NTIA / PTFP: Public Broadcasting Coverage

Public radio in Alaska is provided by community licensees, university licensees, school districts and stations licensed to Native American non-profit foundations. Each of the four public television stations in the state operates a public radio facility. Approximately 40% of the state’s population lives in Anchorage and receives multiple program services.

The twelve AM public radio stations in Alaska are the largest number of AM public radio stations in any state. These AM stations are not restricted by nighttime limitations regarding hours of operation, power levels or antenna patterns which often reduce nighttime AM coverage in the lower 48 states. AM radio plays a very significant role in delivering public radio to the residents of small Alaska communities and we have included AM population coverage information, where possible, in this discussion. Today 597,589 Alaska residents, over 95% of the state’s population, can receive a public radio service from either AM or FM stations.

Alaska public broadcasters have made great strides to deliver public radio to the state’s residents. FM coverage is concentrated in two geographic regions of the state, in the Alaska Panhandle and in the region between Anchorage and Fairbanks. Nine FM stations (including one booster) and 36 translators have been constructed in Alaska since the completion of the 1989 PTFP study. The 36 new translators dramatically filled previously unserved areas. Since the 1989 study, FM coverage was established in the cities of Barrow, Chignik, Deadhorse, Girdwood, Glenallen, Kenai, McCarthy, and Talkeetna. The ninth new station is KNBA, which is owned and operated by a Native American foundation, brings a second public radio service to Anchorage.

Despite the overall sparse population and the sheer vastness of the state, the percentage of Alaska residents receiving a public FM radio signal increased from 54% in 1989 to 88.1% currently. The number of Alaska residents without public FM radio service has decreased from 186,000 in 1989 to about 74,343. Of the 552,589 Alaskan’s who receive an FM signal, approximately 478,000 receive service from full service stations, and 32,974 receive service from FM translators.

Ten of the twelve AM stations in Alaska are in the western half of the state, west of Anchorage. The total number of people in the state that can receive a signal within the protected contour of the twelve AM stations is 74,480. Approximately 45,000 residents receive their only public radio service by AM and another 29,480 people receive public radio service from both AM and FM stations.

This region is composed of the North Slope and Northwest Arctic boroughs. This region covers a land area of almost 125,000 square miles and is sparsely populated with only 14,600 residents. AM public radio service in this area covers 11,774 residents while FM serves 7,018 people. Less than 2,000 people are without public radio service, while approximately 5,600 residents can receive both AM and FM public radio service. Of the total FM coverage, 1,600 residents receive only a FM translator signal.

The Nome and Yukon-Koyukuk census areas cover over 180,000 square miles. About 16,000 people reside in this region. AM public radio serves 5,179 residents while total FM Service covers 5,178 with about 4,500 residents receiving only FM translator coverage. Very few residents receive both AM and FM signals and approximately 5,000 residents are without public radio service. The translator roster lists two translators, Anvik and Grayling, which are not on the map because information to generate coverage maps was not available from the FCC database. (Coverage by these translators is not included in the population totals).

Four boroughs in Region C (Anchorage, Denali, Fairbanks North Star and Matanuska-Susitna) and three census areas (Southeast Fairbanks, Wrangell–Petersburg and Yakutat) are served only by FM public radio. Slightly less than 3,000 residents in this region of central Alaska are not able to receive a public radio signal.

In the Wade Hampton, Bethel, and Dilligham census areas, about 9,000 of the 28,000 residents are without public radio coverage. FM stations only provide coverage to about 1,300 residents while AM stations serve 17,131 people in this region. KYUK(AM), Bethel, began planning in 2003 to increase its coverage area to include currently unserved residents. Due to the proximity of the airport, the current KYUK(AM) tower is not at optimum height for the authorized frequency and power.

The Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island, Bristol Bay, Aleutians, Lake and Peninsula areas cover nearly 54,000 square miles with nearly 75,000 residents. Approximately 5,000 residents are without public radio service. FM public radio service is available to 53,854 residents in the region while AM public radio service covers 33,615 residents. Approximately 17,000 people in the region living in Unalaska and portions of Kodiak Island can receive both AM and FM Service. The Bristol Bay area is only served by AM Service with 994 of the 1,258 residents receiving a public radio signal. St. Paul Island is only served with an FM station.

