Broadcast Coverage Maps

FM Stations - Detail         FM Stations - Printable

FM Stations
KBSJ1	N	91.3	Jackpot		KUNV	#	91.5	Las Vegas
KCEP		88.1	Las Vegas		KUNR		88.7	Reno
KCNV	N	89.7	Las Vegas		KNCC2	N	91.5	Elko
KWPR	N	88.7	Lund		KKTO3	N	90.5	Tahoe City, CA
KTPH	N	91.7	Tonopah					(Incline Village, NV)V)
KNPR		88.9	Las Vegas
KLNR	N	91.7	Panaca

AM Stations 

None

¹ Operated by KBSU, Boise, ID.
² Licensed to Northern Nevada Community College, Elko, NV. Operated by KUNR, Reno, NV.
³ Operated by KXPR, Sacramento, CA.

General Comments

Public radio in Nevada is provided by two educational institutions and two non‑profit organizations.  Nevada's population has increased by 150% between 1980 and 2000. Seventy percent of the state's population resides in Las Vegas‑Clark County. This area is well served with two separate stations operated by KNPR, as well as KCEP and KUNV. The Reno‑Carson City‑Lake Tahoe area accounts for 23% of the state's population. The remaining 7% of the population lives primarily along the I‑80 corridor that runs across the northern portion of the state. 

Two broadcasters are the primary providers of public radio in Nevada: KNPR and KUNR.   KNPR Las Vegas has erected a series of repeater stations and translators that provide service to towns north and northwest from Las Vegas to US 50 which divides the state in half from west to east.  KNPR operates a second service from Las Vegas, KCNV.  Several of the stations/translators listed under KNPR and KCNV carry programming from both stations. The second broadcaster, KUNR Reno, provides services along the I‑80 corridor from Reno to Elko in northeast Nevada.  Las Vegas and Reno, the state's two largest population centers, are served by multiple program services.

FM Service

The 1989 PTFP study reported only three stations in the state, supplemented by 14 translators.  Public broadcasters have greatly expanded these facilities and now provide service through eleven stations and 17 translators. 

Four public radio stations have gone on air since the 1989 PTFP study. These stations are all in the eastern portion of the state covering previously unserved areas.

KNPR extended its signal with three new repeaters. KWPR serves Lund and Ely in east central Nevada on US 50. KLNR serves Panaca, also in eastern Nevada, between Ely and Las Vegas.  KTPH serves Tohopah between Las Vegas and Reno. An additional service is provided by KNPR, which built its second station, KCNV, in Las Vegas. KUNR Reno has its programming repeated in eastern Nevada by KNCC Elko, which is licensed to Northern Nevada Community College.

Despite the vast stretches of open desert, mountains and forest, the percentage of Nevada's population who can receive a public radio signal increased from 88% in 1989 to 97.4% currently.  The number of unserved residents decreased from 107,000 in 1989 to 51,484.    

AM Service

None

Service from Adjacent States

Out of state broadcasters operate two public stations in Nevada.  KBSU Boise installed KBSJ in Jackpot on the Nevada‑Idaho border in the northeast corner of the state.  Additional service is provided by KKTO, which was built by KXPR Sacramento and licensed to Tahoe City, California.  The station 's transmitter is located at Incline Village, Nevada. 

Unserved Areas

The Nevada landscape is dominated by the Great Basin, a desert area that reaches into six states. The basin in Nevada is segmented by more than 150 mountain ridges running from north to south. In between the mountain ridges are wide flat valleys, alkali flats and sandy deserts.  This describes much of the uncovered area on the state map.

Approximately 83% of Nevada is federal land.  Federally managed property includes Bureau of Land Management holdings, national forests and military reservations. These areas are largely devoid of local population.     

Region A

Almost 10,000 people in Washoe County, in the northwest corner of the state along the California border, are without public radio service.  Reno and Sparks in the southern portion of the county are served by KUNR.   The area north of Reno-Sparks is extremely rural.  Half of the county is not served by paved roads. The largest population concentration, some 1,600 people, is on the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation approximately 40 miles north of Reno.  

Region B

Elko County, in the northeast corner of the state, has the largest unserved population in the state.  Although the city of Elko is served by KNCC, approximately 10,400 people in the county cannot receive public radio.  Wells and Wendover, located on I-80, are the only two communities of any significant size in Elko County without public radio service.

Translators listed by operating station

KCNV	Las Vegas, NV				K208BB		89.5	Laughlin
K204AQ		88.7	Boulder City		K201BF		88.1	Scotty's Junction
K204AP		88.7	Indian Springs		KUNR Reno, NV
K204AT		88.7	Mesquite		K263AB2	N	100.5	Battle Mountain
K204AO		88.7	Moapa		K215CM	N	90.9	Eureka
K204AN		88.7	Pahrump		K218AO	N	91.5	Hawthorne
K207CY1	N	89.3	Round Mt.		K205DG	N	88.9	Incline Village
KNPR Las Vegas, NV					K219AR	N	91.7	Verdi
K219AV		91.7	Beatty		K217AX		91.3	Winnemucca
K203DR	N	88.5	Caliente		K220BC	N	91.9	Yerington

¹ Licensed to Smoky Valley Television District, Round Mountain, NV. Operated by KCNV, Las Vegas, NV.
² Licensed to Lander County General Improvement District #1, Battle Mountain, NV. Operated by KUNR, Reno, NV.