The number of U.S. AM stations is down slightly from a year ago, as are the totals for FM translators/boosters and for LPFMs.
The number of FM stations is up, particularly the category of FM educational stations. The FCC shows an increase of 321 FM educational licenses, likely due to the FM noncom filing windows in recent years. That’s a jump of almost 10% in 12 months.
The commission has announced totals for broadcast stations licensed as of Sept. 30. Here’s the full list. Last year’s numbers at this time are in parentheses.
AM Stations: 4763 (4784)
FM Commercial: 6530 (6,512)
FM Educational: 3572 (3251)
Total: 14,865 (14,547)
FM Translators & Boosters: 6113 (6,161)
Low-Power FM: 848 (864)
Counting all TV stations, the total broadcasting stations by FCC count is 30,441, compared to 30,785 a year ago.
