Another rise in the number of noneducational FM radio stations was during the final quarter of 2023, as commercial AM and FM radio stations again declined in number, continuing a trend that began earlier in the year.
That’s the biggest takeaway from the FCC’s latest broadcast station total list, for the three-month period ending December 31, 2023.
It also suggests that commercial radio is particularly challenged in finding buyers who aren’t religious broadcast ministries — a fact that may frustrate sellers as the FCC in its 2018 Quadrennial Order, approved in the waning hours of 2023 under court order, included no changes to local ownership rules for Radio.
And, despite all of the attention AM radio has received in 2023 from Congress and from the NAB, some 19 kHz-band radio stations disappeared in the second half of 2023.
The other big takeaway: the FM translator and booster boom has indeed ended, as the total has flatlined. That said, it remains significantly higher than at the end of Q2 2018.
On the TV side, the number of LPTV stations dipped again in Q4, continuing a trend that began in the third quarter.
BROADCAST STATION TOTALS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2023
(Compared to September 30, 2023)
TOTAL BROADCAST STATIONS: 33,428 (down 19)
All comparisons below to the end of Q3 2023
AM STATIONS 4444 (minus 8)
FM COMMERCIAL 6663 (minus 7)
FM EDUCATIONAL 4286 (plus 23)
TOTAL 15,393 (plus 8)
UHF COMMERCIAL TV 1016 (plus 4)
VHF COMMERCIAL TV 364 (minus 1)
UHF EDUCATIONAL TV 267 (plus 1)
VHF EDUCATIONAL TV 116 (down 1)
TOTAL 1,763 (plus 3)
CLASS A UHF STATIONS 349 (down 1)
CLASS A VHF STATIONS 30 (unchanged)
FM TRANSLATORS & BOOSTERS 8,927 (down 1)
(up from 7813 as of June 30, 2018)
UHF TRANSLATORS 2456 (down 5)
VHF TRANSLATORS 665 (unchanged)
UHF LOW POWER TV 1561 (down 7)
VHF LOW POWER TV 317 (down 4)
LOW POWER FM 1,967 (down 11)