Hearst rebrands its CBS affiliate as CBS Carolina

After moving to a digital subchannel of Hearst’s WYFF in Greenville, South Carolina, CBS programming on 4.3 switched over to the brand “CBS Carolina” Sept. 15, 2026.

CBS programming moved to WYFF’s digital subchannel 4.3 on Aug. 1, 2026, ending the network’s 70-year affiliation with WSPA in nearby Spartanburg, South Carolina. WYFF continues to carry NBC programming on its primary 4.1 channel.

The new name means gives the station a clear and straightforward way to let viewers know where to find CBS programming in the market.

As part of the rebrand, the station introduced a new logo that largely aligns with the network’s branding.

The station’s logo features the CBS eye and wordmark and the word “Carolina” in title case next to it. The word appears in TT Norms, the same font CBS uses at the network level, but does not appear in all caps like most looks associated with CBS and its local stations.

CBS doesn’t own or operate WYFF or 4.3, so the station is not an owned-and-operated station and therefore doesn’t have to abide by any of the network’s corporate standards. 

WYFF, which is providing local news broadcasts on 4.3, continues to use the banner “WYFF News 4” on both 4.1 and 4.3 — a name that conveniently works across both channels since they share the primary assignment of 4.

In some versions of the CBS Carolina logo, there is also a pipe-separated list of the signal’s assignment on the Spectrum, DirecTV and Dish MVPDs — where it has been assigned Channel 7 (a carryover from when WSPA, which uses Channel 7 over-the-air and continues to brand as “7News.”

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The use of “Carolina” — as opposed to “South Carolina,” where the station is physically located, is strategic because, thanks to its position near the border with North Carolina, stations in the Greenville-Spartansburg-Asheville (N.C.)-Anderson (S.C.) market are widely available across state borders. 

The CBS change came as part of a larger round of affiliation agreements involving Paramount, CBS parent company, and Nexstar Media Group, which owns WSPA.

In July 2026, Nexstar and CBS parent Paramount renewed CBS affiliation agreements covering 36 Nexstar stations.

However, CBS affiliations at several other Nexstar stations were not included in the renewed arrangement.

Hearst picked up CBS in four affected markets, placing the network on digital subchannels of existing ABC or NBC affiliates in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Jackson, Mississippi; Birmingham, Alabama; and Greenville.

In the market, the change brought an end to one of the region’s longest-running network relationships.

WSPA had been affiliated with CBS since the station signed on in April 1956. When the affiliation moved to WYFF on Aug. 1, 2026, WSPA became an affiliate of The CW, which is majority-owned by Nexstar. WSPA retained its “7News” operation and local programming despite losing the CBS schedule.

WSPA, meanwhile, moved to Channel 3 on Spectrum, Channel 8 on Dish and Channel 62 on DirecTV, while maintaining its 7.1 over-the-air signal.

The move also shifted The CW away from WYCW, channel 62, which had previously served as the network’s outlet in the market; that station has since become independent, branded as “Local 62.”

On Aug. 31, 2026, WYFF added a weekday 7 p.m. newscast exclusively to 4.3. The hourlong broadcast is anchored by Nigel Robertson and Sydney Shadrix, with Chris Justus providing weather and Marc Whiteman on sports.

The 7 p.m. newscast leads into the CBS primetime schedule, while syndicated programs already airing during the hour on WYFF’s NBC channel remained in place.

Antenna viewers receive CBS Carolina on WYFF 4.3 and may need to rescan their televisions to add the subchannel.

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