List of North American broadcast station classes


This is a list of broadcast station classes applicable in much of North America under international agreements between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Effective radiated power and height above average terrain are listed unless otherwise noted.
All radio and television stations within 320 kilometers of the US-Canada or US-Mexico border must get approval by both the domestic and foreign agency. These agencies are Industry Canada/Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in Canada, the Federal Communications Commission in the US, and the Federal Telecommunications Institute in Mexico.

AM

Station class descriptions

All domestic AM stations are classified as A, B, C, or D.
Notes:
AM station classes were previously assigned Roman numerals from I to IV in the US, with subclasses indicated by a letter suffix. Current class A is equivalent to the old class I; class B is the old classes II and III, with class D being the II-D, II-S, and III-S subclasses; and class C is the old class IV.
The following conversion table compares the old AM station classes with the new AM station classes:

AM station classes and clear channels listed by frequency

The following chart lists frequencies on the broacast company band, and which classes broadcast on these frequencies; Class A and Class B, 10,000 watt and higher stations in North America which broadcast on clear-channel station frequencies are also shown.
By international agreement, Class A stations must be 10,000 watts and above, with a 50,000 watt maximum for the US and Canada, but no maximum for other governments in the region. Mexico, for example, typically runs 150,000 to 500,000 watts, but some stations are grandfathered at 10,000 to 20,000 watts at night; by treaty, these sub-50,000 watt Mexican stations may operate with a maximum of 100,000 watts during the daytime.
Because the AM broadcast band developed before technology suitable for directional antennas, there are numerous exceptions, such as the US use of 800 and 900 non-directionally in Alaska, limited to 5 kW at night; and 1050 and 1220, directionally, in the continental US, and without time limits; each of these being assigned to specific cities. In return for these limits on US stations, Mexico accepted limits on 830 and 1030 in Mexico City, non-directionally, restricted to 5 kW at night.
Channel
Type
Frequency
Available
Classes
Assignment
Old class designation in
530In the US, reserved for low power
AM Travelers' Information Stations
Clear540A, B, DCBK Watrous, Saskatchewan: Class A
CBT Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador: Class A
XEWA San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí: Class A
WFLF Pine Hills, Florida: Class B
Regional550, B, DCMBV Wajay, Cuba: Class A
Regional560B, D
Regional570, B, DCMEA Santa Clara, Cuba: Class A
Regional580, B, DCMAA Pinar del Rio, Cuba: Class A
Regional590, B, DCMCA San Antonio Vegas, Cuba: Class A
Regional600, B, DCMKA San German, Cuba: Class A
Regional610B, D
Regional620, B, DCMDA Colon, Cuba: Class A
Regional630, B, DCMHA Camaguey, Cuba: Class A
Clear640A, B, DKFI Los Angeles, California: Class A
KYUK Bethel, Alaska: Class A
CBN St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador: Class A
Clear650A, B, DWSM Nashville, Tennessee: Class A
KENI Anchorage, Alaska: Class A
Clear660A, B, DWFAN New York City: Class A
KFAR Fairbanks, Alaska: Class A
KTNN Window Rock, Arizona: Class B
CMDC Colon, Cuba: Class A
Clear670A, B, DWSCR Chicago, Illinois: Class A
KDLG Dillingham, Alaska: Class A
KBOI Boise, Idaho: Class B
CMBC Arroyo Arena, Cuba: Class A
Clear680A, B, DKNBR San Francisco, California: Class A ND-U
KBRW Barrow, Alaska: Class A
WRKO Boston, Massachusetts: Class B
WCBM Baltimore, Maryland: Class B
WPTF Raleigh, North Carolina: Class B
Clear690A, B, DCKGM Montreal, Quebec: Class A
CBU Vancouver, British Columbia: Class B
XEWW Tijuana, Baja California: Class A
WOKV Jacksonville, Florida: Class B
