WMBF-TV

WMBF-TV is a full-power television station licensed to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the NBC affiliate for the Grand Strand and Pee Dee regions. The station operates on digital channel 32 and is owned by Gray Media, which also owns low-power Telemundo affiliate WXIV-LD. WMBF-TV and WXIV-LD share the station group’s main facilities on Frontage Road East along U.S. 17 in Myrtle Beach. WMBF also maintains a secondary studio and news bureau on West Cheves Street in Florence, while its main transmitter is located on Flossie Road in Bucksville, South Carolina. The station was created to provide the Myrtle Beach–Florence market with an NBC affiliate located inside the market itself. Before WMBF-TV signed on, NBC programming and related local coverage were supplied through neighboring-market stations, especially WIS in Columbia and WECT in Wilmington. Those stations had long been available on regional cable systems, and WIS had operated a customized Florence-oriented cable feed with separate advertising activity. The launch of WMBF-TV gave NBC a dedicated local outlet for the rapidly growing Grand Strand while also strengthening local news competition in the market. The channel 32 allocation had a long prehistory. A proposal to add the channel to Myrtle Beach’s television allotments was filed in the 1980s, and the FCC initially selected a Conway-based group. That proposed station, which received the call sign WCRD, was never developed because its backers could not obtain financing. A later application by Cosmos Broadcasting, the broadcasting subsidiary of the Liberty Corporation and owner of WIS, was eventually granted a construction permit in 2005. Raycom Media acquired Liberty during the permit-development period and inherited the project. Raycom designed WMBF-TV as a digital-first station during the transition from analog broadcasting. Construction began after the facilities were approved in 2007, using a former SunCom building in Myrtle Beach. The station’s digital-only design was intended to improve NBC coverage after the shutdown of analog facilities serving the region and to let Raycom sell advertising directly in the Grand Strand. WMBF-TV’s transmitter began operating in late July 2008, and the station commenced programming shortly before midnight on August 7, 2008. NBC formally introduced the new affiliate during network programming the following day, and the station went on the air in time for coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Local news has been central to the WMBF brand from its launch. The station began with high-definition newscasts and live field reporting, making it an early technical leader within its ownership group. Its managers recruited several staff members with knowledge of the local area, emphasizing familiarity with the communities and geography of the market. WMBF later became the first local station in the market to introduce weekend morning newscasts, adding to its daily news schedule during the early 2010s. WMBF-TV’s over-the-air coverage is constrained by the transmitter’s location and technical requirements. The main signal does not reach large portions of the inland market, including much of Florence, the market’s second-largest city. To extend free over-the-air access, the station is carried through a group of low-power digital translators, including facilities serving Florence that remap to virtual channel 32. Cable, satellite, and digital streaming distribution remain important for reaching viewers beyond the main terrestrial signal. Raycom Media became part of Gray Television in January 2019 after Gray announced a merger valued at $3.6 billion in 2018. Through that transaction, WMBF-TV joined Gray’s national portfolio of local television stations. The station continues to operate as an NBC affiliate under the WMBF News identity, serving coastal and inland communities across northeastern South Carolina.

