This is a list of radio and television broadcasting stations in the United States that are currently assigned three-letter call signs.
Overview
In the United States, all radio and television broadcasting stations that are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are assigned official, unique call signs. Organized broadcasting began in the U.S. in the early 1920s on the AM band — FM and television did not exist yet. Initially most broadcasting stations were assigned three-letter calls; however, a switch was made in April 1922 to primarily four-letter calls, after the number of stations had increased into the hundreds. For a few years thereafter, a small number of new three-letter calls continued to be issued. Although most of the original three-letter calls were randomly assigned, these later calls were often specially requested to match station slogans. The last new three-letter call was assigned to station WIS ("Wonderful Iodine State", now WVOC) in Columbia, South Carolina, on January 23, 1930. Since then, three-letter calls have only been assigned to stations, including FM (beginning in 1943)"Standard Broadcast Station Call Letters for All Outlets Starting Nov. 1, FCC Rule", The Billboard, September 4, 1943, page 7. and TV (beginning in 1946),"Call Letter Style Adopted For Video", Broadcasting, August 19, 1946, page 82. which are historically related to an AM station that was originally issued that call sign. (FCC rules also permitted analog Low Power TV stations to receive three letter calls, with -CA or -LP suffixes,"Requests for new or modified call sign assignments", Code of Federal Regulations, Section 73.3550(f) although there is no record that this ever happened.)
This review only includes FCC-licensed stations. Not included are unlicensed operations, such as carrier current, cable TV, and Internet stations — for example, San Diego State University's "KCR" — which have adopted call-letter-like identifiers that are not officially issued by the FCC. Also not included are stations which use, as slogans, three-letter truncations of their official four-letter call signs; for example, the full call sign for radio station "KOH" in Reno, Nevada, is actually KKOH, and "WTN" in Nashville, Tennessee, is actually WWTN.
Examples of stations which formerly had three letter call signs, but have since changed (such as Albuquerque, New Mexico's KKOB, formerly KOB) are reviewed in separate sections below the main list.
Current assignments
As of July 7, 2026, a total of 103 AM, FM and TV stations in the United States were assigned three-letter call signs. This is divided among only 68 different three-letter calls, because in many cases the same "base" call sign is used by more than one station, although a given call sign is never assigned to more than one AM, FM or TV station. These 68 different "base" three-letter call signs are currently grouped as follows:
25 AM-only 8 FM-only 7 TV-only 14 AM/FM 7 AM/TV 7 AM/FM/TV
Listed below are all the assignments as of July 7, 2026. All three-letter call signs originated with an AM-band station in the period 1921 to 1930. In some cases, this station subsequently changed to a different call sign. In these cases, the original station, and its latest call sign, is listed in parentheses In cases where an AM station exists with the same "base" call letters as an FM station, the FM station is required to include an "-FM" suffix as part of its call sign. If no AM station is currently using the same base call sign, then the "-FM" suffix is optional. As with FM stations, if an AM station currently exists with the same "base" call, a TV station must include a suffix to differentiate itself, but this suffix is optional if no AM station currently exists. TV stations may select either "-TV" or "-DT" as their suffix. CallsignCurrent AM band - 53 stations(Original stations in parentheses)Current FM band - 29 stationsCurrent TV band - 21 stationsKDBKDB - Santa Barbara, CaliforniaKEXKEX - Portland, Oregon12/23/1926+KFHKFH - Wichita, Kansas8/30/2004+(knss: 12/--/1925-8/30/2004)KFIKFI - Los