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1990-01-18
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MYSTIQUE OF THE THREE-LETTER CALL SIGNS Thomas H. White
January 1, 1990
Three-letter calls in the United States are an emotional topic for
many -- the "passing" of one leads to mourning and oratory on the
need to protect these historic creatures from extinction. However,
some misconceptions exist about these calls. This is a review of
the origin and history of these unique calls, plus information on
some equally historic four-letter calls.
By today's standards, the continued emphasis in the United States on
call letters for radio, an entertainment and information service, is
something of an anachronism -- most other countries have long since
switched to slogans or network IDs for establishing public identity.
One can imagine the cries of outrage which would result if a stuffy
bureaucrat were to try to force, say, the New York newspapers to
deal with the public through their "newspaper signs" of "WNYT" or
"WPST". What kind of circulation would magazines entitled "WTME",
"KPLA", and "KGQ" garner? Still, with over 75 years of tradition,
call letters are fixed upon the American psyche. Besides, they make
bookkeeping at the Federal Communications Commission easier.
ORIGINAL REGULATIONS
The use of identifying letters is almost as old as radio itself.
Because all early radio work was done in telegraphic code, spelling
out an operator's name or location was too cumbersome. Abbreviations
of two or three characters, usually initials of geographic location
or personal or ship names, were naturally more convenient. Operators
independently adopted identifying "call signs", so that stations
"calling" through the ether were able to link up with a minimum of
sorting out identities. Unfortunately, during the self-assigned era
there were few standards, which resulted in problems when, say, two
or more ships chose the same call. Unique identifiers, organized by
national origin, were needed in order to keep track of exactly which
vessel was in danger of visiting Davy Jones' locker.
With the adoption of the "Radio Act of 1912" by the United States
this practice became formalized under federal authority. Under
international agreement initial letters were allotted among the
various nations. The 1913 edition of "Radio Stations of the United
States" records the contemporary practices for allocating calls for
land and sea stations, which at that time were few enough to all be
accommodated by three-letter calls:
The call letters assigned to the United States are all
combinations (676) beginning with the letter N and all
(676) beginning with the letter W, and all combinations
(598) from KDA to KZZ, inclusive. [NOTE: Germany was
assigned the KAA-KCZ allocation] The total number of
international calls is thus 1,950, and these are
reserved for Government stations and stations open to
public and limited commercial service.
All combinations beginning with the letter N are
reserved for Government stations and in addition the
combinations from WUA to WVZ and WXA to WZZ are reserved
for the stations of the Army of the United States.
The combinations KDA to KZZ, with a few exceptions, are
reserved for ship stations on the Atlantic and the Gulf
of Mexico and for land stations on the Pacific coast.
The combinations beginning with W (except WUA to WVZ and
WXA to WZZ as already indicated) are reserved, with a
few exceptions, for ship stations on the Pacific and
Great Lakes and for land stations on the Atlantic and
Gulf coasts and in the Great Lake region.
Notice the policy was that coastal ship station calls started with a
different letter from that used by the land stations they
communicated with: coastal ship stations were assigned W-- calls in
the West and K-- in the East, while the reverse was true for land
stations, with K-- in the West and W-- in the East.
Amateur and experimental stations fell into a separate call sign
scheme. In fact, the International Bureau at Berne did not have to
be notified of their existence. The U. S. was divided into nine
radio inspection districts, and amateurs received calls beginning
with their district number and followed by a pair of letters, for
example 8MK. An X as the first letter was reserved for experimental
stations. Similarly a Y designated the station as being operated by
a technical or training school, while a Z conferred "special amateur
status". Run of the mill amateurs made do with the less exotic
letters of the alphabet. The 1913 Radio Stations of the United
States noted that "The three items-a given figure first, followed by
two letters of the alphabet-thus may be combined in 598 different
calls, which will probably suffice for the amateur sending stations
in most districts for some time to come". (More letters and numbers
were added as the number of amateurs grew. Also, as the range of
amateur stations increased it became necessary to "internationalize"
their calls, so in 1928 W and K prefixes were added).