The origins of WMBF-TV lie in a long-running effort to add a television station on channel 32 in Myrtle Beach. In 1984, Moore Broadcast Industries asked the Federal Communications Commission to add the channel to the Myrtle Beach allotment table. The proposed facility had to be located southwest of the city to protect television allocations in North Carolina. Several groups expressed interest, but by late 1986 the FCC had selected Coastal Carolina Broadcasting Company, a group associated with residents of Conway. The proposed station received the call sign WCRD, although the project did not progress because the group was unable to secure financing. The allocation remained undeveloped for roughly a decade. In 1996, the FCC created a final opportunity for applicants seeking authority to construct new television stations before unused allotments could be considered for digital-television purposes. Cosmos Broadcasting applied for the Myrtle Beach channel. Cosmos was the broadcasting arm of the Liberty Corporation, whose station holdings included WIS in Columbia. The company eventually received the construction permit in October 2005. By that point, Liberty had agreed to be acquired by Raycom Media. The Raycom transaction, announced in 2005 and completed later, included the Myrtle Beach construction permit and brought WIS and WECT in Wilmington under common ownership. Those neighboring stations had supplied NBC programming to the Myrtle Beach area for many years. WIS had been available on the local cable system since the system’s early years, and WIS and Time Warner Cable had operated a customized Florence-oriented service known as WIS–Florence beginning in the 1990s. The new station was intended to replace that arrangement with a purpose-built, in-market NBC affiliate. The FCC approved WMBF’s facilities in early 2007. Raycom selected a former SunCom property on Frontage Road in Myrtle Beach for the station’s main operations and began construction later that year. The project served several strategic purposes. Myrtle Beach was experiencing substantial growth, creating a larger local advertising opportunity. The station would also provide NBC with a local outlet in a market that had previously relied on stations from Columbia and Wilmington. Because the station was built as a digital-only facility during the transition to digital broadcasting, it was also expected to help preserve NBC service after analog transmitters serving surrounding markets were shut down. WMBF’s transmitter became operational in late July 2008. The station began regular programming at 11:59 p.m. on August 7, 2008, and NBC promoted the launch during Today, NBC Nightly News, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. WMBF went on the air in time to carry the network’s coverage of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Its construction cost was reported as approximately $10 million, although this figure is not otherwise used here as a current financial measure. From its first broadcast, WMBF emphasized local news produced in high definition, including live reports from the field. The station recruited some early personnel with ties to the region, reflecting management’s view that local familiarity was important to its reporting mission. WMBF also became a technical reference point within Raycom because other stations consulted its staff during the conversion to high-definition news production. During the early 2010s, it introduced weekend morning newscasts, becoming the first local station in the market to offer that format. The station’s service area has always presented a coverage challenge. The main transmitter in Bucksville does not provide a strong over-the-air signal across much of the inland part of the market, including Florence. WMBF therefore relies on low-power translators to extend its channel 32 virtual-channel identity into inland communities. Four Florence-licensed digital translators have been associated with this service, and the translators are particularly useful to viewers who do not subscribe to cable or satellite television. In June 2018, Gray Television announced an agreement to merge with Raycom Media. The transaction, valued at $3.6 billion, was approved in December 2018 and completed on January 2, 2019. WMBF-TV consequently became part of Gray’s local broadcast group. In 2022, Gray also reached an agreement to acquire several low-power stations from Lowcountry 34 Media, including translators relevant to WMBF’s inland coverage. WMBF-TV remains an active NBC affiliate, combining network programming with local news, weather, digital reporting, and regional advertising.

1. 2022Additional low-power stations agreed for acquisition

   Gray agreed to acquire several low-power television stations, including translators serving portions of WMBF’s inland coverage area.

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2. 2019Raycom joins Gray

   Gray Television completed its acquisition of Raycom Media, bringing WMBF-TV into the Gray station group.

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3. 2010Weekend morning news expansion

   During the early 2010s, WMBF launched weekend morning newscasts and became the first local station in its market to offer them.

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4. 2008WMBF-TV signs on

   The station began broadcasting on August 7, 2008, becoming the first in-market NBC affiliate for Myrtle Beach and Florence.

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5. 2007Facilities approved and construction begins

   Raycom received approval for WMBF’s facilities and began building the station in a former SunCom property in Myrtle Beach.

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6. 2005Construction permit granted

   The FCC granted Liberty Corporation’s permit for the Myrtle Beach channel, which later passed to Raycom through its acquisition of Liberty.

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7. 1996Cosmos Broadcasting applies for the channel

   Cosmos Broadcasting submitted an application during the FCC’s final filing window for new television construction permits.

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8. 1986Coastal Carolina Broadcasting selected

   The FCC selected a Conway-based group to develop the proposed station, which was assigned the call sign WCRD but was never built.

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9. 1984Channel 32 proposed for Myrtle Beach

   Moore Broadcast Industries petitioned the FCC to add channel 32 to Myrtle Beach’s television allotments.

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Local broadcast news and NBC network affiliate serving the Myrtle Beach, Grand Strand, and Pee Dee communities, with a particular emphasis on regional news, weather, and accessible local reporting.

