For New Visitors -- Finding Broadcast Radio and Television Information on the FCC Website

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view electronic applications for construction permit or license as well as EEO and ownership reports, locate some historical documents pertaining to radio stations, find mailing addresses, and read a summary on the process of applying for a radio broadcast station.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
  The Licensing Management System (LMS)
  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) 

Media Bureau

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.

Radio Broadcasting

Extensive radio broadcast station information may be found on the Audio Division website.

• 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. Different 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.
   
• 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).
   
•  The LMS Public Searches allow for tailored searches of radio and television data.
   
• 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.
   
• Unlicensed Operation.  Unlicensed operation is generally prohibited, with the exception of some extremely low powered "Part 15" devices which will cover a maximum radius of no more than 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 -- this list does not cover all instances).
   
• 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, or the LMS Public Data Searches for more tailored searches.   For a list of AM and FM radio stations authorized to transmit a digital signal in addition to the standard analog signal, use the List options in the AM and FM Queries.  [ AM | FM ]. 
   
• 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.
   
• 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 or view the entire document.

Television Broadcasting

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.
   
• The LMS Public Searches allow for tailored searches of radio and television data.
   
• 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, so that you aren't stuck with equipment you can't use in the event the application is not successful.  Application processing fees are required for commercial AM, FM, or TV applications (see the Media Bureau Fee Filing Guide).
   
• 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.

The FCC's LMS database (Licensing Management System) is used for broadcast television application processing and FM radio broadcast application processing (including Low Power FM).  The Commission has assembled the LMS Help Center to help applicants with the task of filing applications.  The LMS Help Center should be your first stop to learn about FCC broadcast applications.   If you are looking for information only, please try the LMS Public Searches

Getting to LMS information.  You may retrieve information directly from the LMS Public Searches.  

• The Eacility Search search provides limited information about individual broadcast stations, such as service, community of license, mailing address, and, under the Call Sign History section on the returned page, information about past call sign changes.
   
• 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.   When available, you may retrieve a copy of the electronically filed application itself via the PDF link on the returned page.   NOTE:  Searching for Facility ID numbers, rather than call sign, will give more accurate results.
   
• The Ownership Report search provides information about ownership reports filed with the FCC in 1999 or later, including access to electronic filed reports.
    
• The LMS Public Database Files page provides links to public versions of the relational tables that make up the LMS 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.  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 can be found by using the LMS Assignment/Transfer Search.   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.

For more information on AM and FM radio broadcasting, please visit the Audio Division website, and the Broadcast Radio Links page.

For more information on Television broadcasting, please visit the Video Division website.

FCC > Media Bureau > Audio Division, (202) 418-2700, and Video Division, (202) 418-1600.