REFINEMENTS
The Bureau of Navigation, a division of the Department of Commerce,
understandably was required to refine its allocating schemes
occasionally over the years. In the early teens most non-amateur
land stations engaged in ship-to-shore communication, and were found
clustered along the coasts. As other services were developed
stations crept inland, and a dividing line between the western K's
and eastern W's was needed. Although its location is not spelled
out the rules, it is possible to make an educated guess how the
original boundary was chosen. As noted earlier, coastal land
stations in states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, including
Texas, received W calls. Thus, using the Texas-New Mexico border as
a starting point and heading north, the boundary was formed by the
eastern borders of New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana.
It was only in late January of 1923 that the current boundary of the
Mississippi River was adopted. This meant new call grants in North
and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Iowa,
Missouri, Arkansas, and parts of Minnesota and Louisiana became K's
rather than W's. However, existing stations west of the Mississippi
were permitted to keep their now non-standard W calls. Thus
pioneer broadcasters such as WKY Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, WOI Ames,
Iowa, WHB Kansas City, Kansas, and WDAY Fargo, North Dakota remain
as monuments to the period before the boundary change.
World War I also had a disruptive effect. German submarines did much
to popularize radio among American ships as wireless, formerly an
expensive option, became a life or death necessity for making the
Atlantic run. Unfortunately, there just weren't enough three-letter
calls to go around. The obvious solution was more letters, and four
letter KE-- signs became the predominate issue for the rapidly
expanding ship service, generally issued on a first come, first
served basis in alphabetical order. The department, apparently
noting that oceans are connected and ships might show up on either
coast, no longer tried to differentiate ships by the waters on which
they sailed.
The less numerous land stations continued to receive three-letter
calls, as turnover insured a modest reserve pool. (Actually
"turnover" is in some cases a euphemism. A few land stations,
including broadcasters WSB Atlanta and KLZ Denver, received calls
which became available with the demise of the ships that had used
them. Superstitious seafarers objected to being issued the calls
"used by that ship which went down with all hands last month", so
some "tainted" calls were quietly issued to unsinkable land stations
instead.)
Showing partiality to vowels, the next major blocks drawn upon for
ship stations were KI--, KO--, and KU--. Having exhausted the
vowels, the first available consonant, KD--, was drafted beginning
June 1920. At this point an anomaly occurred. The Bureau, perhaps
caught up in a burst of egalitarianism, began assigning KD-- calls
to most stations, land or sea. The result, on October 27, 1920, was
that a new Westinghouse station in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,
KDKA, was sandwiched between the ships "Montgomery City" (KDJZ) and
"Eastern Sword" (KDKB). The "KD-- for everyone" policy continued
until April, 1921, when the original three-letter land station
policy was reinstated. This meant that, in May, 1921, when the
second Westinghouse broadcast station, WJZ in Newark, New Jersey
(now WABC in New York City) was authorized, the original call policy
had been restored. Much speculation has occurred about the unique
status which the KDKA call seems to confirm, but actually this
uniqueness is a fluke, due to the fact that no other surviving
broadcaster was licensed during this short anomaly. Had KDKA been
licensed a few months earlier or later it most likely would have
gotten a three-letter W call like everyone else.
[NOTES: two other land stations licensed during this anomaly, KDPM
Cleveland, Ohio, and KDPT San Diego, California, both non-
broadcasting service stations, later transferred to the broadcast
service but were eventually deleted. There was also an attempt to
"standardize" KDKA. The June 30, 1928 Radio Service Bulletin lists
a number of calls to be changed to meet international standards.
One listed change, which was never implemented, is the replacement
of KDKA with the new call WKA.]
DAWN OF THE FOUR-LETTER CALLS
The flood of broadcasting service authorizations that began in
earnest in December of 1921 served to overload the recycling
three-letter calls. Before the crunch the Bureau was able to assign
three-letter call signs to about 180 broadcasters.
It was the more saturated East that was the first to feel the pinch.
On April 4, 1922 an application from the Times-Picayune of New
Orleans broke new ground with the assignment of WAAB (now WJBO,
Baton Rouge) as its call. [NOTE: WAAA was skipped as no sign was
permitted with the same letter three times in a row] The
progression continued in alphabetical order, with "A" fixed as the
third letter, i.e. WAAB, WAAC, WAAD... WBAB, WBAC... etc. This
explains why so many pioneers such as WBAP Fort Worth, Texas; WCAL
Saint Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota, WCAU Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, WEAF (now WFAN) New York City, WHAS Louisville,
Kentucky, WKAR Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan,
WMAQ Chicago, and WOAI San Antonio, Texas share this same middle
letter. In later years it became the norm for broadcasters to ask
for distinctive calls. However, if they had no preference they were
assigned calls from blocks used for a variety of radio services.