CMEC Santa Clara, Cuba: Class A
Clear700A, B, DWLW Cincinnati, Ohio: Class A
KBYR Anchorage, Alaska: Class A
Clear710A, B, DWOR New York City: Class A
KIRO Seattle, Washington: Class A
KSPN Los Angeles, California: Class B
WAQI Miami, Florida: Class B
Clear720A, B, DWGN Chicago, Illinois: Class A
KOTZ Kotzebue, Alaska: Class A
KDWN Las Vegas, Nevada: Class B
Clear730A, B, DCKAC Montreal, Quebec: Class A
XEX Mexico City: Class A
CMHC Camaguey, Cuba: Class A
Clear740A, B, DCFZM Toronto, Ontario: Class A
KCBS San Francisco, California: Class B
WYGM Orlando, Florida: Class B
KRMG Tulsa, Oklahoma: Class B
KTRH Houston, Texas: Class B
CMAC Pinar del Rio, Cuba: Class A
Clear750A, B, DWSB Atlanta, Georgia: Class A
KFQD Anchorage, Alaska: Class A
CBGY Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador: Class A
KMMJ Grand Island, Nebraska: Class B
KXTG Portland, Oregon: Class B
Clear760A, B, DWJR Detroit, Michigan: Class A
KGB San Diego, California: Class B
CMKC Cacocun, Cuba: Class A
Clear770A, B, DWABC New York City: Class A
KKOB Albuquerque, New Mexico: Class B
KCHU Valdez, Alaska: Class A
KTTH Seattle, Washington: Class B
Clear780A, B, DWBBM Chicago, Illinois: Class A
KNOM Nome, Alaska: Class A
KKOH Reno, Nevada: Class B
Regional790, B, DCMAC Guanabacoba, Cuba: Class A
Clear800A, B, DXEROK Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua: Class A
CKLW Windsor, Ontario: Class B
CMEB Santa Clara, Cuba: Class A
Clear810A, B, DKGO San Francisco, California: Class A
WGY Schenectady, New York: Class A ND-U, but KGO was the originally assigned dominant station
WHB Kansas City, Missouri: Class B
WKVM San Juan, Puerto Rico: Class B
Clear820A, B, DWBAP Fort Worth, Texas: Class A
KCBF Fairbanks, Alaska: Class A
Clear830A, B, DWCCO Minneapolis, Minnesota: Class A
KLAA Orange, California: Class B
XEITE Mexico City, Mexico: Class B
Clear840A, B, DWHAS Louisville, Kentucky: Class A
KXNT North Las Vegas, Nevada: Class B
Clear850A, B, DKOA Denver, Colorado: Class A ND-U
KICY Nome, Alaska: Class A
WEEI Boston, Massachusetts: Class B
WTAR Norfolk, Virginia: Class B
Clear860A, B, DCJBC Toronto, Ontario: Class A
KTRB San Francisco, California: Class B Presently operating at 7.5 kW nights
CMDB Colon, Cuba: Class A
Clear870A, B, DWWL New Orleans, Louisiana: Class A
Clear880A, B, DWCBS New York City: Class A
KRVN Lexington, Nebraska: Class B
CMAB Pinar del Rio, Cuba: Class A
Clear890A, B, DWLS Chicago, Illinois: Class A
KBBI Homer, Alaska: Class A
KDXU St. George, Utah: Class B
CMHB Camaguey, Cuba: Class A
Clear900A, B, DXEW Mexico City: Class A
CKBI Prince Albert, Saskatchewan: Class A
CMKB Cacocun, Cuba: Class A
Regional910, B, DCMAC Guanabacoba, Cuba: Class A
Regional920B, D
Regional930B, D
Clear940A, B, DCINW Montreal, Quebec: Class A
XEQ Mexico City: Class A ND-U
KFIG Fresno, California: Class B
Regional950B, DKJR Seattle, Washington Class B
WWJ Detroit, Michigan: Class B
Regional960B, D
Regional970B, D
Regional980B, D
Clear990A, B, DCBW Winnipeg, Manitoba: Class A
CBY Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador: Class A
WTLN Orlando, Florida: Class B
Clear1000A, B, DWMVP Chicago, Illinois: Class A
KOMO Seattle, Washington: Class A
XEOY Mexico City, Mexico: Class A
Clear1010A, B, DCBR Calgary, Alberta: Class A
CFRB Toronto, Ontario: Class A
WINS New York City: Class B
CMBX Wajay, Cuba: Class A
Clear1020A, B, DKDKA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Class A
KVNT Eagle River, Alaska: Class A
KCKN Roswell, New Mexico: Class B
KTNQ Los Angeles, California: Class B
Clear1030A, B, DWBZ Boston, Massachusetts: Class A
KTWO Casper, Wyoming: Class B
XEQR Mexico City, Mexico: Class B
Clear1040A, B, DWHO Des Moines, Iowa: Class A
Clear1050A, B, DCHUM Toronto, Ontario: Class B
XEG Guadalupe, Nuevo León: Class A
WEPN New York City: Class B
Clear1060A, B, DKYW Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Class A
XEEP Mexico City: Class A
Clear1070A, B, DKNX Los Angeles, California: Class A ND-U
CBA Moncton, New Brunswick: Class A ND-U
