Broadcast Coverage Maps

FM Stations - Detail         FM Stations - Printable

AM Stations - Detail         AM Stations - Printable

FM Stations
WUTC		89.9	Chattanooga		WKNO		91.1	Memphis
WDVX	N	88.1	Clinton		WKNQ	N	90.7	Dyersberg
W289AK		105.7	Knoxville		WKNP	N	90.1	Jackson
WSMC	N	90.5	Collegedale		WYPL	N	89.3	Memphis
WETS		89.5	Johnson City		WMOT		89.5	Murfreesboro
WUOT		91.9	Knoxville		WPLN		90.3	Nashville
WEVL		89.9	Memphis		WHRS	N	91.7	Cookeville
					WTML	N	91.5	Tullahoma
					W258AJ1	N	99.5	Paris
AM Stations
WPLN	N	1430	Nashville

¹ Operated by WKSM, Murray, KY

General Comments

Public radio service in Tennessee is provided by universities, public libraries and community organizations.  The licensee of WKNO also operates a public television station in Memphis.  Residents of the state’s largest cities -- Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga -- receive multiple program services. 

FM Service

The 1989 PTFP study reported that eight FM stations served the state.  Since 1989, public broadcasters have almost doubled the number of stations through the construction of six new stations and two translators.  Both WKNO Memphis and WPLN Nashville have extended public radio coverage to areas identified as uncovered in the 1989 study by each activating two repeaters.  WKNO constructed WKNQ Dyersberg and WKNP Jackson and now serves all of far western Tennessee.  WPLN built WHRS Cookeville and WTML Tullahoma in the central portion of the state.  Two stations -- WDVX Clinton and WYPL Memphis -- were activated by licensees that were not operating stations when the previous coverage study was issued but now provide additional coverage in those communities.  WKMS Murray, Kentucky, activated a translator at Paris in Henry County, Tennessee.

The percentage of Tennessee's population receiving a public radio signal increased from 81% in 1989 to 91.7% currently.  The number of unserved residents decreased from 868,000 in 1989 to 470,627.

AM Service

WPLN(AM) 1430 kHz broadcasting at 15kW during the day and at 1kW at night.  WPLN obtained the station in 2001 to provide additional public radio program services to Nashville and the surrounding communities of central Tennessee.

Service from Adjacent States

Public radio service from Kentucky, Mississippi, and Alabama reaches some Tennessee residents who reside on the state's border with these states.  As noted, one translator in Tennessee is operated by a Kentucky broadcaster. 

Unserved Areas

While the construction of four new stations and one translator has reduced the amount of uncovered territory identified in the 1989 study, there remain two large groups of counties that receive almost no public radio coverage.  The areas between Memphis and Nashville and the areas between Cookeville and Knoxville account for 60% of the state's population unserved by public radio.   The remaining Tennessee residents unable to receive public radio live along the northeastern border with Virginia and the eastern border with North Carolina.

Region A

This region which is west of Nashville extends from the Kentucky border to the Alabama border in a north-to-south arc.  Approximately 150,000 of its residents are without public radio service.  The area includes all or parts of these 12 counties: Weakley, Henry, Carroll, Benton, Houston, Henderson, Decatur, Perry, Hardin, Wayne, Lawrence, and Giles.

Region B

This region is an area almost completely surrounding Cookeville from the Kentucky border to Alabama.  All or parts of the 14 counties included contain 165,800 residents without public radio service.  The counties involved are Macon, Clay, Pickett, Jackson, Overton, Fentress, Scott, Morgan, White, Cumberland, Van Buren, Warren, Coffee, and Franklin.

Region C

This area along the Tennessee-Virginia border contains 20,000 people who cannot receive public radio service and includes sections of Clairborne, Hancock, and Hawkins counties.

Region D

The entire region in Tennessee adjacent to the North Carolina border consists of the Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky National Park.  This region is lightly populated. Approximately 2,000 people in Sever County cannot receive public radio, less than 1,000 people in Greene cannot receive public radio, and less than 100 people in Blount County do not have service.

Region E

Polk and Monroe counties in the southeastern corner of the state are in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains and contain large sections of the Cherokee National Forest.  Approximately 10,000 people in these counties cannot receive public radio.