Starting April of 1923 calls centering on "B" were issued, including
WBBM Chicago, WFBR Baltimore, Maryland, WIBG (now WZZD)
Philadelphia, and WMBD Peoria, Illinois. In mid-1928 there was a
jump to the middle of the W-D- block, which yielded WHDH Boston and
WRDW Augusta, Georgia. W-E- calls followed beginning in early 1931,
including WDEV Waterbury, Vermont, WEEU Reading, Pennsylvania, and
WFEA Manchester, New Hampshire.
The West held out until May 8, 1922, when Western broadcasters
started sharing the four-letter ship blocks. KDYL in Salt Lake City
was both the first authorization and last survivor of this group.
When it became KCPX (now KUTR) December 21, 1959 all thirty-two KD--
authorizations from this switchover had either expired or changed
calls. (There is currently a KDYL in Salt Lake City, but this
station only dates back to 1945 and has been KDYL only since 1982.)
The KF-- block, begun June 1922, boasts a few more noteworthies,
including KFBK Sacramento, California, Doc Brinkley's infamous KFKB,
KFNF Shenandoah, Iowa (now KYFR), KFQD Anchorage, Alaska, and KFYR
Bismarck, North Dakota. The KG-- group was tapped July 1926: KGCX
Sidney, Montana and KGFJ Los Angeles, California are two that
survive to this day. (A ship station was not as fortunate. KGOV
was assigned to the Morro Castle, which went on to burn
spectacularly off the New Jersey coast in 1934). KH-- calls were
used, beginning in 1927, for a new service category: Commercial
Aircraft Stations. Surprisingly this group included a short-lived
broadcast authorization, KHAC, issued in late 1927 to Flying
Broadcasters, Inc. in San Francisco, for "Airplane (unnamed)". The
KI-- block was drafted in early 1932, which resulted in KIEV
Glendale, California.
[NOTE: Calls in the early twenties were assigned at the time an
application, usually a "Form 761", was received in Washington, NOT
with the issuance of the first license, which usually took place a
number of days after the application was received. Thus, you must
list these pioneers by call assignment rather than first license
date for the four-letter calls to line up alphabetically. For more
information see the Call Assignment Date entries in the station list
included in "Broadcast Station Pioneers: Policies and Stations".
Also, there is an anomaly in the assignment of W calls which may
mean that WAAB was actually the second four-letter W call issued.
Purdue University's application for a station in West Lafayette,
Indiana was assigned WBAA on the same day, April 4th, that WAAB was
assigned. No other WBA- calls were issued until two weeks later,
after the WAA- calls had been exhausted. It is possible that the
original plan was to start with WBA- calls, but after WBAA was
issued the situation was reconsidered and the procession pulled back
to start with the WAA- calls.]
THREE-LETTER CALLS AFTER 1922
All broadcast station activity in three-letter calls did not cease
following the 1922 switchover to four-letter calls, as about half of
today's holders of three-letter calls trace their first assignment
to later than 1922. In many cases these post-1922 calls were not
the station's first, but were ones they changed to some years later.
Some calls were inherited when a previously authorized broadcaster
or other station expired. And many of these calls were specially
requested to tie-in with a slogan or licensee name: "World's Largest
Store" (Sears); "World's Greatest Harbor" (Norfolk); "World's
Greatest Newspaper" (Chicago Tribune); "Woodman Of the World"; "We
Shield Millions" (National Life), etc. The last new three-letter
call assignment, excluding reassignments of previously used calls or
FM and TV sister stations, was WIS (now WOMG), "Wonderful Iodine
State" in Columbia, South Carolina on January 23, 1930.
The June 30, 1931 edition of Commercial and Government Radio
Stations of the United States listed 93 three-letter broadcasters
out of a total of 631, about 15% of the stations. It was only in
the post-World War II boom, when stations came to be counted in the
thousands, that these calls have faded into relative obscurity,
although their absolute numbers have not declined as much.
Actually new three-letter calls are still being assigned, although
not for broadcast services. Their use is currently reserved for a
service which dates back to the original 1912 assignments, Coastal
Land Stations. However, even this group has threatened to exhaust
the small allotment. Previously "Class 2" coastal stations were
allowed to draw on the block. But an impending shortage forced the
FCC to restrict these calls to only new stations of the "Class 1
(excluding Alaska)" classification, where the matter stands today.
