CAN MORE THAN ONE RADIO STATION HAVE THE SAME CALL LETTERS?

[Adman4120]

Hello...I hate to ask a stupid question, but am not up on all the rule changes, if any, over the past several years.

Can you tell me if more than one radio station can have the same call letters? I was reading on the radio-online website, that WFRG-FM got socked with a hefty fine for a particular violation. Obviously, we have WFRG, BIG FROG 104 right in this area, in Utica, with apparently, th exact same call letters.

I thought only one station was allowed to use the call letters assigned to them.

Thanks for any help.

 

[W2JUV_AL]

Maybe a misprint. The Atlanta station callsign is WRFG, initials for "Radio Free Georgia" Broadcasting.

 

[CNYRadio.com]

Aside from any co-owned (or formerly co-owned) AM/FM/TV combos... no, stations can't have the same call letters.

There is one exception though: low-power stations that aren't subject to FCC regulation. For example, run a Google search for WMCR. You won't see any internet presence whatsoever for the Oneida station. But you'll see several colleges who call their campus station WMCR (especially those whose name begin with the letter M -- as in "M______ College Radio").

These stations can get away with it because they are either online only, carrier current, being carried as the audio portion of a campus-only cable TV channel or something miniscule like 10 watts... too small for the FCC to care.

Back to the WFRG/WRFG issue... there's one way you can always double-check a station's basic info with the FCC -- their "FM Query" (or "AM Query") page.

Atlanta: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wrfg

Utica: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wfrg

Interestingly... the Utica station is still listed (and legally IDs itself) as "WFRG-FM" ... normally you can drop the -FM part if there's no AM station with the same call letters... and WFRG-AM was sold and changed its call letters several years ago. Not sure what it would take to formally drop the FM from WFRG's official call letters, but whatever it takes, it has probably been deemed too much of a hassle (or cost) for such a minor detail which doesn't really impact anything.

You may guess, "it's better to keep it that way in case someone else registers WFRG-AM or WFRG-TV in the future." Not quite... unless Regent decides to use WFRG on one of its own AM stations elsewhere (highly unlikely), nobody else can use those call letters.

 

[w9wi]

Aside from any co-owned (or formerly co-owned) AM/FM/TV combos... no, stations can't have the same call letters.

There is one exception though: low-power stations that aren't subject to FCC regulation. For example, run a Google search for WMCR. You won't see any internet presence whatsoever for the Oneida station. But you'll see several colleges who call their campus station WMCR (especially those whose name begin with the letter M -- as in "M______ College Radio").

These stations can get away with it because they are either online only, carrier current, being carried as the audio portion of a campus-only cable TV channel or something miniscule like 10 watts... too small for the FCC to care.

Back to the WFRG/WRFG issue... there's one way you can always double-check a station's basic info with the FCC -- their "FM Query" (or "AM Query") page.

Atlanta: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wrfg

Utica: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/fmq?state=&call=wfrg

Interestingly... the Utica station is still listed (and legally IDs itself) as "WFRG-FM" ... normally you can drop the -FM part if there's no AM station with the same call letters... and WFRG-AM was sold and changed its call letters several years ago. Not sure what it would take to formally drop the FM from WFRG's official call letters, but whatever it takes, it has probably been deemed too much of a hassle (or cost) for such a minor detail which doesn't really impact anything.

You may guess, "it's better to keep it that way in case someone else registers WFRG-AM or WFRG-TV in the future." Not quite... unless Regent decides to use WFRG on one of its own AM stations elsewhere (highly unlikely), nobody else can use those call letters.

- The FCC will not assign the same call letters to two different stations. (at least not on purpose...) (seriously, I do recall it happening once but it was almost immediately fixed, and that's the only time I remember it happening)

- WFRG and WFRG-FM are different callsigns. The "-FM" is part of the call.

- The -FM (or -TV) suffix is not required for a FM or TV station, but the station may opt to request it.

- If there is already another station with the same "base call" (the first four letters) then the -FM or -TV suffix is required.

