WBTW (CBS) · Channel 13

Full-power stations are the main licensed broadcasters in a market. They may run the highest power from the tallest towers and are protected from interference, so they set the core of what you can receive.

At 31.6 kW effective radiated power, WBTW runs more power than 19% of full-power TV stations nationwide (median: 273 kW). Stations on VHF channels are licensed at much lower power than UHF stations to cover the same area, so a low figure does not always mean a weak signal.

Its antenna sits 598 m above the average surrounding terrain, higher than 86% of full-power stations. Taller antennas see farther: this one's radio horizon is roughly 70 miles, beyond which the signal fades quickly.

We estimate a fair-or-better signal out to about 71 miles with an outdoor antenna. That area includes 86 cities and towns in our guide with about 779,000 residents, as far as Sumter, SC (66 miles).

WBTW shares its transmitter site with WWMB and WPDE-TV (CW). One antenna aimed at this site picks up all of them.

The nearest other CBS station in our data is WLTX in Columbia, SC, 84 miles away. Viewers between the two can sometimes receive both.

CBS is one of the four big commercial broadcast networks. Local CBS affiliates carry the network's news, daytime and primetime schedule plus local news, and CBS is the over-the-air home of many NFL Sunday afternoon games.