FM AND TV SISTER STATIONS
FM and TV were developed in the forties and fifties, and obviously
the new services needed call signs. After a short period of
requiring FM and TV stations to have unique calls, the FCC decided
to allow stations in the same market to have the same call as sister
AM stations, provided they added an "-FM" or "-TV" suffix. (These
suffixed calls were technically five- and six- letters, counting the
two letter suffix.) All FM and TV stations trace their three-letter
calls back to an original AM station.
Until 1957, whenever you found an FM and TV station with a three-
letter call, the original three-letter AM was still around. An
exception to this first occurred as a result of the ABC's 1953
decision to change the calls of its New York City stations from WJZ
(AM, FM, and TV) to WABC. This proved very traumatic to the
Westinghouse Corporation, which founded WJZ thirty-two years earlier
in Newark, New Jersey. (In 1923 the station was moved to New York
City and transferred to RCA, where it became the flagship for the
NBC-Blue -- later ABC -- network.) Although FCC rules prohibited
new three-letter calls, they technically didn't restrict new
five-letter ones, so, four and one-half years after the
disappearance of WJZ the FCC gave Westinghouse permission to rename
its Baltimore TV outlet WJZ-TV. With this precedent a new chapter
of call sign practice began. This was the first time permission was
given to reclaim a previously abandoned three-letter call under the
FCC. In addition, this was also the first case of an "independent"
three-letter call, i.e. one that did not appear concurrently on any
AM station.
A year after the appearance of WJZ-TV the second "independent"
appeared, when the University of Texas was granted permission for a
new Educational FM station in Austin, Texas. The calls KUT-FM were
assigned (another five-letter call), in honor of the original KUT,
which the college had sold three decades previously, and which
became KNOW (now KMOW) in 1932. Since then "independence" has
become more common, for in addition to the total of 60 active AM
three-letter calls as of January 1, 1990 there are 11 independents,
for a total of 71 different three-letter calls on all bands.
CONCLUSIONS
Some people, seeing the disappearance of three-letter calls from the
AM band, have accused owners of not being historically minded. The
opposite is true. When AM holdings are disposed, the very
historically minded owners often keep the three-letter calls for
their FM and TV stations. And the good news about this development
is that there have only been two cases (KWK and KHJ) where a three-
letter call, saved as an independent, subsequently disappeared from
the airwaves. So, what does the future hold? Well, if you like your
three-letter calls on the original stations, it's bound to be bad.
AM radio doesn't have the financial glamour it had fifty -- or even
ten -- years ago, and more AMs will be unloaded, with call sign
custody often passing to the more prosperous FMs and TVs. Some
missing calls might return -- the FCC has had a soft spot at times
for prodigal sons. Below are the occasions when dropped three-
letter calls were allowed to be reclaimed:
Call Lapse Dropped Reclaimed
---- ---------- -------- ---------
KUT 26 yrs 01/26/32 08/21/58 (returned to FM only)
WHN 13 1/2 yrs 09/15/48 02/28/62 (became WFAN-now WEVD-7/1/87)