The Valdez-Cordova area contains 10,195 residents, with about 3,500 people without public radio service. FM public radio service is available to about half of the residents while AM public radio service covers about 6,781 residents. The number of persons who receive both AM and FM Services are limited in this region.

The panhandle region consists of the Haines, Juneau, Ketchikan-Gateway, Skagway, Yakutat-Angoon, Sitka, Wrangell-Petersburg and Prince of Wales-Outer Ketchikan areas. This region covers 10,000 square miles and contains about 73,000 residents. All public radio in this area is provided by FM stations. While the major population areas are covered, about 2,000 residents receive no public radio service.

KSKA Anchorage, AK				K214BD	N	90.7	North Point,
K203AW		88.5	Eagle River				Higgins
K220AL		91.9	Girdwood	K211AU		90.1	Thorne Bay
K208BC		89.5	Palmer	KMXT Kodiak, AK
K216BN	N	91.1	Prudhoe Bay	K269AY	N	101.7	Akhiok
K201AO		88.1	Seward	K269AX	N	101.7	Karluk
K205BB		88.9	Talkeetna	K269AW	N	101.7	Larsen Bay
K216BG		91.1	Unalaska	K269AZ	N	101.7	Old Harbor
KBRW(AM) Barrow, AK				K220AU		91.9	Port Lions
K268AB	N	101.5	Anaktuvuk Pass	KOTZ(AM) Kotzebue, AK
K201AH		88.1	Kaktovik	K203AP		88.5	Ambler
K201AG		88.1	Nuiqsut	K220EA	N	91.9	Aniak
K268AA	N	101.5	Point Hope	K205BC		88.9	Kobuk
K201AV		88.1	Point Lay	K204AS		88.7	Shungnak
KYUK(AM) Bethel, AK				KSKO(AM) McGrath, AK
K220EA	N	91.9	Aniak	K208DX	N	89.5	Anvik
KUAC Fairbanks, AK				K213DH	N	90.5	Grayling
K219AD		91.7	Central, Circle,	K218DJ	N	91.5	Holy Cross
			Circle Hot Sprg	K203DK	N	88.5	Shageluk
K219AQ		91.7	Delta	KFSK Petersburg, AK
K219DM	N	91.7	Eagle	K276BD	N	103.1	Petersburg
K269AD	N	101.7	Healy	K216AA	N	91.1	Point Baker
K216AN		91.1	Nenana	K201AL	N	88.1	Port Protection
K216DT	N	91.1	Tok	KSDP(AM) Sand Point, AK
K217CK	N	91.3	Nome	K201DA	N	88.1	King Cove
KHNS Haines, AK				KCAW Sitka, AK
K220BK		91.9	Skagway	K288CZ	N	105.5	Angoon
KTOO Juneau, AK				K296CX	N	107.1	Kake
K210AS		89.9	Excursion Inlet	K219BA		91.7	Pelican
K201AM		88.1	Gustavus	K220CH	N	91.9	Port Alexander
K220BT		91.9	Hoonah	K211BG	N	90.1	Sitka
K269AO	N	101.7	Lemon Creek	K220BR		91.9	Tenakee
			Switzer Creek	K211BY	N	90.1	Yakutat
K276AF	N	103.1	Mendenhall	KCHU Valdez, AK
			Valley, Auke Bay	K201CH	N	88.1	Chenega Bay
KRBD Ketchikan, AK				K201BI	N	88.1	Cordova
K296CA	N	107.1	Clover Pass	K201CL	N	88.1	Tatitlek
K269BA	N	101.7	Craig	K202BT	N	88.3	Whittier
K211AV		90.1	Hydaburg	KSTK Wrangell, AK
K211AX		90.1	Klawock	K220CV	N	91.9	Shoemaker Bay
K211AT		90.1	Mount Point