call letters

Broadcast station identifier

Call letters are the unique combination of letters assigned to a radio or television station as its official identifier: WNYC, KQED, BBC Radio 4.

In the United States, stations east of the Mississippi typically begin with W, while those to the west begin with K.

The term comes from maritime radio, where ships were assigned call signs for identification.

broadcasting

station

Fixed stopping point

frequency · allocation · spectrum · transmitter · airwaves · signal · AM · FM · shortwave · ham

phonetic

alpha

First Greek letter

  • bravoAcclaim for performers
  • deltaSymbol denoting variation
  • NATOWestern defense organization

aviation · military · spelling · clarity · pronunciation · transmission · radio · pilot · controller · communication

television

ABC

First three letters

  • NBCAmerican television network
  • CBSMajor television and radio network
  • PBSNon-profit educational broadcaster

affiliate · network · station · identifier · branding · logo · local · cable · primetime · syndication

Categories
Opposites
broadcast identification method

call lettersfrequency

Rate of recurrence

channel number · wavelength · channel

Family

call, calls, called, calling, caller, callers, callback, letter, letters

Familiarity
Top 500,000
Profile
Mostly American · Timeless · Rated G