KRE 9 yrs 04/29/63 06/11/72 (became KBLX-now KBFN-8/13/86)
WJZ 4 1/2 yrs 03/01/53 08/05/57 (returned to TV only)
WGH 15 months 09/01/83 12/10/84
KYA 2 weeks 06/29/60 07/13/60
KDB 10 days 10/12/69 10/22/69
MAJOR AM THREE-LETTER CALL ACTIONS: JUNE 30, 1931 - JAN. 1, 1990
================================================================
Total Not All
on AM on AM bands
----- ----- -----
06/30/31 status as of this date 93 0 93
01/26/32 KUT AUSTIN, TX became KNOW (now KMOW) 92 0 92
(see 8/21/58)
05/09/32 WOC DAVENPORT, IA consolidated with WHO 92 0 92
Des Moines as WHO-WOC (see 11/11/34)
06/02/33 WNJ NEWARK, NJ. Station deleted. 91 0 91
06/14/34 WOQ KANSAS CITY, MO. Station deleted. 90 0 90
11/11/34 WOC DAVENPORT, IA. Call split-off from WHO- 90 0 90
WOC Des Moines, moved to x-KICK Davenport
12/03/34 KYW CHICAGO, IL station moved to 90 0 90
Philadelphia, PA (see 2/13/56)
01/21/35 WFI PHILADELPHIA, PA. Station consolidated 89 0 89
with WLIT as WFIL (now WEAZ)
03/17/35 KSO DES MOINES, IA. Called transferred to 89 0 89
x-KWCR, old KSO became KRNT
05/06/35 KTM LOS ANGELES, CA became KEHE (now KABC) 88 0 88
03/27/36 WOS JEFFERSON CITY, MO. Station deleted. 87 0 87
12/15/36 KVL SEATTLE, WA became KEEN (now KING) 86 0 86
01/03/40 WPG ATLANTIC CITY, NJ consolidated with 85 0 85
WBIL and WOV as "new" WOV
01/23/41 WOR NEWARK, NJ. Stat. moved to New York, NY 85 0 85
11/12/41 WOV NEW YORK, NY swapped calls with WNEW 85 0 85
05/06/44 KJR SEATTLE, WA swapped calls with KOMO 85 0 85
06/01/45 WLB MINNEAPOLIS, MN became KUOM 84 0 84
09/10/45 KLS OAKLAND, CA became KWBR (now KDIA) 83 0 83
11/12/47 KPO SAN FRANCISCO, CA became KNBC (now KNBR)82 0 82
09/15/48 WHN NEW YORK, NY became WMGM (see 2/28/62) 81 0 81
04/03/49 KQW SAN FRANCISCO, CA became KCBS 80 0 80
02/20/50 WOL WASHINGTON, DC swapped calls with WWDC 80 0 80
03/01/53 WJZ NEW YORK CITY, NY became WABC 79 0 79
(see 8/5/57)
02/13/56 KYW PHILADELPHIA, PA. Call moved to x-WTAM 79 0 79
(now WWWE) Cleveland, OH (see 6/19/65)
08/05/57 WJZ BALTIMORE, MD. Call reactivated for TV 79 1 80
station (see 3/1/53)
08/21/58 KUT AUSTIN, TX. Call reactivated for FM 79 2 81
06/07/59 KLX OAKLAND, CA became KEWB (now KNEW) 78 2 80
11/01/59 WOV NEW YORK, NY became WADO 77 2 79
06/29/60 KYA SAN FRANCISCO, CA became KDBQ (next) 76 2 78
07/13/60 KYA SAN FRANCISCO, CA returns from KDBQ 77 2 79
02/28/62 WHN NEW YORK, NY returns from WMGM 78 2 80
(see 9/15/48)
04/29/63 KRE BERKELEY, CA became KPAT (see 6/11/72) 77 2 79
06/19/65 KYW CLEVELAND, OH. Call returned to 77 2 79
Philadelphia, PA (see 2/13/56)
10/12/69 KDB SANTA BARBARA, CA became KAPN (FM 76 3 79
retains 3-letter call--see next)
10/22/69 KDB SANTA BARBARA, CA returns from KAPN 77 2 79
Total Not All
on AM on AM bands
----- ----- -----
06/11/72 KRE BERKELEY, CA returns from KPAT (see 78 2 80
4/29/63)
08/30/75 KTW SEATTLE, WA became KYAC (now KKFX) 77 2 79
09/01/75 KOL SEATTLE, WA became KMPS 76 2 78
04/14/78 WRR DALLAS, TX became KAAM (FM retains call)75 3 78
03/15/82 KGB SAN DIEGO, CA became KCNN (now KPOP-- 74 4 78
FM retains call)
04/18/83 KMO TACOMA, WA became KAMT (now KKMO) 73 4 77
09/01/83 WGH NEWPORT NEWS, VA became WNSY (see 72 4 76
12/10/84)
12/13/83 KYA SAN FRANCISCO, CA became KOIT (FM ret.) 71 5 76
02/27/84 WRC WASHINGTON, DC became WWRC (TV retains) 70 6 76
03/19/84 KSD ST. LOUIS, MO became KUSA (FM retains) 69 7 76
06/01/84 KWK ST. LOUIS, MO became KGLD (FM retains- 68 8 76
see 2/29/88)
