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NPR in Greenville/Spartanburg

101tm

101tm

I know we talk about talk stations in the commercial sense a lot on these boards, but NPR tends to get overlooked.

I do listen to some of the moderate NPR programs, as well as their educational/topical stuff on occasion. Looking at their statewide coverage, Greenville/Spartanburg is the only of the three major markets in the state that does not carry the SCPR news and talk feed. WEPR broadcasts the original feed that relies on a lot of classical music programming and only runs the main NPR shows.

Columbia gets both SCPR news and talk via WRJA and Sumter and news/classical via the main WLTR in Columbia.

Charleston is serviced by WSCI which is broadcast in HD and carries news/classical on HD1 and news/talk on HD2. They are also somewhat serviced by WJWJ licensed to Beaufort which carries news and talk.

I guess my question is - why is the biggest market in the state so limited with NPR? With only one signal, I would think they would at least put the news and talk feed on WEPR and switch to HD and put the news/classical on HD2. In parts of the market to the east, you can get WNSC in Rock Hill fairly well, which has the news/talk feed.

SCPR is also one of the only state broadcast systems not broadcasting in HD with the exception of WSCI.

The other NPR affiliates in the state, in smaller areas, like WLJK Aiken, WHMC Conway, WNSC Rock Hill, WJWJ Beaufort/HHI, WRJA Sumter carry the news and talk feed with no classical.

Why is the upstate so screwed? It’d be nice to hear more of the NPR shows on either the main channel, an HD channel or another station. We have so many religious stations but can’t even get a secondary or translator for NPR. All of the other markets in the state have access to both news and classical and news and talk. I just feel like the largest market in the state is deserving of more than a heavily classical WEPR and no other alternative unlike the other smaller markets in the state.

Here is a list of the SCPR NPR affiliates:


South Carolina Public Radio Broadcast Schedules

South Carolina Public Radio Broadcast Schedules
www.southcarolinapublicradio.org www.southcarolinapublicradio.org
 
Being MAGA country might have something to do with it, though some other red states have extensive public networks (Kentucky comes to mind). Knoxville TN doesn't have the full News-Talk feed, only Morning Edition and All Things Considered and classical middays and nights (with shows like World Cafe)
 
I get a good signal on 88.9 WNSC from Rock Hill in most of the Eastern Upstate Especially Spartanburg and Gaffney and it doesn't bother 88.7 WNCW which also carries Public Radio for this area...WNSC's programming is similar to 90.1 WEPR (without the classical music) which is the main NPR signal around here...there have been times when they do simulcast content.
 
I don't think classical should be on HD. Let's face it. Someone needs to play music that's worth hearing. It's on HD in Greensboro NC and Myrtle Beach SC. At least in Greensboro there are other classical stations that reach part of the market.
 
Hey, I got 89.9 WJWJ during E-Skip this year, and they mentioned WSCI HD2 Charleston. That is their only HD subchannel though. Most State-level NPR stations do have a contract with "Classical 24", but perhaps they felt SC would be too small for it? Besides Charleston and Columbus, there is not a lot of big cities down there, just a lot of urban sprawl?
 
vchimpanzee said:
I don't think classical should be on HD. Let's face it. Someone needs to play music that's worth hearing. It's on HD in Greensboro NC and Myrtle Beach SC. At least in Greensboro there are other classical stations that reach part of the market.
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I really wish SC eTV would go HD on WEPR like they did with their Charleston FM. That way they could put the Classical on one channel and the News-Talk feed on the other. I'd definitely listen more if I could get the news stuff. Most of the markets have two good public radio signals in SC, but not Greenville Spartanburg.
 
Generally speaking stations go with Classical 24 to save money, meaning they can't afford or choose not to budget local origination. Classical 24's rates are quite reasonable. Classical 24 is a plug and play format where a computer airs local breaks but can literally operate from a closet unattended.
 
b-turner said:
Generally speaking stations go with Classical 24 to save money, meaning they can't afford or choose not to budget local origination. Classical 24's rates are quite reasonable. Classical 24 is a plug and play format where a computer airs local breaks but can literally operate from a closet unattended.
Click to expand...
I wonder if that's what they have on WHQR's HD in Wilmington NC. Myrtle Beach got a translator for that station., There was already one for WHQR's main channel but when that station went talk I imagine people got upset because SCETV in Myrtle Beach is talk.
 
ZantennaG1 said:
Hey, I got 89.9 WJWJ during E-Skip this year, and they mentioned WSCI HD2 Charleston. That is their only HD subchannel though. Most State-level NPR stations do have a contract with "Classical 24", but perhaps they felt SC would be too small for it? Besides Charleston and Columbus, there is not a lot of big cities down there, just a lot of urban sprawl?
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Columbus? That's a county outside Myrtle Beach in NC, or a town in NC outside Spartanburg.
 
A dead giveaway on Classical 24 is a work is back announced, then a music interlude (1 minute), then announce upcoming work. The interlude is for local insert for underwriting, weather, community announcements and such but many stations don't make use of all the breaks. Then at 1 minute after the hour there is a 5 minute piece played for those stations that opt out for NPR News.

Website: Classical 24 - APM and PRI
Hourly Clock: https://static1.squarespace.com/sta.../1615314985323/BroadcastClock_Classical24.pdf
 
b-turner said:
Generally speaking stations go with Classical 24 to save money, meaning they can't afford or choose not to budget local origination. Classical 24's rates are quite reasonable. Classical 24 is a plug and play format where a computer airs local breaks but can literally operate from a closet unattended.
Click to expand...
That can't be the case in SC. They already run a news/talk feed. So to air that on an HD or even regular FM channel, won't cost them any more money.
 
SC NPR is already affiliated with Classical 24, the music stations carry Music Through The Night and a couple of their other productions.

IMO, the situation is an easy fix - is it that difficult to turn on HD and to flip the main channels to News with classical on HD2? In cases like Columbia where there’s a semi overlapping signal you could put classical on WRJA as well as WLTR HD2. SC is one of the only NPR networks I know of that does not broadcast in HD (except for WSCI).
 
I would certainly like to see an HD upgrade to get both networks carried in the Upstate. However, not all FM transmitters can be upgraded to HD easily Also, the additional audio signal has to be sent to the transmission site. ETV is still working on a new tower and antenna on Parris Mountain for channel 29, so I wouldn't expect any changes soon.
 
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