Clear1080A, B, DWTIC Hartford, Connecticut: Class A
KRLD Dallas, Texas: Class A
KOAN Anchorage, Alaska: Class A
KFXX Portland, Oregon: Class B
Clear1090A, B, DKAAY Little Rock, Arkansas: Class A
WBAL Baltimore, Maryland: Class A
XEPRS Rosarito Beach, Baja California: Class A
KFNQ Seattle, Washington: Class B
Clear1100A, B, DWTAM Cleveland, Ohio: Class A
KNZZ Grand Junction, Colorado: Class B
KFAX San Francisco, California: Class B
Clear1110A, B, DWBT Charlotte, North Carolina: Class A
KFAB Omaha, Nebraska: Class A
KRDC Pasadena, California: Class B
Clear1120A, B, DKMOX St. Louis, Missouri: Class A
KPNW Eugene, Oregon: Class B
Clear1130A, B, DKWKH Shreveport, Louisiana: Class A
WBBR New York City: Class A
CKWX Vancouver, British Columbia: Class A
KTLK Minneapolis, Minnesota: Class B
Clear1140A, B, DWRVA Richmond, Virginia: Class A
XEMR Apodaca, Nuevo León: Class A
KHTK Sacramento, California: Class B
Regional1150B, D
Clear1160A, B, DKSL Salt Lake City, Utah: Class A
WYLL Chicago, Illinois: Class B
Clear1170A, B, DKFAQ Tulsa, Oklahoma: Class A
WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia: Class A
KJNP North Pole, Alaska: Class A
Clear1180A, B, DWHAM Rochester, New York: Class A
KOFI Kalispell, Montana: Class B
Clear1190A, B, DKEX Portland, Oregon: Class A
WOWO Fort Wayne, Indiana: Class B
WLIB New York City: Class B
XEWK-AM Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: Class A
Clear1200A, B, DWOAI San Antonio, Texas: Class A
WMUZ Taylor, Michigan: Class B
Clear1210A, B, DWPHT Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Class A
KGYN Guymon, Oklahoma: Class B
Clear1220A, B, DXEB Mexico City: Class A
WHKW Cleveland, Ohio: Class B
Regional1230BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1230CStations in conterminous 48 states
Regional1240BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1240CStations in conterminous 48 states
Regional1250B, D
Regional1260B, DCFRN Edmonton, Alberta: Class A
Regional1270B, D
Regional1280B, D
Regional1290B, D
Regional1300B, D
Regional1310B, D
Regional1320B, D
Regional1330B, D
Regional1340BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1340CStations in conterminous 48 states
Regional1350B, D
Regional1360B, D
Regional1370B, D
Regional1380B, DKRKO Everett, Washington Class B
Regional1390B, D
Regional1400BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1400CStations in conterminous 48 states
Regional1410B, D
Regional1420B, D
Regional1430B, D
Regional1440B, D
Regional1450BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1450CStations in conterminous 48 states
Regional1460B, D
Regional1470B, D
Regional1480B, D
Regional1490BStations in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the United States Virgin Islands
Local1490CStations in conterminous 48 states
Clear1500A, B, DWFED Washington, D.C.: Class A
KSTP Saint Paul, Minnesota: Class A
Clear1510A, B, DWLAC Nashville, Tennessee: Class A
WMEX Boston, Massachusetts: Class B
KGA Spokane, Washington: Class B
Clear1520A, B, DWWKB Buffalo, New York: Class A
KOKC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: Class A
KQRR Oregon City, Oregon: Class B
KKXA Snohomish, Washington Class B
Clear1530A, B, DKFBK Sacramento, California: Class A
WCKY Cincinnati, Ohio: Class A
Clear1540A, B, DKXEL Waterloo, Iowa: Class A
ZNS-1 Nassau, Bahamas: Class A
KMPC Los Angeles, California: Class B
Clear1550A, B, DXERUV Xalapa, Veracruz: Class A
CBEF Windsor, Ontario: Class A
KKOV Vancouver, Washington: Class B
Clear1560A, B, DKNZR Bakersfield, California: Class A Only US Class A grandfathered at 10 kW nights
WFME New York City: Class A
Clear1570A, B, DXERF Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila: Class A
Clear1580A, B, DCKDO Oshawa, Ontario: Class A
KBLA Santa Monica, California: Class B
Regional1590B, D
Regional1600B, D
Regional 1610In the US, used solely by low power
AM Travelers' Information Stations.
Regional 1620B
Regional 1630B
Regional 1640B
Regional 1650B
Regional 1660B
Regional 1670B
Regional 1680B
Regional 1690B
Regional 1700B

