The FCC ahead of the Independence Day holiday released its latest broadcast station totals for the three-month period ending June 30, and while there’s little changes with respect to UHF and VHF television stations, there’s certainly a story to tell with respect to the shifting tides for noncommercial and commercially licensed FMs in the U.S.
For Q2 2024, FM commercial stations saw a significant reduction in numbers, dropping from 6,663 to 6,620. Conversely, FM educational stations experienced continued growth, increasing from 4,320 to 4,356. This growth is driven in part by aggressive acquisition strategies by religious broadcast groups.
And, the count for FM translators and boosters now stands at 8,906, reflecting another slight decrease and signaling the end of a five-year boom for the 250-watt mini-FM service.
On the TV side, there are three new commercial UHFs in the U.S. compared to the first quarter of 2024.
BROADCAST STATION TOTALS AS OF JUNE 30, 2024
(Compared to March 31, 2024)
TOTAL BROADCAST STATIONS: 33,326 (down 18)
All comparisons below to the end of Q1 2024
AM STATIONS 4413 (minus 14)
FM COMMERCIAL 6620 (minus 43)
FM EDUCATIONAL 4356 (plus 70)
TOTAL 15,389 (minus 4)
UHF COMMERCIAL TV 1018 (plus 3)
VHF COMMERCIAL TV 366 (minus 1)
UHF EDUCATIONAL TV 267 (unchanged)
VHF EDUCATIONAL TV 115 (down 1)
TOTAL 1,766 (plus 1)
CLASS A UHF STATIONS 349 (unchanged)
CLASS A VHF STATIONS 30 (unchanged)
FM TRANSLATORS & BOOSTERS 8,906 (down 7)
(up from 7813 as of June 30, 2018)
UHF TRANSLATORS 2,449 (down 10)
VHF TRANSLATORS 651 (down 18)
UHF LOW POWER TV 1511 (down 5)
VHF LOW POWER TV 310 (down 3)
LOW POWER FM 1,965 (up 5)