12/10/84 WGH NEWPORT NEWS, VA returns from WNSY 69 8 77
(see 9/1/83)
01/07/85 KHQ SPOKANE, WA became KLSN (now KAQQ) 68 9 77
(TV retains call)
06/11/85 WJW CLEVELAND, OH became WRMR (TV retains) 67 10 77
02/01/86 KHJ LOS ANGELES, CA became KRTH (TV retains 66 11 77
-- see 12/2/89)
04/11/86 KXA SEATTLE, WA became KRPM 65 11 76
08/13/86 KRE BERKELEY, CA became KBLX (now KBFN) 64 11 75
10/28/86 KOB ALBUQUERQUE, NM became KKOB (TV retains)63 12 75
12/31/86 WIS COLUMBIA, SC became WVOC (now WOMG) 62 13 75
(TV retains call)
07/01/87 WHN NEW YORK, NY became WFAN (now WEVD) 61 13 74
02/29/88 KWK ST. LOUIS, MO. KWK-FM became WKBG 61 12 73
09/11/89 KSO DES MOINES, IA became KGGO 60 12 72
12/02/89 KHJ LOS ANGELES, CA. KHJ-TV became KCAL-TV 60 11 71
NOTES: "Total on AM" is the number of three-letter calls on the AM
band after the action took place. "Not on AM" is the number of
"independent" three-letter calls, i.e. held only by an FM or TV
station after being given up by the original AM station. "All
bands" is the total number of different three-letter calls in use on
AM, FM and TV, i.e. "Total on AM" plus "Not on AM".
The starting point of this list, June 30, 1931, is an arbitrary one,
chosen as a date when the industry had generally stabilized after
the chaotic twenties and early thirties. In summary, as of June 30,
1931 there were 93 AM three-letter calls. In the period through
January 1, 1990, 33 three-letter calls disappeared from the AM band.
Twenty-two of the 33 completely disappeared from the airwaves: three
through station deletions--WNJ, WOQ and WOS--and the other 19 due to
call changes and station consolidations: WFI, KTM, KVL, WPG, WLB,
KLS, KPO, KQW, KLX, WOV, KTW, KOL, KMO, KXA, KRE, WHN, KWK, KSO and
KHJ. The other 11 "gone from the AM band" calls have homes as FM or
TV stations: WJZ (TV), KUT (FM), WRR (FM), KGB (FM), KYA (FM), WRC
(TV), KSD (FM), KHQ (TV), WJW (TV), KOB (TV), and WIS (TV). Thus,
over 58 1/2 years the number of different three-letter calls went
from 93 to 60 on the AM band, and from 93 to 71 on all bands.
CURRENT THREE-LETTER CALL SIGNS
===============================
The following list includes all the three-letter calls in use as of
January 1, 1990, plus information on current and former sister
stations. (The latter are listed because they are potential heirs if
the three-letter calls are dropped by the current owners.)
Current three-letter calls are listed in capital letters. In
addition, the CURRENT sister stations (i.e. having the same owner in
the same market as the three-letter call holder) of the three-letter
stations are listed in lowercase, while the FORMER sister stations
that I was able to track down (at one time, but no longer, having
the same owner) are listed in lowercase and in parentheses.
The first three columns list information on the AM stations, which
are the original holders of the three-letter calls. The "AM" column
lists the current call of the original station. The "first" column
notes the first date that the AM station used the three-letter call.
(An "*" marks stations where this three-letter call was NOT the
first call the station had.) An entry in the "last" column notes
change-over dates in cases where the AM station no longer holds the
three-letter call.
The "FM", "TV", and "City" entries list additional information on
the current state of other three-letter holders and sister stations.