Angeles, California3/31/1922+KGAKGA - Spokane, Washington2/4/1927+KGBKGB - San Diego, California7/4/2020+KGB-FM - San Diego, CaliforniaKGO(ksfo: 1/22/1924-1/1/2025)KGO-TV - San Francisco, CaliforniaKGUKGU - Honolulu, Hawaii3/14/1922+KGU-FM - Honolulu, HawaiiKGW(kpoj: 3/21/1922-3/1/1993)KGW - Portland, OregonKHJKHJ - Los Angeles, California3/18/1922-2/1/1986, 3/15/2000+KHQ()KHQ-TV - Spokane, WashingtonKITKIT - Yakima, Washington3/22/1929+KJRKJR - Seattle, Washington3/9/1922+KJR-FM - Seattle, WashingtonKLO(kmes: 4/11/1929-11/3/2020)KLO-FM - Coalville, UtahKLZKLZ - Denver, Colorado3/10/1922+KMAKMA - Shenandoah, Iowa8/12/1925+KMA-FM - Clarinda, IowaKMJKMJ - Fresno, California3/23/1922+KMJ-FM - Fresno, CaliforniaKNXKNX - Los Angeles, California5/4/1922+KNX-FM - Los Angeles, CaliforniaKOAKOA - Denver, Colorado12/13/1924+KOB)KOB - Albuquerque, New MexicoKOYKOY - Phoenix, Arizona5/7/1999+(KPQKPQ - Wenatchee, Washington5/2/1928+KPQ-FM - Wenatchee, WashingtonKQVKQV - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania1/9/1922+KSD)KSD - St. Louis, MissouriKSLKSL - Salt Lake City, Utah3/24/1925+KSL-FM - Midvale, UtahKSL-TV - Salt Lake City, UtahKUJKUJ - Walla Walla, Washington12/--/1926+KUJ-FM - Burbank, WashingtonKUTKUT - Austin, TexasKVIKVI - Seattle, Washington11/24/1926+KWGKWG - Stockton, California12/7/1921+KXLKXL-FM - Portland, OregonKXOKXO - El Centro, California11/11/1928+KXO-FM - El Centro, CaliforniaKYWKYW - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania11/15/1921+KYW-TV - Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWBTWBT - Charlotte, North Carolina3/18/1922+WBT-FM - Charlotte, North CarolinaWBZWBZ - Boston, Massachusetts9/15/1921+WBZ-FM - Boston, MassachusettsWBZ-TV - Boston, MassachusettsWDZWDZ - Decatur, Illinois4/5/1922+WEWWEW - Saint Louis, Missouri3/23/1922+WGHWGH - Newport News, Virginia11/20/1928-8/31/1983, 12/10/1984-12/5/2004, 7/1/2005+WGH-FM - Newport News, VirginiaWGLWGL - Fort Wayne, Indiana11/11/1928+WGNWGN - Chicago, Illinois3/29/1924+()WGN-TV - Chicago, IllinoisWGRWGR - Buffalo, New York3/14/1922+WGR-FM - Wethersfield, New YorkWGYWGY - Schenectady, New York2/4/1922+WGY-FM - Albany, New YorkWHAWHA - Madison, Wisconsin1/13/1922+WHA-TV - Madison, WisconsinWHBWHB - Kansas City, Missouri10/7/1997+()WHKWHK - Cleveland, Ohio2/21/1922-2/26/2001, 4/5/2005+WHOWHO - Des Moines, Iowa4/15/1924+WHO-DT - Des Moines, IowaWHPWHP - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania3/16/1929+WHP-TV - Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaWIL(WIL-FM - Saint Louis, MissouriWIP()WIP-FM - Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaWIS()WIS - Columbia, South CarolinaWJRWJR - Detroit, Michigan8/20/1925+WJW()WJW - Cleveland, OhioWJZWJZ - Baltimore, Maryland11/3/2008+()WJZ-FM - Catonsville, MarylandWJZ-TV - Baltimore, MarylandWKYWKY - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma3/16/1922+WLSWLS - Chicago, Illinois4/11/1924+WLS-FM - Chicago, IllinoisWLS-TV - Chicago, IllinoisWLWWLW - Cincinnati, Ohio3/2/1922+WMCWMC - Memphis, Tennessee1/19/1923+WMC-TV - Memphis, TennesseeWMTWMT - Cedar Rapids, Iowa11/11/1928+ WOCWOC - Davenport, Iowa11/11/1934+()WOIWOI - Ames, Iowa4/28/1922+WOI-FM - Ames, IowaWOI-DT - Ames, IowaWOLWOL - Washington, D.C.2/20/1950+()WORWOR - New York, New York2/20/1922+WOWWOW - Omaha, Nebraska12/16/1926-11/22/1999, 7/7/2026+WRC)WRC-TV - Washington, D.C.WRR)WRR - Dallas, TexasWSBWSB - Atlanta, Georgia3/15/1922+WSB-FM - Atlanta, GeorgiaWSB-TV - Atlanta, GeorgiaWSMWSM - Nashville, Tennessee10/5/1925+WSM-FM - Nashville, TennesseeWWJWWJ - Detroit, Michigan3/3/1922+WWJ-TV - Detroit, MichiganWWLWWL - New Orleans, Louisiana3/30/1922+WWL-FM - Kenner, LouisianaWWL-TV - New Orleans, Louisiana
Former usage In all cases, a given three-letter call sign originated with an AM band station. However, the later development of FM and TV stations saw many adopting a version of the well established AM station's call sign. This was particularly true of FM radio stations, which commonly simulcast an AM station before adopting their own formats and distinctive call letters. Below are partial lists of previous usage:
