The FCC released its quarterly list of the total number of licensed broadcast stations this week and once again the number of radio stations has increased since last quarter. As of September 30, there were 15,433 licensed full power radio stations in the United States. The only category that decreased was the number of AM stations (down 6 stations since the end of June).
As we’ve been seeing for the past few years, the number of non-commercial educational FM radio stations (including community stations, public radio stations, college radio stations, high school stations, and religious broadcasters) continued to grow, with 3 more stations this quarter.
Additionally, there were 45 more FM translators/boosters this quarter and 59 more low power FM (LPFM) stations. As the FCC continues to process all of the LPFM applications submitted last fall, we will see the number of LPFM stations continue to rise. Here’s a run-down of the count:
As of September 30, 2014:
AM Stations: 4,715 (down from 4,721 in 6/14 )
FM Commercial Stations: 6,633 (up from 6,622 in 6/14)
FM Educational Stations: 4,085 (up from 4,082 in 6/14)
Total Radio Stations: 15,433 (up from 15,425 in 6/14)
Not included in Total Radio Stations:
FM Translators and Boosters: 6186 (up from 6,141 in 6/14).
Low power FM (LPFM): 873 (up from 814 in 6/14)
To see more quarterly statistics about the number of radio stations in the United States, take a look at all of our station count reports here.
