Today, the FCC released its quarterly list of the total number of licensed broadcast stations. The total number of radio stations in the United States remained basically flat at the end of 2014, compared with the quarter ending September 30. As of December 31, 2014, there were 15,432 licensed full power radio stations in the United States. The number of AM stations and the number of FM educational stations both decreased by 10 stations each last quarter. The number of FM commercial radio stations increased by 19.
We see bigger changes when we look at the number of FM translators and boosters, which increased by 63 since the prior quarter and low power FM (LPFM), which increased by 69 stations during the last quarter of 2014. The number of LPFM stations will continue to rise in 2015 as additional applications are processed.
Here’s a run-down of the count:
As of December 31, 2014:
AM Stations: 4,705 (down from 4,715 in 9/14 )
FM Commercial Stations: 6,652 (up from 6,633 in 9/14)
FM Educational Stations: 4,075 (down from 4,085 in 9/14)
Total Radio Stations: 15,432 (down from 15,433 in 9/14)
Not included in Total Radio Stations:
FM Translators and Boosters: 6249 (up from 6,186 in 9/14).
Low power FM (LPFM): 942 (up from 873 in 9/14)
To see more quarterly statistics about the total number of radio stations in the United States, take a look at all of our station count reports here.