FM

Station class description

ClassEffective Radiated Power Antenna Height Above Average Terrain Reference distance
C100 kW 300 m to 600 m91.8 km
C0100 kW300 m to 450 m83.4 km
C1up to 100 kWunder 300 m72.3 km
C2up to 50 kWup to 150 m52.2 km
C3up to 25 kWup to 100 m39.1 km
C4 up to 12 kWup to 100 m33.3 km
Bup to 50 kWup to 150 m65.1 km
B1up to 25 kWup to 100 m44.7 km
A100 W to 6 kW up to 100 m28.3 km
AA up to 6 kW up to 100 m28 km
Dup to 250 W ERP except US non-translators to 10W TPO
up to 50 W
unlimited
up to 45 m
unspecified
5 km
L1 50 W to 100 Wup to 30 m5.6 km
L2 1 W to 10 Wup to 30 m3.2 km
LP 10-50 W
VLP up to 10 W
unlicensedsignal strength of 250 µV/m, 100 µV/m unspecifiedmeasured at 3 m, 30 m

Notes:
The following table lists the various classes of FM stations, the reference facilities for each station class, and the protected and city grade contours for each station class:
FM station
class
Reference
facilities for
station class
FM
protected
or primary
service
contour
Distance to
protected or
primary
service
contour
Distance to 70
dBu city-grade
or principal
community
coverage
contour
Class A6 kW
60 dBu
Class B125 kW
57 dBu
Class B50 kW
54 dBu
Class C325 kW
60 dBu
Class C250 kW
60 dBu
Class C1100 kW
60 dBu
Class C0100 kW
60 dBu
Class C100 kW
60 dBu

Historically, there were local "Class A" frequencies to which only class A stations would be allocated & the other frequencies could not have a class A. According to the 1982 FCC rules & regulations, those frequencies were: 92.1, 92.7, 93.5, 94.3, 95.3, 95.9, 96.7, 97.7, 98.3, 99.3, 100.1, 100.9, 101.7, 102.3, 103.1, 103.9, 104.9, 105.5, 106.3 & 107.1. Stations on those twenty frequencies were limited to having equivalent signals no greater that 3KW at 300 feet above average terrain.

FM zones

The US is divided into three zones for FM broadcasting: I, I-A and II. The zone where a station is located may limit the choices of broadcast class available to a given FM station.
Zone I in the US includes all of Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia. It also includes the areas south of latitude 43.5°N in Michigan, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont; as well as coastal Maine, southeastern Wisconsin, and northern and eastern Virginia.
Zone I-A includes California south of 40°N, as well as Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Zone II includes the remainder of the continental US, plus Alaska and Hawaii.
In Zones I and I-A, there are no Class C, C0, or C1 stations. However, there are a few Class B stations with grandfathered power limits in excess of 50 KW, such as WETA, WNCI, KPFK, and the most extreme example being WBCT.

TV

Full-power stations in the US

Notes:
All full-power analog television station transmissions in the US were terminated at midnight Eastern Daylight Time on June 12, 2009. Many broadcasters replaced their analog signal with their digital ATSC signal on the same transmission channel at that time.
Notes:
:
The LPTV service was created in 1982 by the FCC to allocate channels for smaller, local stations, and community channels, such as public access stations. LPTV stations that meet additional requirements such as children's "E/I" core programming and Emergency Alert System broadcasting capabilities can qualify for a Class A license.
Broadcast translators, boosters, and other LPTV stations are considered secondary to full-power stations, unless they have upgraded to class A. Class A is still considered LPTV with respect to stations in Canada and Mexico.

Class A television (US)

Class-A stations :
The class-A television class is a variant of LPTV created in 2000 by the FCC to allocate and protect some low-power affiliates. Class-A stations are still low-power, but are protected from RF interference and from having to change channel should a full-service station request that channel.
Additionally, class-A stations, LPTV stations, and translators are the only stations currently authorized to broadcast both analog and digital signals, unlike full-power stations which must broadcast a digital signal only.

