How were the letters for local TV/radio affiliates decided upon? E.g. WLW 700 AM, Channel 5 WLWT? Are they all randomly assigned, or do they stand for something?

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How were the letters for local TV/radio affiliates decided upon? E.g. WLW 700 AM, Channel 5 WLWT? Are they all randomly assigned, or do they stand for something?

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3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

The letters are known as [Call signs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_signs_in_the_United_States), and are given out by the FCC.

Originally, they were given out randomly, with the only rule being that transmitters in the west half of the US started with K and the East half started with W.

That rule still stands, but stations are allowed to choose the rest of the letters now.

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