The FCC's Web site contains extensive information on broadcast radio and television
stations. For example, users may generate tailored lists of AM, FM, and TV stations, view
electronic applications for construction permit or license as well as EEO and ownership reports, locate
some historical documents pertaining to radio stations, find mailing addresses, and read a summary on the
process of applying for a radio broadcast station. In this document, we provide short summaries for
new users on some repeatedly requested subjects of interest, along with links for
further reading or searches. This does not represent a complete list of information
available, but it does provide a place to start your research. Please bookmark or print this page
and use it as a reference.
Contents
Media Bureau Regulates Radio and Television
Radio Broadcasting (AM and FM) -- Audio Division
AM and FM Queries
How to Apply for a Radio or Television Broadcast
Station
Low Power FM (LPFM) Broadcast Stations (Licensed Service)
Unlicensed Operation
Lists of AM and FM Stations
Programming Format of Radio Stations
Religious Broadcasting Rumor
Television Broadcasting -- Video Division
TV Query
How to Apply for a Radio or Television Broadcast
Station
Lists of TV Stations
Finding Information in CDBS
Station Information
Application Information
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Filings
Ownership Filings
Antenna Information
Download CDBS Database Public Files
Assignment (sale of station) and Transfer of Control
Public Notices -- Broadcast Applications, Broadcast Actions, Call Sign
Changes
Petitions for Rulemaking (Tables of Allotments)
Broadcast Station Totals (Counts)
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Media Bureau |
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| Within the FCC, the Media Bureau is assigned the function
of regulating broadcast radio and television. The Audio
Division administers broadcast AM and FM stations. The Video Division administers digital television broadcasting.
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Radio Broadcasting |
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Extensive radio broadcast station information may be found
on the Audio Division website.
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AM Query
and FM Query
allow custom searches by users. Field searches are additive. if you search (for example)
for call
signs starting with "K" in Pennsylvania in the AM Query, you will only get records for 3
stations, not a list of all the AM stations in the state. If you also change the upper
and lower frequency search limits to "1410" in this example, you will only see one station.
Three types of output are available -- two "list" outputs, good for large lists with one line per
record; one "Query"
output, with detailed data (AM and FM) and service area/contour maps (FM only);
and two "text" one-line-per-record outputs, suitable for
importation into a spreadsheet or other application.
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How to Apply for a Radio or
Television Broadcast Station. General information about the application process for
AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations may be found here. Interested persons or groups should be aware
at the beginning that an application does not guarantee that a construction permit will be granted.
No equipment should be purchased before a construction permit is received. Application processing
fees are required for commercial AM, FM, or TV applications (see the Media Bureau Fee Filing
Guide).
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Low Power FM (LPFM)
radio service. Low power FM stations may be authorized where the required
protection is afforded to FM stations and FM translator (rebroadcast) stations. Power is limited
to 100 watts maximum, with a service area approximately 3.5 miles in radius. These stations are
only available to noncommercial educational groups (not individuals) or public safety entities.
These stations cannot be used for commercial operation.
Please see the related information on our Low Power Radio Broadcast Stations
Page.
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Unlicensed Operation.
Unlicensed operation is generally prohibited, with the exception of some extremely low powered "Part 15"
devices which will cover a radius of no more than a maximum radius of a couple of
hundred feet. Even unlicensed operation with such low power as 100 milliwatts (0.1 watt) is
prohibited. DON'T BUY equipment that claims to allow you to set up your own broadcast
station. Penalties for unlicensed operation can be
severe (see sample cases).
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Lists of Radio Stations. The FCC does not publish lists of radio broadcast
stations, as station information changes daily. Use the AM and FM Queries
to generate lists. For a list of AM and FM radio stations authorized to transmit a digital signal in addition to
the standard analog signal, use the following links. [ AM | FM ].
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Programming Format. The FCC does NOT collect information on the programming
format (country, rock, jazz, talk, religious, ethnic, etc.) of radio broadcast stations, that information
not being necessary for the FCC's regulatory functions. There are private companies that compile
this information, but you may have to pay for it.
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Religious Broadcasting Rumor. A false rumor continues
to circulate that the FCC is proposing to ban religious broadcasting. This rumor is often
(and erroneously) attributed to Madilyn Murray O'Hare. A petition (RM-2493) which had requested the
Commission to make licensing changes was denied in 1975. You may read excerpts from that
Commission order [ HTML ] or the entire document [ PDF (1.2 MB) ].
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Television Broadcasting |
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Television broadcast station information may be found on
the Video Division website.
- TV Query allows custom searches by users.
Field searches are additive. if you search (for example) for call signs starting with "K" in
Pennsylvania in the TV Query, you will only get records for 2 stations, not a list of all the TV
stations in the state. If you also change the upper and lower channel limits to "2" in this
example, you will only see one station. Three types of output are available -- two "list" outputs,
good for large lists with one line per record; one "Query" output, with detailed data and service
area/contour maps; and two "text" one-line-per-record outputs, suitable for importation into a
spreadsheet or other application.