Low-power TV (Canada)

In Canada, there is no formal transmission power below which, a television transmitter is considered broadcasting at low power. Industry Canada considers that a low power digital television undertaking "shall not normally extend a distance of 20 km in any direction from the antenna site," based on the determined noise-limited bounding contour.

Mexico

All digital television stations in Mexico have -TDT callsign suffixes. Analog stations, which existed until December 31, 2016, had -TV callsign suffixes.
The equivalent of low power or translator service in Mexico is the equipo complementario de zona de sombra, which is intended only to fill in gaps between a station's expected and actual service area caused by terrain; a station of this type shares the callsign of another station. In analog, these services often were broadcast on the same or adjacent channels to their parent station, except in certain areas with tight packing of television stations. In digital, these services usually operate on the same RF channel as their parent station, except for those with conflicting full-power applications, in certain other cases where it is technically not feasible or to make way for eventual repacking on upper UHF.
Equipos complementarios can relay their parent station, or a station that carries 75% or more of the same programming as its parent station.
Stations of either type may have unusually low or high effective radiated powers. XHSMI-TDT in Oaxaca is licensed for two watts in digital. The highest-powered shadows are XEQ-TDT Toluca and XHBS-TDT Ciudad Obregón, both at 200 kW.

FCC service table

The United States Federal Communications Commission lists the following services on their website for television broadcasting:
Broadcast classServiceSuffixes used or call sign examples
Television allotment TAAn allocation of a frequency to a city of license for which no corresponding call sign or license has been assigned. FCC placeholder for possible future construction permits or frequencies allocated to non-US broadcast use. No call sign, identifier is a date followed by a sequential two-letter value in the US FCC database.
Full-service TV TV-TV or none Since the shutdown of all full power analog stations in June 2009, used only for historical records.
Class A CA-CA, or a translator-style call sign
Low-power station or translatorLP-LP, or a translator-style call sign
TV boostersTBRare. These use the parent station's call sign plus a sequential number, such as WSTE1, WSTE2, WSTE3. Nameplates for on-channel repeaters bear the parent station's call sign, followed by "booster". See distributed transmission. If the station is digital, and has on-channel boosters, they would typically be named WSTE-DT1, WSTE-DT2, WSTE-DT3 and so on.
TV auxiliary serviceTSno specific suffix
NTSC petition for a channel changeNNno specific suffix; uses same call sign as the station which made a request for a number/channel change.
Digital Television
DT-DT, -TV or none. Some stations formerly used -HD, but this has become obsolete. The -DT suffix, optional for digital-only stations, was used primarily to distinguish a DTV transmission from an analog signal of the same broadcast ; likewise, -TV is optional except if the eponymous radio stations exist. A similar suffix -DTV, is used on all television stations in Japan.
Digital Class-ACD-CD Some stations briefly used -DC as well. A scant few still use translator-style call signs with the -D suffix.
Digital Low-powerLD-LD or translator-style calls with -D suffix, occasionally no suffix. Some stations briefly used -DL as well. Some full-powered stations have been granted approval for fill-in translators within their broadcast market to better cover outlying towns or heavily urbanied areas, particularly by stations with a VHF digital signal. These are technically -LD stations, but have the same call-sign as their parent station, similar to a Distributed Transmission System.
Digital special temporary authority DSno specific suffix; uses same call sign as station making a request for permission from the FCC to use a channel, power level or transmitter location not permanently allocated for one particular station. Temporary assignments retain, unmodified, the call sign of the corresponding permanent allocation; this includes translator-style calls even on those temporarily moving to another frequency.
Digital Television distributed transmission system DDno specific suffix ; this is usually requested for a single-frequency network and to tailor coverage area to the needs of the viewers in the station's service area
Digital auxiliary serviceDX
no specific suffix
Digital rulemaking petitionDRno specific suffix; uses same call sign as station making this request to add or modify a digital channel allocation
Land mobile use of a TV channel LMAs "LM" is used in the FCC database to indicate reallocation of an entire channel, but not to identify individual users transmitting in that spectrum, a 6 MHz LM allocation does not itself carry a TV-style call sign. The spectrum of TV channels 14-20 is called "T-band" in LMR use. Repeaters that operate in such an allocation use a 3 MHz offset instead of 5 MHz as normally used in the 450-470 MHz range.
ATSC 3.0 Futurecast Experimental BroadcastsEXUsed for officially licensed experimental 4K/2160p Ultra HDTV broadcast stations, such as WRAL-TV's UHDTV simulcast, WRAL-EX.