Clear channel

Encyclopedia : C : CL : CLE : Clear channel

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For the company, see Clear Channel Communications.

Clear channel stations are AM radio stations that are designated as such so that only one or two 50,000 watt powerhouses operate at night on each designated frequency, covering a wide area via sky wave propagation. Non-clear channel stations transmitting on these frequencies are (or were) required to shut down at night, leading them to be known as daytimers. In North America, some frequencies were designated by the North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) (to which the U.S., Canada, and Mexico are signatory) as clear channels. These are considered by the FCC and CRTC to be class A (formerly class 1-A or I-A) stations. Daytimers are in class D.

For the U.S., clear channels first appeared in 1922 when the Commerce Department moved stations which had all used two frequencies (one for entertainment stations, one for news) onto 52 frequencies. Two were used for all low-power stations and the large stations each got their own frequency. A few frequencies were used on both the East and West Coast, which were considered far enough apart to limit interference. At this time large stations were limited to 1000 watts. Later in 1928, the AM band was reorganized with local, regional and clear channels (and a few reserved for Canada) by the new Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40. Gradually maximum power was increased to 50,000 watts (with some short lived experiments with 500,000 watt "super-power" operation). This system was continued in the 1941 NARBA system although almost all stations shifted broadcast frequencies.

Recently however, the FCC has authorized nighttime operation by lower-powered stations on these frequencies, thus limiting the non-interference range of the primary licensees. Stations are still required to reduce power or directionally reconfigure their antennas at night. Regional class stations have been allowed to increase their power to the same 50,000 watts as clear channel stations. In 1987 the rules were changed so that no new stations would have daytime-only licenses.

Clear Channel Communications, a San Antonio, Texas-based company which owns over 1200 U.S. radio stations, was originally formed to purchase one clear channel station, WOAI. The company now owns more than a dozen.

Clear channels in North America

The following two tables show all of the class-A stations in North America. Stations in Alaska are shown separately.

Class A stations (except Alaska) Freq. Callsign Community 540 CBK Regina, Saskatchewan 540 CBT Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador 540 XEWA San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí 640 CBN St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador 640 KFI Los Angeles, California 650 WSM Nashville, Tennessee 660 WFAN New York, New York 670 WSCR Chicago, Illinois 680 KNBR San Francisco, California 690 CINF Montreal, Quebec 690 XETRA Tijuana, Baja California 700 WLW Cincinnati, Ohio 710 KIRO Seattle, Washington 710 WOR New York, New York 720 WGN Chicago, Illinois 730 XEX Mexico City 740 CHWO Toronto, Ontario 750 WSB Atlanta, Georgia 760 WJR Detroit, Michigan 770 WABC New York, New York 780 WBBM Chicago, Illinois 800 XEROK Ciudad Juárez 810 KGO San Francisco, California 810 WGY Schenectady, New York 820 WBAP Fort Worth, Texas 830 WCCO Minneapolis, Minnesota 840 WHAS Louisville, Kentucky 850 KOA Denver, Colorado 860 CJBC Toronto, Ontario 870 WWL New Orleans, Louisiana 880 WCBS New York, New York 890 WLS Chicago, Illinois 900 XEW Mexico City 940 CINW Montreal, Quebec 940 XEQ Mexico City 990 CBW Winnipeg, Manitoba 990 CBY Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador 1000 KOMO Seattle, Washington 1000 WMVP Chicago, Illinois 1010 CBR Calgary, Alberta 1010 CFRB Toronto, Ontario 1020 KDKA Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 1030 WBZ Boston, Massachusetts 1040 WHO Des Moines, Iowa 1050 XEG Monterrey 1060 KYW Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1060 XEEP Ejercito de Oriente 1070 CBA Moncton, New Brunswick 1070 KNX Los Angeles, California 1080 KRLD Dallas, Texas 1090 KAAY Little Rock, Arkansas 1090 WBAL Baltimore, Maryland 1100 WTAM Cleveland, Ohio 1110 KFAB Omaha, Nebraska 1110 WBT Charlotte, North Carolina 1120 KMOX St. Louis, Missouri 1130 CKWX Vancouver, British Columbia 1130 KWKH Shreveport, Louisiana 1130 WBBR New York, New York 1140 WRVA Richmond, Virginia 1140 XEMR Monterrey 1160 KSL Salt Lake City, Utah 1170 KFAQ Tulsa, Oklahoma 1170 WWVA Wheeling, West Virginia 1180 WHAM Rochester, New York 1190 KEX Portland, Oregon 1190 WOWOWOWO was previously a class-A station and is called out in the treaties as such. However, in the 1990s WOWO was downgraded to a class B allotment by reducing its night power to 9.8 kW, and thus no longer has a secondary service area. Fort Wayne, Indiana 1190 XEWK Guadalajara 1200 WOAI San Antonio, Texas 1210 WPHT Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1220 XEB San Lorenzo Tezonco 1500 KSTP Saint Paul, Minnesota 1500 WTWP Washington, D.C. 1510 KGA Spokane, Washington 1510 WLAC Nashville, Tennessee 1520 KOKC Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 1520 WWKB Buffalo, New York 1530 KFBK Sacramento, California 1530 WCKY Cincinnati, Ohio 1540 KXEL Waterloo, Iowa 1540 ZNS1 Nassau, Bahamas 1550 CBE Windsor, Ontario 1550 XERUV Xalapa, Veracruz 1560 KNZR Bakersfield, California 1560 WQEW New York, New York 1570 XERF Ciudad Acuña 1580 CHUCCHUC applied for and was granted 1580 at Cobourg, Ontario with 10 kW, but chose instead to move to FM. This channel was originally allocated to CBJ in Chicoutimi, Quebec. CHUC is notified to the U.S. as an existing station on 1580. Cobourg, Ontario

Class A (former class I-N) stations in Alaska Freq. Callsign Community 640 KYUK Bethel 650 KENI Anchorage 660 KFAR Fairbanks 670 KDLG Dillingham 680 KBRW Barrow 700 KBYR Anchorage 720 KOTZ Kotzebue 750 KFQD Anchorage 770 KCHU Valdez 780 KNOM Nome 820 KCBF Fairbanks 850 KICY Nome 890 KBBI Homer 1020 KAXX Eagle River 1080 KUDO Anchorage 1170 KJNP North Pole

See also

• Canadian allocations changes under NARBA

External links

• [AM Station Classes - Clear, Regional, and Local Channels] (FCC Website)
• [Big USA, Mexico, and Canadian AM radio stations]

 

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