Dave Gilbert and Tiffany Cochran. After the latter personality departed WPDE and Gilbert died in 1997, the show was renamed UPN 21 News at 10 and anchored by Leo Stallworth (later Audra Grant) until its cancellation in 2000.

In 2003, WPDE introduced another prime time newscast on WWMB under the title WPDE NewsChannel 15 at 10 on UPN. Now airing every night, it was anchored on weeknights by Jim Heath. The second generation of the show featured interactive segments such as "Say What?" and "Quick Hits" in a more fast-paced format. WWMB first got competition in 2004, when Fox affiliate WFXB entered into a news share agreement with WBTW. This partnership resulted in the area's second prime time broadcast at 10 seen weeknights for a half-hour. On September 18, 2006, with the launch of The CW, WPDE's production on WWMB changed its name to NewsChannel 15 at 10 on CW 21 and featured an updated graphics theme.

There was a further expansion of local newscasts in 2007 when WPDE added a third hour of its weekday Good Morning Carolinas broadcast to WWMB. This was seen from 7 to 8 a.m. and was the first local show to debut in the time slot and partially air against the national weekday morning show seen on the big three networks. For an unknown reason, the production was ultimately dropped.

On January 26, 2009, days after anchor Jim Heath left WPDE, WWMB's nightly 10 o'clock show was canceled. A repeat of NewsChannel 15 at 7 was subsequently added in its place on weeknights with live weather updates. Eventually, this program was dropped as well. WWMB airs a rebroadcast of WPDE's Carolina & Company Live in the weeknight 10:30 p.m. time slot. On August 19, 2013, WPDE revived the prime time newscast on WWMB called ABC 15 News on CW21 at 10pm.[9] As of 2020, WWMB no longer airs a newscast, opting to air syndicated programming in its place.

WWMB

History

Newscasts

Subchannels

ATSC 3.0

References