 | This articlecontains one or more duplicated citations. The reason given is:DuplicateReferences detected: It is recommended to usenamed references to consolidate citations that are used multiple times.(February 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Broadcast call signs" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Broadcast call signs arecall signs assigned as unique identifiers toradio stations andtelevision stations. While broadcast radio stations will oftenbrand themselves with plain-text names, identities such as "coolFM", "rock 105" or "the ABC network" are not globally unique. Another station in another city or country may (and often will) have a similar brand, and the name of a broadcast station for legal purposes is normally its internationally recognisedITU call sign. Some common conventions are followed around the world.
Excluding those used in amateur radio, call signs are traditionally only used in theAmericas and few countries such as Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan.
Broadcast stations in North America generally use callsigns in the international series.
The US government-operated international broadcaster theVoice of America no longer uses callsigns assigned to it; however,Radio Canada International's transmitter inSackville, New Brunswick was assignedCKCX. Privately operatedshortwave stations, likeWWCR andCFRX, also have call signs.
In Canada, the publicly ownedCanadian Broadcasting Corporation usesCB; privately owned commercial broadcast stations use primarilyCF andCH throughCK prefixes. Four stations licensed toSt. John's by theDominion of Newfoundland government (VOWR,VOAR-FM,VOCM, andVOCM-FM) retain their originalVO calls. TheCB prefix used by CBC stations actually belongs toChile rather than Canada, and is in use by the CBC through an international agreement.[1] Low-powerbroadcast translator stations begin withVF for FM andCH for TV, followed by four numerals assigned sequentially. Unlike the United States, all digital TV stations use the "-DT" suffix instead of keeping the "-TV" suffix.
In Mexico,AM radio stations useXE call signs (such asXEW-AM), while the majority ofFM radio and television stations useXH. Broadcast callsigns are normally four or five letters in length, plus the-FM or-TV suffix where applicable, though several older stations have only three letters. The longest callsign is six letters, plus suffix:XHMORE-FM. All Mexican TV stations using digital TV signals use the "-TDT" suffix.
In the United States, the first letter generally isK for stations west of theMississippi River (includingAlaska,America Samoa,Guam,Hawaii, andNorthern Mariana Islands) andW for those east of the Mississippi River (includingPuerto Rico and theU.S. Virgin Islands). Except for those with theirradio channel or physicalTV channel number in them, all new callsigns have been four letters (plus any suffix like -FM or -TV) for some decades, though there are historicalthree-letter callsigns still in use today, such asKSL in Salt Lake City andWGN in Chicago.Co-owned stations were also allowed to adopt their original short AM callsign likeWGN-TV andKSL-TV, even after new ones were prohibited.
There are a number of exceptions to the east/west rule, such asKDKA in Pittsburgh andWFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth, but these are historical artifactsgrandfathered from arule change in the 1920s. Most of the exceptions are located in themedia markets immediately adjacent to the river, in the state ofLouisiana in the metropolitan areas ofBaton Rouge andgreater New Orleans, and markets north ofthe river's source such asFargo-Moorhead andDuluth-Superior.
The westernmost station in the continental United States beginning with W isWOAI in San Antonio.WVUV-FM in Fagaitua,American Samoa, is the westernmost station with a W call sign.KYW in Philadelphia is currently the easternmost station with a K call sign.
Another exception to this is thatNISTtime-broadcasting stations have a three- or four-letter callsign beginning withWWV. The three current government-operated time stations,WWV (and longwavesister stationWWVB), andWWVH, are located inFort Collins, Colorado andKekaha, Hawaii, respectively, both of which would normally use call signs beginning with "K". However, the rule dividing W and K only applies to stations governed by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC), whereasU.S. federal government stations are governed by theNTIA. This means that like NIST, the hundreds ofNOAA Weather Radio stations across the country have a random mix of W and K callsigns, as dotraveler information stations operated by theNational Park Service.
