WRDW-TV (CBS) · Channel 12

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 20.2 kW effective radiated power, WRDW-TV runs more power than 11% 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 484 m above the average surrounding terrain, higher than 69% of full-power stations. Taller antennas see farther: this one's radio horizon is roughly 64 miles, beyond which the signal fades quickly.

We estimate a fair-or-better signal out to about 59 miles with an outdoor antenna. That area includes 67 cities and towns in our guide with about 422,000 residents, as far as Greenwood, SC (57 miles).

WRDW-TV shares its transmitter site with WGAT-LD (Telemundo). One antenna aimed at this site picks up all of them.

The nearest other CBS station in our data is WLTX in Columbia, SC, 78 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.