The latest tally of broadcast stations from the FCC shows there were 2235 full-power and Class A television stations and 4077 UHF and VHF translators on-air as of March 31.
The summary of broadcast stations on air, released April 12, is a regularly released tally and sheds some light on the potential scope and likely complexity of a repack of television spectrum following the FCC’s spectrum incentive auction. In particular, the tally shows that, when taken together, the number of LPTV and TV translators on air stood at 6044. Both services are potentially vulnerable to a shifting spectrum landscape involving primary service incumbent broadcasters.
Of the full-power TV stations, the FCC count reveals 1027 UHF commercial, 358 commercial, 289 UHF educational and 107 VHF educational broadcasters were on-air as of the end of March. The Class A count totals 395 UHF and 59 VHF stations. The translator total for the period broke down to 2924 UHF and 1153 VHF translators.
The count also reveals there were 1564 low-power UHF television stations and 403 LPTV VHF stations on air.
When LPTV, AM, FM, low-power FM stations, and FM translators and boosters are taken into account, the total number of broadcasters on the air for the reporting period stood at 30,390.