Costa Rica usesTI call signs. Examples:
El Salvador usesYS,YX andHU call signs depending on geographical area. Examples:
Guatemala usesTG call signs. Examples:
Honduras usesHR call signs. Examples:
Nicaragua usesYN call signs. Examples:
The Dominican Republic usesHI callsigns. Examples:
In Australia, broadcast call signs are allocated by theAustralian Communications and Media Authority and are unique for each broadcast station.[2][3]
The international VL prefix assigned to radio broadcasters has been skipped for many years, thus VL5UV would only identify as 5UV,[citation needed] and now simplyRadio Adelaide. The digit often, but not always, indicates the state or territory, generally followed by two letters on AM and three on FM. Stations with call signs beginning in 2 are based inNew South Wales or theACT, 3 inVictoria, 4 inQueensland, 5 inSouth Australia, 6 inWestern Australia, 7 inTasmania, and 8 in theNorthern Territory.[4]
In South America call signs have been a traditional way of identifying radio and TV stations. Some stations still broadcast their call signs a few times a day, but this practice is becoming very rare. Argentinian broadcast call signs consist of two or three letters followed by multiple numbers, the second and third letters indicating region.
Argentina uses the prefixesLR throughLW, followed by a number. The exact prefix depends on the region where they operate (for example: theLS prefix is used for radio and TV stations in theBuenos Aires city). Stations with theLR prefix may also have an additional letter.
Examples:
Bolivia uses CP call signs. Examples:
In Brazil, radio and TV stations are identified by a ZY, a third letter and three numbers.ZYA,ZYB,ZYR, andZYT are allocated to television stations;ZYI,ZYJ,ZYK andZYL designate AM stations;ZYG is used forshortwave stations;ZYC,ZYD,ZYM andZYU are given to FM stations.
Chilean AM radio stations use the letterC, followed by one of the letters:A,B,C,D. The usage of each of those depends on the latitude of the cities where they operate (for example: the letterB is used for stations in the central region of Chile). FM stations use theXQ prefix, with the same A-E additional letters for AM stations. The resulting prefix is followed by a number which may not match their FM frequency. Television stations also have callsigns; however, they are mostly unknown, as they have never been shown on-air (instead, most Chilean TV stations identify themselves only with their names, similar to stations in Europe). TV call signs follow a similar pattern to those for FM stations, but begin with theXR prefix.
Examples:
In Colombia, the radio stations or television channels are identified by HJ and/or HK with two additional letters. Examples:
Paraguay uses ZPV-(three digit number)-TV call signs. Example:
Peru uses callsigns OA-OC callsigns. In each, it is followed by another letter, a dash and the number 4, followed by another letter. Example:
Uruguay uses CXB followed by a number as a callsign.
Venezuela usesYV call signs. Examples:
InIndonesia, radio stations are assigned call signs beginning withPM for AM and FM stations orYB-YH for amateur radio stations. Calls beginning withPM are then followed by a number indicating theprovince where the station is in, the letters B, C, D and F (B for AM stations, C for some stations inKalimantan, D for some stations inSumatra, and F for FM stations), and two unique characters. Television stations in Indonesia never use call signs, and their use is practically unknown.
InJapan, television and radio stations use calls beginning withJO.
In thePhilippines, stations may use callsigns in the following manner: callsigns beginning with DW and DZ represent all stations inMetro Manila and parts ofLuzon. Calls beginning with DY represent all stations inVisayas, parts ofPalawan, andMasbate; and callsigns beginning with DX represents all stations inMindanao. Originally from 1920 to 1940, callsigns beginning with KZ were assigned to all stations in the Philippines.
Taiwan uses BET followed by a number as a callsign. Examples:
A directory of radio station call signs is called a callbook. Callbooks were originally bound books that resembled atelephone directory and contains the name and addressees of licensed radio stations in a given jurisdiction (country). Modern Electrics published the first callbook in the United States in 1909.[5]
Today, the primary purpose of a callbook is to allow amateur radio operators to send a confirmation post card, called aQSL card, to an operator with whom they have communicated via radio. Callbooks have evolved to include on-line databases that are accessible via the Internet to instantly obtain the address of another amateur radio operator and their QSL Managers. The most well known and used on-line QSL databases include QRZ.COM,[6] IK3QAR,[7] HamCall,[8] F6CYV,[9] DXInfo,[10] OZ7C[11] and QSLInfo.[12]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.