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WCIV (channel 36) is a television station in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, affiliated with MyNetworkTV and ABC. The station is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and maintains studios on Allbritton Boulevard along US 17/701 (Johnnie Dodds Boulevard) in Mount Pleasant and a transmitter in Awendaw, South Carolina.
In September 2014, due to complications arising from Sinclair's acquisition of the original WCIV (channel 4) from its previous owner, Allbritton Communications, WCIV's programming and ABC affiliation was moved onto the second digital subchannel of Sinclair's existing station in the market, MyNetworkTV affiliate WMMP. WCIV's license was sold to Howard Stirk Holdings in order to form a new station using its existing facilities. In preparation for the sale, the WCIV and WMMP intellectual units swapped signals on September 30, 2014, with WCIV moving to WMMP's channel 36 signal and WMMP moving to WCIV's channel 34 signal respectively. WMMP then began carrying programming from ZUUS Country, and has since changed its calls to WGWG.
When Sinclair tried to acquire Sullivan's stations outright in 2001, it could not legally keep both WMMP and WTAT because Charleston has only six full-power stations (too few to legally permit a duopoly). Although WTAT was longer-established, Sinclair opted to keep WMMP and sold WTAT to Glencairn, Ltd. That company was owned by Edwin Edwards, a former Sinclair executive, and appeared to be a minority-owned company. However, nearly all of Glencairn's stock was controlled by the Smith family founders of Sinclair. In effect, the company now had a duopoly in the Charleston media market which was a violation of Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Glencairn and Sinclair further circumvented the rules by crafting a local marketing agreement between the two stations, with WMMP as senior partner–one of the few known instances in which a Big Four affiliate was the junior partner to a WB or UPN affiliate.
In 2001, the FCC fined Sinclair $40,000 for illegally controlling Glencairn. Later that year, it was renamed Cunningham Broadcasting. However, nearly all of Cunningham's stock is still controlled by trusts in the names of the children of the Smith brothers, so for all intents and purposes Sinclair still has a duopoly in Charleston. Glencairn and Cunningham have been accused of serving as a shell corporation which Sinclair has been using for the purpose of circumventing FCC ownership rules. Prior to its 2007 shutdown, WMMP aired The Tube on its second digital subchannel.
Soon after Fox announced the formation of MyNetworkTV, Sinclair announced that most of its WB and UPN affiliates, including WMMP, would affiliate with that network. Since the launch of MyNetworkTV in 2006, WMMP has aired any Fox programming in the event WTAT preempts the network for weather/emergency updates or local specials.
On March 20, 2014, as part of a restructuring of the Sinclair-Allbritton deal in order to address these ownership conflicts, Sinclair announced that it would terminate its shared services agreement with Cunningham Broadcasting, under which Sinclair owned all of WTAT's assets except the FCC license. Under this new deal, Sinclair would have retained the longer-established WCIV and sold WMMP to a new owner. Cunningham would acquire the non-license assets of WTAT, and seek a shared services agreement with the prospective owner of WMMP. Sinclair Offers to Sell Stations Ahead of FCC Decision, TVSpy, March 21, 2014. Sinclair Proposes Restructuring Of Allbritton Transaction In Order To Meet Objections Of The Federal Communications Commission, The Wall Street Journal (via PRNewswire), March 20, 2014. On May 29, 2014, Sinclair informed the FCC that it had not found a buyer for WMMP and proposed surrendering WCIV's license. Had WCIV gone dark, WMMP would have picked up WCIV's ABC affiliation, syndicated programming, and news operation, while WMMP's existing programming (including MyNetworkTV) would move to its digital subchannel. Sinclair opted to retain WMMP because its facilities are superior to those of WCIV. Sinclair's acquisition of Allbritton was completed on August 1, 2014. Sinclair's Deal For Allbritton Closes, Broadcasting & Cable, August 1, 2014, Retrieved August 4, 2014.
On September 11, 2014, Sinclair filed to have WCIV's license assets sold to Howard Stirk Holdings, owned by conservative commentator Armstrong Williams, for $50,000, averting a complete shutdown of the station. Unlike Howard Stirk Holdings' other stations (such as WEYI), which are operated by Sinclair but with input from HSH in regards to programming (such as the carriage of public affairs programs produced by Williams, and syndicated programming of interest to minority audiences), WCIV would be operated independently from WMMP, and Sinclair would not enter into a shared services agreement or similar to operate the station. However, as part of the sale, Sinclair agreed to provide studio space for the station at WMMP's existing facilities. Williams explained that he hoped to "continue some of the wonderful business relationships we have with Sinclair" through the deal.
On September 25, in preparation for the signal switch, a simulcast of WCIV was added to WMMP's second digital subchannel, along with MeTV on 36.3, replacing ZUUS Country on that channel. The two stations then swapped licenses four days later; WCIV's call sign was moved to the WMMP license and virtual channel 36, while WMMP's call sign and virtual channel 4 was moved to the WCIV license which was sold to Howard Stirk Holdings. Following the swap, ZUUS Country was moved to WMMP 4.1 as interim programming during the transition to Howard Stirk Holdings ownership. MeTV later moved to WGWG's main subchannel in September 2022, and WCIV-DT3 switched to Stadium.
In April 2025, WCIV announced an agreement with the Charleston RiverDogs of Minor League Baseball to air all Sunday home games.
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