About Live 5 WCSC - Live5News.com | Charleston, SC | News, Weather, Sports

Live 5 WCSC is the oldest continuously-broadcasting television station in South Carolina, and is the number one station in the Lowcountry. 

WCSC-TV signed on for the first time on June 19, 1953, as the late Charlie Hall spoke the now-famous words, “Channel 5 is now alive!”

MOBILE USERS: Click here for historic photos.

Our original studios were located on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston.   From that location, WCSC-TV offered local and network programming.  One of the most popular shows from the early days, and one we still get a lot of mail about, was The Happy Raine Show, a kids program.

Over the years, Live 5 WCSC marked many firsts in local television.  

It was the first local television station to begin broadcasting in color.  WCSC-TV was the first local station to broadcast live in the field during newscasts and was also first to use satellite technology to broadcast live remotes from around the globe.

Weather coverage has always been an important part of what we do.  From the earliest days, Live 5 News provided critical information in times of severe weather.  In 1989, Charlie Hall led the weather team through Hurricane Hugo, and the station stayed on the air despite a flooded studio by broadcasting live from its antenna site.

WCSC-TV became the first Lowcountry station to use its own Doppler radar site.

In 1997, the station moved into a brand new facility in West Ashley at a location, Charlie Hall Boulevard, named after the station’s legendary weatherman and personality, who passed away that same year.

In the fall of 2008, WCSC made history again, becoming the first station in the Lowcountry to broadcast local news in high definition,  also adding more sophisticated weather technology that could take advantage of the extra detail high definition offers. 

Our meteorologists continue to have the most advanced hurricane tracking technology in the area.

WCSC-TV is one of the strongest CBS affiliates in the country and has a rich history of offering some of the most memorable shows.  And we’re grateful to you, our viewers, for making us your favorite Lowcountry television station!

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