Updated . Station data from the FCC, as of .
Where does the data come from?
- Stations, channels and towers: FCC TV Query station records. These give each station's channel numbers, tower location, license type and whether it broadcasts NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0).
- Coverage areas: the FCC's TV service contour data, which maps the area each station is licensed to serve.
- City locations: the U.S. Census Bureau Gazetteer files, for city centers and ZIP code areas, plus Census population estimates.
- Networks and subchannels: Wikipedia articles, matched to each station through its FCC facility ID on Wikidata. Where Wikipedia had no entry or was out of date, we filled in the network by hand. Some of those entries cite a news or station source, and the rest are our best reading, so tell us if one is wrong. Low-power translators take the network of the station they relay.
How do we rate signal strength?
Each station gets one of four tiers in each city. The tier depends on two things: whether the city center is inside the station's FCC coverage map, and how far away the tower is. A few stations have no coverage map on file, so for those we use distance alone.
| Coverage map | Distance to tower | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Inside | Tower 30 miles away or less | Strong |
| Inside | Tower more than 30 miles away | Moderate |
| Outside | Tower 60 miles away or less | Weak |
| Outside | Tower more than 60 miles away | Unlikely |
| No map on file | Tower 25 miles away or less | Strong |
| No map on file | Tower more than 25 and up to 45 miles away | Moderate |
| No map on file | Tower more than 45 and up to 60 miles away | Weak |
| No map on file | Tower more than 60 miles away | Unlikely |
City pages list Strong and Moderate stations in the main table (1,599 city and station pairs across the site) and Weak stations in a collapsed list (527 pairs). Unlikely stations aren't shown.
How do we pick an antenna type?
We look at the stations carrying ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX and PBS. For each network we take the nearest Strong or Moderate station, then apply the first rule that fits:
| If | We suggest |
|---|---|
| Any of those stations is more than 45 miles away | Long-range outdoor |
| Any of them is Moderate, or more than 25 miles away | Attic or outdoor |
| Their towers are spread more than 90 degrees apart | Multi-directional indoor |
| Otherwise | Indoor |
When the towers are more than 90 degrees apart but another rule applies first, the city page says a multi-directional model may help. If we don't know the networks for a city's stations, we base the pick on its Strong full-power stations instead.
How does "Use my location" work?
When you press the button, your browser asks permission and gives the page your position. The page finds the nearest city we cover and downloads that TV market's station file. The file holds every station with a tower within 150 miles of a city in the market, with the same channel, network and NextGen TV details as the city pages, plus each station's FCC coverage map. Your browser then rates each station with the same tier, antenna and amplifier rules shown above, measuring from you instead of the city center. Your position stays on your device; see our privacy page.
To keep the files small, each coverage map is cut from 360 points to 72 (every fifth point). Wherever the shorter shape would change the answer at one of our city centers, the original points there are added back, so every city center gets the same result as its city page. Close to the edge of a coverage map, the result for your exact spot can differ from the full map. If you're more than 50 miles from every city we cover, the page says you're outside our coverage and links the nearest city.
On a phone, the result can include a live compass arrow pointing toward the towers. Phone compasses find magnetic north, but tower directions are measured from true north. The gap between the two, called magnetic declination, comes from NOAA's World Magnetic Model (WMM-2025), worked out for each city on the day the site is built. We checked it against NOAA's declination calculator for Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix and Seattle, and every build confirms all four are within half a degree. Metal and electronics nearby can throw a phone compass off, so treat the arrow as a starting point.
What can't the estimates account for?
- Terrain and buildings. We don't model hills, valleys, tall buildings or trees. Any of them can block a signal the tiers call Strong, which matters in hilly places like Seattle and Denver.
- Your exact address. Distances on city pages are from the city center. If you live on the far side of town from the towers, add a few miles, or use the "Use my location" button to measure from where you are.
- Your setup. Antenna height, the side of the house it faces, cable length and splitters all change what you receive.
- Gaps in Wikipedia. Big stations are well covered, but small low-power stations are patchier. Some show "Not listed" for the network, or an RF channel instead of the number your TV shows.
- Changes since the data date. Stations change networks and channels. Anything that changed after November 6, 2026 won't show yet.
How often is the data updated?
There's no fixed schedule yet. We rebuild the site when we download fresh FCC and Wikipedia data, and every city page shows the date of the FCC data it uses. The current data is from November 6, 2026. After any station change, run a channel scan on your TV to pick up the new lineup.
Found a mistake?
Tell us the city and the station, and what you see on your TV. Our contact page has the email address.
Credits
- Wikipedia: network and subchannel details are adapted from Wikipedia articles, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Each station page links the article it used.
- Wikidata: facility ID matches from Wikidata, available under CC0.
- FCC: station records and coverage maps from the Federal Communications Commission.
- U.S. Census Bureau: city and ZIP code locations and population estimates from the Census Bureau.