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How to Apply for a Radio or
Television Broadcast Station. General information about the application process for
AM, FM, and TV broadcast stations may be found here. Interested persons or groups should be aware
at the beginning that an application does not guarantee that a construction permit will be granted.
No equipment should be purchased before a construction permit is received. Application processing
fees are required for commercial AM, FM, or TV applications (see the Media Bureau Fee Filing
Guide).
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Lists of Television
Stations. The FCC does not publish lists of television broadcast stations, as station
information changes daily. Use the TV Query to generate lists.
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Finding Information in CDBS |
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Top |
| The FCC's CDBS database (Consolidated
DataBase System) is used to track the filing and
completion of broadcast construction permit, license, renewal, ownership, assignment of license (sale of
station), transfer of control (change of ownership structure), and
EEO applications. CDBS allows viewing of
applications that have been filed electronically with the Commission.
CDBS incorporates data from the earlier BAPS (Broadcast Application Processing System), which was used by
the former Mass Media Bureau between 1979 and 1999. Information about applications filed before
(approximately) the year 2000 is generally limited to items such as file numbers, filing dates, grant or
dismissal dates.
Getting to CDBS information. You may retrieve information
directly from CDBS from the primary search screen.
- The Station Information search provides limited information about
individual broadcast stations, such as service, community of license, mailing address,
and, through the Call Sign History link on the returned page, information
about any recent call sign changes.
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The Application Information search provides information about
applications filed by broadcast stations. Types of applications may include
construction permit, license, ownership, and renewal applications, as well as older
assignment of license or transfer of control application data. Use the Info
link on the returned page to view general information about the application. When
available, you may retrieve a copy of the electronically filed application itself
via the Application link on the returned page.
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The EEO Filing search provides information about
EEO filings with the FCC, including
access to electronic filings in 2000 and later.
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The Ownership Report search provides information about
ownership reports filed with the FCC in 1999 or later, including
access to electronic filed reports.
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The Antenna Information search is primarily used by professional
broadcast consultants to obtain information about particular FM and
TV antennas. This same information is available through the
FM Query or
TV Query with the
"detailed output + CDBS links" option.
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The Download Engineering Data provides links to public
versions of the relational tables that make up the CDBS database. Files
are generally updated each business day. Users are cautioned that the
database structure is not simple, and the staff cannot provide
assistance on the tables' proper arrangement and use.
Alternatively, the AM,
FM, and
TV Queries provide an
option to generate output in a formatted, pipe-delimited list (data fields
are separated by "|"). This provides the information generally sought by users
(see the Text and Pipe-Delimited Output Key) and can be imported into a
spreadsheet or other program for immediate use.
- Assignment (sale of station) and Transfer of Control
Applications
after 1999 usually will NOT be found using the CDBS Application Information link. Use the second
search form, entitled "ALTC Group Search", to locate information for these applications. Please
note that the FCC does NOT maintain data on which stations are available for sale, or the selling prices
of radio or television broadcast stations.
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Public Notice Information |
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The Media Bureau releases information about applications
received, granted, modified, or dismissed in Public Notices that may be viewed over the Internet.
- Broadcast Applications lists applications and filings
received by the Bureau. This notice is generated each business day.
- Broadcast Actions shows staff disposals of applications applications,
e.g., granted, dismissed, returned. This notice is generated each business day.
- Call Sign Changes shows call letter changes for broadcast stations.
Released as needed.
Links:
- Easiest access to the Broadcast Actions, Broadcast Applications, Call Sign Changes
Public Notices, is through the Audio Division's Status
Lists page.
- Use the CDBS Public Access
to locate specific application file numbers.
- Silent AM, FM,
and FM Translator
lists are not public notices, but are updated periodically.
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Petitions for Rulemaking |
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| Allotment petitions for rulemaking are filed by station
owners and other entities
seeking to change station allotments in the FM or TV Tables of Allotments (47 CFR Sections 73.202 [FM] or 73.622 [television]). For
a proposed FM allotment, a petitioner generally must show that a site (latitude and longitude) exists
that meets the minimum separation requirements in 73.207,
while providing the required coverage over the proposed community of license (see
73.315). TV proposals
generally must demonstrate that a site exists that would meet the requirements in Section 73.623. Counterproposals
filed by other entities may be considered.
Initial petitions for rulemaking and related documents are available for viewing in the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing
System. If you know the docket number or the rulemaking number (RM), the
Quick ECFS/EDOCS Search may provide
results faster.
There is no "finder's preference" for successfully petitioning for an allotment for a new FM or TV
station. Commercial FM or TV allotments for new stations will be auctioned per the
Telecommunications Act of 1996 (general information about auctions). Applicants for an allotment for a
noncommercial educational FM or TV station will be selected on the basis of a
point system.
The AM service does not have a Table of Allotments.
Links:
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