From Staff Reports 

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Effective Aug. 1, Spartanburg television station WSPA-7 lost its 70-year CBS affiliation in a multi-market corporate shake-up. 

CBS programming in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville market has moved to Hearst Television’s WYFF 4 (airing on digital subchannel WYFF 4.3), while WSPA-7 (owned by Nexstar Media Group) transitions to The CW Network.

Following is the corporate backstory:

• National realignment: The switch stems from broader corporate contract negotiations between CBS and WSPA’s parent company, Nexstar Media Group, which renewed deals in 36 markets, but left several stations cut, including WSPA-7.

• Hearst takeover: CBS shifted several of its affiliations away from Nexstar-owned stations over to stations owned by Hearst Television, including WYFF in the Upstate.

• Dispute dynamics: Industry shifts and streaming-era conflicts over reverse retransmission fees have heavily influenced local network realignments.

As for what changes for viewers of WYFF 4, NBC programming stays on channel 4.1, while the full CBS schedule (primetime, sports, news) arrives on the new free over-the-air subchannel WYFF 4.3. Antenna users need to rescan their televisions.