AM first last FM TV CITY
---------------------------------------------------------------
KDB 01/09/29* KDB-FM -- Santa Barbara, CA
KEX 12/23/26 kkrz -- Portland, OR
KFH 12/--/25* krbb -- Wichita, KS
KFI 03/31/22 kost -- Los Angeles, CA
KGA 02/04/27 kdrk-fm -- Spokane, WA
kpop 03/27/28* 03/15/82 KGB-FM -- San Diego, CA
KGO 01/22/24 (kksf) KGO-TV San Francisco, CA
KGU 03/14/22 -- -- Honolulu, HI
KGW 03/21/22 kink KGW-TV Portland, OR
KGY 03/30/22 -- -- Olympia, WA
(kaqq) 02/28/22 01/07/85 (kisc) KHQ-TV Spokane, WA
KID 02/16/29* ksif (kidk) Idaho Falls, ID
KIT 03/22/29* kats -- Yakima, WA
KJR 03/09/22 kltx -- Seattle, WA
KLO 04/11/29* -- -- Ogden, UT
KLZ 03/10/22 kazy (kmgh-tv) Denver, CO
KMA 08/12/25 KMA-FM -- Shenandoah, IA
KMJ 03/23/22 knax -- Fresno, CA
KNX 05/04/22* kodj kcbs Los Angeles, CA
KOA 12/13/24 krfx (kcnc) Denver, CO
(kkob) 04/05/22 10/28/86 (kkob-fm) KOB-TV Albuquerque, NM
KOH 09/13/28 ksxy -- Reno, NV
KOY 02/08/29* KOY-FM -- Phoenix, AZ
KPQ 05/02/28* KPQ-FM -- Wenatchee, WA
AM first last FM TV CITY
---------------------------------------------------------------
KQV 01/09/22 -- -- Pittsburgh, PA
kusa 03/14/22 03/19/84 KSD (ksdk) Saint Louis, MO
KSL 03/24/25* (ksfi) KSL-TV Salt Lake City, UT
KUJ 12/--/26 knlt -- Walla Walla, WA
(kmow) 10/30/25* 01/26/32 KUT -- Austin, TX
KVI 11/24/26 kplz -- Seattle, WA
KWG 12/07/21 -- -- Stockton, CA
KXL 11/27/26 KXL-FM -- Portland, OR
KXO 11/11/28* KXO-FM -- El Centro, CA
(koit) 12/17/26 12/13/83 KYA -- San Francisco, CA
KYW 11/15/21 -- KYW-TV Philadelphia, PA
WBT 03/18/22 WBT-FM wbtv Charlotte, NC
WBZ 09/15/21 -- WBZ-TV Boston, MA
WDZ 04/05/22 wdzq -- Decatur, IL
WEW 03/23/22 -- -- Saint Louis, MO
WGH 11/20/28* WGH-FM -- Newport News, VA
WGL 11/11/28* -- -- Fort Wayne, IN
WGN 03/28/24 -- WGN-TV Chicago, IL
WGR 03/14/22 WGR-FM (wgrz-tv) Buffalo, NY
WGY 02/04/22 WGY-FM (wrgb) Schenectady, NY
WHA 01/13/22 -- WHA-TV Madison, WI
WHB 05/10/22 -- -- Kansas City, MO
WHK 02/21/22 wmms -- Cleveland, OH
WHO 04/15/24 klyf WHO-TV Des Moines, IA
WHP 03/16/29* WHP-FM WHP-TV Harrisburg, PA
WIL 01/--/25* WIL-FM -- Saint Louis, MO
WIP 03/20/22 (wmmr) -- Philadelphia, PA
(womg) 01/23/30* 12/31/86 -- WIS-TV Columbia, SC
WJR 08/20/25 whyt -- Detroit, MI
(wrmr) 05/09/29* 06/11/85 (wltf) WJW-TV Cleveland, OH
(wabc) 05/--/21 03/01/53 -- WJZ-TV Baltimore, MD
WKY 03/16/22 -- ktvy Oklahoma City, OK
WLS 04/11/24 wytz WLS-TV Chicago, IL
WLW 03/02/22 webn (wlwt) Cincinnati, OH
WMC 01/19/23 WMC-FM WMC-TV Memphis, TN
WMT 11/11/28* WMT-FM (kgan) Cedar Rapids, IA
WOC 02/18/22 kiik-fm (kwqc) Davenport, IA
WOI 04/28/22 WOI-FM WOI-TV Ames, IA
WOL 11/11/28* -- -- Washington, DC
WOR 02/20/22 wrks-fm (wwor-tv) New York, NY
WOW 12/16/26* WOW-FM (wowt) Omaha, NE
(wwrc) 07/19/23 02/27/84 wkys WRC-TV Washington, DC
(kaam) 03/13/22 04/14/78 WRR -- Dallas, TX
WSB 03/15/22 WSB-FM WSB-TV Atlanta, GA
WSM 10/05/25 WSM-FM (wsmv) Nashville, TN
WWJ 03/03/22* wjoi (wdiv) Detroit, MI
WWL 03/30/22 wlmg WWL-TV New Orleans, LA
==== ==== ====
60 AM 23 FM 20 TV Total three-letter
calls for each service
