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FM Stations
WBJC		91.5	Baltimore		WESM		91.3	Princess Anne
WEAA		88.9	Baltimore		WSCL		89.5	Salisbury
WYPR		88.1	Baltimore					(Seaford, DE)
W205BL1	N	88.1	Frederick		WSDL	N	90.7	Ocean City
WFWM	N	91.9	Frostburg					(Roxana, DE)
W242AD	N	96.3	Oakland		WKHS	#	90.5	Worton
WETH1	N	89.1	Hagerstown

AM Stations

None

¹ Operated by WETA, Arlington, VA.

General Comments

Residents of Maryland are served by nine public radio stations licensed to educational institutions and non-profit organizations.  Over 97% of the state’s population receives public radio service from either in-state or adjacent-state stations.  Over half the state’s unserved population is located in two counties in Southern Maryland.  Residents of the state’s two largest population centers, counties surrounding Baltimore and those adjacent to Washington DC, receive multiple program services.

FM Service

Public broadcasters in Maryland and adjacent states have improved signal coverage since the 1989 PTFP study by constructing three new stations and two translators throughout the state.  Much of this new coverage was targeted at western Maryland.  WFWM in Allegany County brought first public radio service to Garrett and Allegany counties. This coverage was further enhanced with the installation of a translator in Garrett County to rebroadcast WFWM.  In 1993, WETH was installed in Washington County providing first service to Washington and Frederick counties. 

Service to the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay -- Cecil, Kent and Queen Anne’s counties -- was enhanced through the efforts of WKHS. A high school-operated station, WKHS provides a local daytime service during the regular school year and repeats the programming of WXPN Philadelphia during overnight hours, on weekends and in the summer months.   The 1998 installation of WSDL Ocean City improved the public radio coverage over coastal communities along Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  The percentage of the state’s population that can receive a public radio station increased from 94% in 1989 to 97.4% currently.  The number of people outside the range of a public radio signal decreased from 263,000 in 1989 to 136,734.  

AM Service

None

Service from Adjacent States and Washington DC

Public radio stations licensed to Washington, DC, cover a significant portion of Maryland. WETA broadcasts from Arlington County, Virginia, while WAMU and WPFW transmit from a tower in Washington, DC.  The three stations cover all or portions of Anne Arundel, Calvert, Carroll, Charles, Howard, Montgomery, Prince George’s and St. Mary’s counties.  Signals from West Virginia and Pennsylvania reach the counties in Maryland along its respective borders with these two states.

Two stations in Maryland repeat programming from beyond Maryland’s boundaries. WETH repeats WETA Arlington, Virginia. WXPN Philadelphia is rebroadcast on high school- operated station, WKHS, during the overnight hours, on weekends and in the summer months.

WSCL and WSDL are licensed to Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland. Their transmitters are located in Seaford and Roxana, Delaware respectively.

Unserved Areas

Region A

Though coverage has greatly improved in Western Maryland since the 1989 study, spotty coverage remains due to the Appalachian Mountains. The region has a low population density and much of the land is devoted to state forest and parkland.  Approximately 15,000 residents of Allegany, Garrett and Washington counties do not receive a reliable public radio signal.

Region B

Although a station near Hagerstown and a translator in Frederick rebroadcast WETA Washington, DC, the Catoctin Mountains prevent 26,000 people in Frederick County from receiving public radio service.  WYPR Baltimore entered an agreement to purchase WJTM Frederick in Frederick County.  WYPR began operating the station in February 2004 under an agreement with the owner pending approval of the purchase by the FCC. (The station is not shown on the coverage map.) The station will provide public radio service to 32,000 unserved residents of Frederick and Washington counties. The station will also provide additional service to Carroll, Howard and Montgomery counties.

Region C

Spotty coverage exists in Harford and Cecil counties in the northeast corner of Maryland along the Pennsylvania border. There are approximately 16,000 unserved residents in these two counties.

Region D

Seventy‑five thousand unserved persons reside in southern Maryland along the Chesapeake Bay in Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. WETA received a PTFP grant in 1998 to activate a repeater near Leonardtown in St. Mary’s County.  Local resistance to the construction of a broadcast tower forced WETA to cease construction and the station relinquished the award.