UPDATED 9/30: FCC Reports 5 TV Stations, 35 Radio Stations Still Off Air Post-Helene

By published

Just over a million subscribers in areas hit by Helene were without phone, internet and/or pay TV services on Sunday in the wake of the storm on Sept. 28, according to the FCC

Graphic of the path for Hurricane Helene
(Image credit: The Weather Channel)

As Hurricane Helene cut a devastating path through the Southeast, killing more than 90 people, it has also hammered media outlets, broadcasters and telecommunications.

As of Sunday, Sept. 29, at 9 a.m. ET the FCC reported that in the parts of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia that were impacted by the storm, 1,004, 610 subscribers (down from 1,199,087 on Saturday Sept. 28) had lost telephone, television, and/or Internet services.

The FCC also reported that 5 unidentified TV stations had been knocked off the air, down from 6 stations on Saturday, Sept. 28. Two of the TV stations were in Georgia and three were located in North Carolina. None of the stations were identified.

In addition the storm had knocked 35 stations radio stations off the air on Saturday, down from 48 on Saturday.

More specifically, the FCC reported this breakdown of FM and AM stations by state on Sunday Sept. 29:

  • Florida: There is 1 (down from 3) FM station reported as being out of service, one of which has programming rerouted to another transmitter. There are no (down from 1) AM stations reported as being out of service.
  • Georgia: There are 15 (down from 19) FM stations reported as being out of service. There are 2 (down from 3) AM stations reported as being out of service.
  • North Carolina: There are 2 (down from 4) FM stations reported as being out of service. There are 2 (down from 4) AM stations reported as being out of service.
  • South Carolina: There are 7 (no change) FM stations reported as being out of service. There are 5 (down from 6) AM stations reported as being out of service.
  • Tennessee: There are no AM or FM stations reported as being out of service.
  • Virginia: There is 1 (no change) FM station reported as being out of service. There are no AM stations reported out of service.

The full report for Sunday is available here.

This is a developing story.

George Winslow
George Winslow

George Winslow is the senior content producer for TV Tech. He has written about the television, media and technology industries for nearly 30 years for such publications as Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News and TV Tech. Over the years, he has edited a number of magazines, including Multichannel News International and World Screen, and moderated panels at such major industry events as NAB and MIP TV. He has published two books and dozens of encyclopedia articles on such subjects as the media, New York City history and economics.