It has always been an ABC affiliate. The station signed on just two years after ABC, which had long been the smallest and weakest of the three major networks, surged to #1 in the ratings for the first time ever. Before WPDE's arrival, ABC was relegated to secondary status on WBTW. Viewers in the Grand Strand could get the full ABC schedule via WWAY in Wilmington. However, it is likely that WPDE would have aligned with ABC in any event. The market was already very well served by NBC, with Florence and the Pee Dee covered by WIS-TV in Columbia and the Grand Strand by WECT in Wilmington. In contrast, at the time WPDE signed on, no ABC affiliate put even a grade B signal into the western portion of the market.