- This requirement can go in a few directions. For example, there was already a WGBH(FM) when the permit for WGBH-TV was issued; the -TV suffix was required. There is no WGBH(AM) so the FM station has no suffix. In the other direction, there was already a WNPT(TV) when an FM owner in Alabama decided they wanted the calls from a defunct local AM station. WNPT-FM had to use the -FM suffix. (again, WNPT(AM) was long-defunct -- I forget whether the AM station went dark or merely changed calls)

- There is no such thing as an "-AM" suffix. At least not officially with the FCC. So if the owners of WNPT-FM bought an AM station, they could NOT use WNPT-AM. They'd have to choose an entirely different callsign unless they convinced the TV station to add the -TV suffix.

- Because you can't have a duplicate callsign, if WFRG already exists as an AM station, if you want to have WFRG on a FM station you must use the -FM suffix.

- At the same time, if you have just WFRG (no suffix) on a FM station there can be no WFRG(AM). (because you can't get a -AM suffix)

- I believe the FCC no longer requires the approval of WFRG(AM) before someone can use WFRG-FM. However, if you try to use WFRG-FM in the same market as WFRG(AM) without the AM station's approval, you're very likely to get sued.

- Absolutely a different company can use WFRG-FM if they have the approval of the licensee of WFRG(AM). Whether they're in the same market or not.

- There is a fee to file a callsign change. It's pretty minimal (I want to say $170) but if you don't have a good reason to want to block the use of the WFRG calls elsewhere on AM, you probably aren't going to spend that money in this economy.

- As W2JUV says, there was a typo in the news item you saw about the FCC fine. The correct calls of the station that got fined are WRFG.

- It is not unusual for stations to use "fake calls". You're only required to use the real calls for the hourly identification announcement - the FCC doesn't seem to care if you use different calls the rest of the hour! A station here in Nashville calls itself "WTN" (real calls WWTN); there was a "WKRP" in Salt Lake City (real calls KRPN) for awhile. I think there are now, what, four "WFLA"'s in Florida, counting the station that actually is WFLA? (one with the real calls WFLF, don't remember what the other two are) Of course, if you use "fake calls" that match or are similar to another station in the market, again you're VERY likely to get sued!

- Mentions of WFRG(AM) above are hypothetical. There is no AM or TV station with those calls.

 

[aaronread]

- I believe the FCC no longer requires the approval of WFRG(AM) before someone can use WFRG-FM. However, if you try to use WFRG-FM in the same market as WFRG(AM) without the AM station's approval, you're very likely to get sued.

You have to certify that you have permission from the "owner" of the call letters when you apply for them via the FCC's website. AFAIK you don't have to provide proof, but it's a simple matter for the FCC check and I assume they will simply deny you if don't actually have permission.

 

[Adman4120]

Thanks for everyone's input and information. I did see that the station I thought was WFRG in Atlanta, was indeed WRFG as another person posted.

It seems that the www.radio-online website that wrote the story, is often mistaken with some of the information they write or they mis type information.

 

[JustPastBuffalo]

Thanks for everyone's input and information. I did see that the station I thought was WFRG in Atlanta, was indeed WRFG as another person posted.

It seems that the www.radio-online website that wrote the story, is often mistaken with some of the information they write or they mis type information.

You came to a good place. w9wi took you through the entire maze pretty well. Just wanted to add another example, the legendary WBEN call letters (Buffalo Evening News) on Entercom's AM 930 in Buffalo also are licensed to Greater Media's WBEN-FM Philadelphia, "Ben (as in Ben Franklin) FM." Those call letters, for so many years, were assigned to 102.5, the FM sister station of WBEN-AM Buffalo. Further irony, Entercom's home office is in Philly, yet they own no stations in that city.

 

[CatFM]

For some historical perspective, I would add a couple of items to this discussion. I wish I could narrow down the times better, but I am working from memory on this.

Until the 1980s, a call sign could not be duplicated in two completely different locations. Then the rules were relaxed in the first stage to where the same owner of two stations in different locations could split a call sign. A good example is when KNXT(TV) Los Angeles became KCBS-TV, sharing the call sign with commonly owned KCBS San Francisco. Until the 1980s when that change was made, the FCC would not have allowed that.

A few years later, the FCC relaxed that rule even more to allow stations under different ownership in different locations to split call signs. As has been noted, it would be necessary to obtain the permission of the current holder of a call sign if a different owner in another location wanted to use the same call.