How many broadcast stations are there in the U.S.?
Periodically the FCC releases a count of the number of broadcast stations licensed in the United States. Last week’s Broadcast Station Totals as of Sept. 30, 2005 shows a total of 1,034 UHF TV stations and 715 VHF TV stations. The FCC listed a total of 593 Class A TV stations (485 UHF and 108 VHF), a total of 2,117 LPTV stations (1,621 UHF and 496 VHF), and 4,503 TV translators (2,678 UHF and 1,825 VHF).
After adding in AM operations, along with FM full-power, low-power and translator stations, the count reveals a total of 27,079 licensed broadcast stations as of Sept. 30, 2005. It should be noted that DTV stations are not counted as separate licenses, so although a TV station may be transmitting on two channels, it is counted as only one station.