• WMBF NewsLocal television news2008

  The station’s core local-news service, covering Myrtle Beach, the Grand Strand, Florence, and surrounding Pee Dee communities. It includes scheduled newscasts, breaking-news reports, field coverage, investigations, community stories, and digital video distributed through the station’s website and related platforms.

• NBC affiliate programmingNetwork television2008

  WMBF-TV carries NBC’s entertainment, news, sports, and special-event programming for its designated South Carolina market. Its launch supplied a dedicated in-market NBC outlet where viewers had previously depended largely on stations from adjacent television markets.

• Local weather coverageBroadcast weather service2008

  Weather reporting is a prominent part of the station’s local-service proposition, particularly for coastal and inland communities exposed to tropical systems, severe thunderstorms, flooding, and other regional hazards. Coverage is delivered through scheduled broadcasts, live updates, and digital news channels.

• WMBF digital newsDigital journalism2008

  The WMBF News website extends the station’s broadcast operation with written stories, live-news updates, weather information, video, and other local content. It also supports audience reach beyond the station’s limited main over-the-air footprint.

• Channel 32 translator networkOver-the-air distribution

  A collection of low-power digital translators relays WMBF-TV’s virtual channel 32 service into inland portions of the market, including areas around Florence that are difficult to reach from the main Bucksville transmitter.

• 2022Acquire additional low-power translatorsM&A

  WMBF’s main transmitter does not adequately cover parts of the inland market, creating a need for translator facilities.

  What changed. Gray agreed to acquire W19FC-D, W35ED-D, and other low-power television stations from Lowcountry 34 Media.

  Aftermath. The proposed acquisition expanded Gray’s control of facilities capable of extending channel 32 service toward Florence and other inland communities.

  Purchase price. $3.75 million (2022 announced transaction)

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• 2019Join Gray Television through the Raycom acquisitionM&A

  Gray Television agreed to acquire Raycom Media in a large-scale station-group transaction.

  What changed. The transaction closed on January 2, 2019, transferring WMBF-TV to Gray’s ownership.

  Aftermath. WMBF-TV continued operating as a local NBC affiliate within Gray’s broadcast portfolio.

  Transaction value. $3.6 billion (2018 announced transaction)

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• 2008Launch WMBF-TV serviceProduct launch

  The station was created to replace reliance on adjacent-market NBC affiliates and to improve local coverage during the transition to digital broadcasting.

  What changed. WMBF-TV began programming shortly before midnight on August 7, 2008, with NBC network programming and locally produced high-definition newscasts.

  Aftermath. NBC obtained its first in-market affiliate for the region, while Raycom gained a dedicated Myrtle Beach advertising and news operation.

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• 2007Build a digital-first in-market NBC affiliateStrategy

  Myrtle Beach viewers had historically received NBC programming from stations based in neighboring markets, while the region’s population and advertising base were growing.

  What changed. Raycom developed WMBF-TV as a digital-only station with local studios, an NBC affiliation, and high-definition news production from launch.

  Aftermath. The station signed on in 2008 and became the dedicated NBC outlet for the Myrtle Beach–Florence market.

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• 2022Gray agrees to acquire additional low-power translators serving the WMBF market

  Lowcountry 34 Media reached an agreement to sell W19FC-D, W35ED-D, and other low-power television stations to Gray Television for $3.75 million. The translators help extend channel 32 service into inland portions of the market.

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• 2019Gray completes acquisition of Raycom Media

  The Raycom–Gray transaction received approval in December 2018 and closed on January 2, 2019, making WMBF-TV a Gray-owned station.

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• 2018Gray Television announces merger with Raycom Media

  Gray Television announced an agreement to combine with Raycom Media in a transaction valued at $3.6 billion. The deal ultimately transferred WMBF-TV into Gray’s station portfolio.

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• 2008WMBF-TV begins broadcasting as Myrtle Beach’s in-market NBC affiliate

  WMBF-TV launched its digital broadcast service in August 2008, replacing neighboring-market NBC distribution as the primary local NBC outlet for Myrtle Beach and Florence-area viewers.

  Product launch
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1. WMBF-TV
2. WMBF News official website