U.S. Broadcast Stations Tops 30,000

The FCC has released its numbers on official licensed broadcast stations. According to the agency there were 30,367 as of Sept. 30.

Rough totals are over 22,000 radio stations of some kind. That total includes translators, boosters and LPFMs. That number could pop when LPFM licensing gets into full swing.

For television the number is 8,194 — including Class A, translators and LPTV stations.

Here’s the breakdown:

AM Stations 4,728

FM Commercial 6,613

FM Educational 3,989

Total: 15,330



UHF Commercial 1,029

VHF Commercial 358

UHF Educational 289

VHF Educational 107

Total: 1,783

Class A UHF 380

Class A VHF 52

Total: 432

FM Translators and Boosters 6,055

UHF Translators 2,911

VHF Translators 1,133

Total: 10,099

UHF Low-Power TV 1,547

VHF Low-Power TV 388

Total: 1,935

Low-Power FM 788

Total: 30,367