I never understood how they got their names
In: Technology
W and K are the International designations for the US. Other countries start with different letters.
They didn’t.
These are the station ID letters assigned by the FCC to regulate their transmitters. They are legally required to say or display them pretty often, so the marketing guys see this as a branding opportunity.
K means west of the Mississippi river and W means east of it, the two regions the FCC established when they started the station identification process. I think you can request letters that are not in use, but otherwise, you just get the next one off the list.
The identifiers are assigned by the FCC when you are granted your license to broadcast. You can request any 3 letter call sign that is available, but if it is taken you get what you get.
The K vs W distinction tells whether you are west (K) or east (W) of the Mississippi river (though their are a few exceptions. There is also N, but that is for military broadcasts.
WGBH = Great Blue Hill, south of Boston, where their transmitter is (was?)
Semi-relevant article about the FCC issuing a call sign:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/211239
Latest Answers