Former AM station assignments KDN - San Francisco, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KFC - Seattle, Washington, 1921-1924 (deleted) KGB - San Francisco, California, 1921-1922 (deleted) KGB - Los Angeles, California, 1928-1982 (became KCNN) KGC - Los Angeles, California, 1921-1922 (became KNX) KGG - Portland, Oregon, 1922-1924 (deleted) KGY - Olympia, Washington, 1922-2014 (became KBUP) KID - Idaho Falls, Idaho, 1929-2023 (deleted) KJJ - Sunnyvale, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KJQ - Stockton, California, 1921-1925 (deleted) KLS - Oakland, California, 1922-1945 (became KWBR) KLX - Oakland, California, 1922-1959 (became KEWB) KMO - Tacoma Washington, 1922-1983 (changed to KAMT) KOG - Los Angeles, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KOH - Reno, Nevada, 1928-1994 (became KRCV) KOL - Seattle, Washington, 1928-1975 (became KMPS) KOP - Detroit, Michigan, 1922-1925 (deleted) KPO - San Francisco, California, 1922-1946 (became KNBC) KQW - San Francisco, California, 1921-1949 (became KCBS) KRE - Berkeley, California, 1922-1963 and 1972-1986 (became KBLX) KSO - Des Moines, Iowa, 1935-1989 (became KGGO) KTM - Los Angeles, California, 1928-1935 (became KEHE) KTW - Seattle, Washington, 1922-1975 (became KYAC) KVL - Seattle, Washington, 1928-1936 (became KEEN) KVQ - Sacramento, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KWK - Saint Louis, Missouri, 1927-1984 (became KGLD) KYA - San Francisco, California, 1926-1983 (became KOIT) KYJ - Los Angeles, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KYY - San Francisco, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) KZC - Los Angeles, California, 1921-1922 (changed to KOG) KZM - Oakland, California, 1921-1931 (deleted, Hayward, California) KZY - Oakland, California, 1921-1923 (deleted) WBL - Detroit, Michigan, 1921-1922 (changed to WWJ) WDM - Washington, D. C., 1921-1925 (deleted) WDT - New York, New York, 1921-1923 (deleted) WDW - Washington, D.C., 1921-1922 (deleted) WEY - Wichita, Kansas, 1922-1923 (deleted) WFI - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1922-1935 (consolidated with WLIT as WFIL) WGF - Des Moines, Iowa, 1922-1923 (deleted) WGH - Montgomery, Alabama, 1922-1923 (deleted) WGL - New York, New York, 1926-1928 (became WOV) WGM - Atlanta, Georgia, 1922-1923 (deleted) WGU - Chicago, Illinois - 1922 (relicensed as WMAQ) WGV - New Orleans, Louisiana, 1922-1924 (deleted) WHD - Morgantown, West Virginia, 1922-1923 (deleted) WHN - New York, New York, 1922-1948 and 1962-1987 (became WFAN) WJH - Washington, D. C., 1921-1924 (deleted) WJX - New York City, 1921-1924 (deleted) WJY - New York, New York, 1923-1927 (deleted) WKC- Baltimore, Maryland, 1922-1923 (deleted) WKN - Memphis, Tennessee, 1922-1923 (deleted) WLB - Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1922-1945 (became KUOM) WLK - Indianapolis, Indiana, 1922-1923 (deleted) WMB - Auburn, Maine, 1922-1923 (deleted) WMH - Cincinnati, Ohio, 1921-1923 (deleted) WMH - Cincinnati, Ohio, 1924-1925 (became WKRC) WOK - Chicago, Illinois, 1925-1928 (deleted as WMBB-WOK) WOO - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1922-1928 (deleted) WOQ - Kansas City, Missouri, 1922-1934 (deleted) WOS - Jefferson City, Missouri, 1922-1936 (deleted) WOU - Omaha, Nebraska, 1921-1923 (deleted) WOV - New York, New York, 1928-1959 (became WADO) WPO - Memphis, Tennessee, 1922-1923 (deleted) WRM - Urbana, Illinois, 1922-1928 (became WILL) WWT - Buffalo, New York, 1922 (deleted)
Former FM station assignments KFI-FM - 1946-1951 (deleted) WDVE - KQV-FM, 1962-1970
Former TV station assignments
KMGH-TV - KLZ-TV, 1953-1972 KSEE - KMJ-TV, 1953-1981 KCPQ - KMO-TV, 1953-1954 KCNC-TV - KOA-TV, 1953-1983 KSDK - KSD-TV, 1947-1979 KMOV - KWK-TV, 1954-1958 WBTV - WBT-TV, 1948-1949 KFOR-TV - WKY-TV, 1949-1976 KGAN - WMT-TV, 1953-1981 KWQC - WOC-TV, 1949-1986 WGRZ - WGR-TV, 1954–1983 WWOR-TV - WOR-TV, 1949-1987 WOWT - WOW-TV, 1949-1975 WSMV-TV - WSM-TV, 1950-1981 KCAL-TV - KFI-TV, 1948–1951; KHJ-TV, 1951–1989
Other stations of note