About WCBD News 2
News 2 has been the station the Lowcountry counts on for nearly 70 years. We’ve been through many changes over this time, but our commitment to the communities we serve has never wavered.
Part of that commitment is to keep our viewers safe during severe weather. Storm Team 2 is led by Chief Meteorologist Rob Fowler. He’s been forecasting here for more than 35 years. In fact, he was here when Hurricane Hugo made its mark on the South Carolina coast in 1989. In addition to the expertise of Rob and his team, we are also the only station in town with VIPIR radar, the nation’s leading weather technology.
We are proud partners of organizations such as Toys for Tots, American Cancer Society, Carolina Children’s Charity, the Red Cross, Camp Happy Days and more. In addition to supporting local non-profits, you’ll often find our people out making school visits, attending fundraisers, or taking part in the many parades that happen around the Lowcountry. We are the only local TV station to broadcast Charleston’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade.
We do our part to help pets, too. Every weekday a representative from a local animal shelter visits News 2 Midday for Pets on 2, bringing with them an animal in need of a loving home. And every August we put on Clear the Shelters, an initiative with our parent company Nexstar Media and the NBC Network. This push leads to the adoption of thousands of pets in the Lowcountry. It’s no surprise that we have such a fondness for helping animals. Did you know that at one time, we had a pet elephant named Suzie Q on our grounds? Find out more about her in the section below.
Our main station, digital channel 2.1, is an NBC affiliate, but this was not always so. Prior to 1996, WCBD-TV was an ABC affiliate. We are also home to the Lowcountry CW, at 2.2, the only place where you’ll find LIV golf in the Lowcountry. We also have Ion on 2.3 and Laff on 2.4.
The News 2 studio is located at the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge in Mount Pleasant, SC. It’s a total 33,000 square feet and contains a state-of-the-art broadcast and streaming facility, specifically designed to deal with the weather extremes in our area. Our main tower (2000’) is located in Awendaw where we operate our main transmitter at an effective operating power of 780 thousand watts. We also have a backup transmitter located at our Studio in Mt. Pleasant. This antenna is on our 718-foot tower at the studio. While our current building has been here since 2001, we’ve been in this same spot since the beginning. And in the beginning, we actually signed on as WUSN-TV. But in 1971, we became known by the call letters you know us by today, WCBD-TV. These stand for the three main counties we serve: Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester.
The Legend of Susie Q
Did you know we once had a pet elephant? It’s one of the great head-scratchers in local television history. An elephant as a station mascot. Channel 2 not only had one, but she lived right here on the station grounds. Her name was Susie Q.
The beloved elephant came to the station for one simple reason: the station manager thought it would be a good idea to have an elephant, so he bought one. Susie Q provided years of enjoyment for people in the Lowcountry. Parents would bring their children to the station to ride on Susie’s back.
