Are you from a "K" radio area or a "W" radio area?

[Crumpets]

Where I'm from in Seattle, all the radio call signs start with K - KIRO, KJR, KEXP, KUOW, etc. I know this is generally the case in western states, while in eastern states, they tend to start with a W. I know I could just look this up, but I'd rather be unhelpful to myself and my curiosity and just ask people what the radio call signs start with where they're from and get a general idea. I also have no idea what the situation is outside the US, or if there is even a comparable notion elsewhere.

[The Dowager Mod]

When I lived in DFW we had both.

[Kuumo]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

[Battista Minola 1616]

Radio station names are nothing like that in Italy. They are just brand names similar to the names of TV channels. For example, Rai Radio 1, Radio Capital, RTL 102.5 etc.

[kcguy]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

This.  Although, some radio stations date to before that distinction was made.  In Kansas City, most of the stations begin with "K", but we also have WDAF and WHB.

WDAF-TV is also the call sign of one of our local TV stations.  All the other TV stations begin with "K".

I can't say for sure, but I think "C" is nationwide in Canada.  I've seen stations in Mexico near the U.S. border beginning with "X", but I don't know if that is nationwide too.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

Radio station names are nothing like that in Argentina. They are just brand names, Radio 10, Radio Continental,  Radio Mitre, Aspen , Metro, Blue, Los 40, etc

[Sirius_]

I live in a W area, and all of my local stations or W, but on night time AM I can pull in a few K stations.

[Sirius_]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

This.  Although, some radio stations date to before that distinction was made.  In Kansas City, most of the stations begin with "K", but we also have WDAF and WHB.

WDAF-TV is also the call sign of one of our local TV stations.  All the other TV stations begin with "K".

I can't say for sure, but I think "C" is nationwide in Canada.  I've seen stations in Mexico near the U.S. border beginning with "X", but I don't know if that is nationwide too.

In Mexico the standard is XE for AM radio and XH for FM radio.

Radio station names are nothing like that in Argentina. They are just brand names, Radio 10, Radio Continental,  Radio Mitre, Aspen , Metro, Blue, Los 40, etc

Argentina apparently does have call signs of some sort which consist of 2-3 letters and numbers, and the letters do represent the region, but info on it is rather limited.

[Lexii, harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

This.  Although, some radio stations date to before that distinction was made.  In Kansas City, most of the stations begin with "K", but we also have WDAF and WHB.

WDAF-TV is also the call sign of one of our local TV stations.  All the other TV stations begin with "K".

I can't say for sure, but I think "C" is nationwide in Canada.  I've seen stations in Mexico near the U.S. border beginning with "X", but I don't know if that is nationwide too.

In Mexico the standard is XE for AM radio and XH for FM radio.

Radio station names are nothing like that in Argentina. They are just brand names, Radio 10, Radio Continental,  Radio Mitre, Aspen , Metro, Blue, Los 40, etc

Argentina apparently does have call signs of some sort which consist of 2-3 letters and numbers, and the letters do represent the region, but info on it is rather limited.

Yeah, but no one really uses those combinations, other than a pre-recorded voice calling the station by that name at 12 am after playing the national anthem

[T'Chenka]

We have stations with a name, many of which include "AM" or "FM", as well as their channel number included in the nsame as well.

For example:
The Fan 590 = 590 AM
102.1 The Edge = 102.1 FM
Q107 = 107.1 FM

[Santander]

Old man aside - back when I first learned to fly, we had to learn how to use NDBs (radio towers that broadcast on AM radio frequencies) for navigation and instrument approaches. But that meant the receiver we had in the cockpit could also be used to listen to AM radio, and in the era before bluetooth pilot headsets, staticky country radio was better than nothing. And due to night effect, at night, you could listen to AM stations from deep into Mexico and beyond.

Sadly, time has passed them by, so they aren't really used for navigation anymore outside very developing countries and maybe places like Alaska or northern Canada. But if you fly in a small plane with an old avionics package, you should still be able to listen to Mexican AM radio from the sky.

[Catholics vs. Convicts]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

You heard of WBEZ? Damn. Most people in Chicago don't even know WBEZ.

[Arizona Iced Tea]

Everything starts with a K in Phoenix.

[FairBol]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

There are one or two stations in the east that actually are "K" stations...for example, KYW in Philly.  For the most part though, you're right. 

[MaxQue]

We have stations with a name, many of which include "AM" or "FM", as well as their channel number included in the nsame as well.

For example:
The Fan 590 = 590 AM
102.1 The Edge = 102.1 FM
Q107 = 107.1 FM

Your stations begin with a C (like all of Canada). 102.1 The Edge is CFNY, Q107 is CILQ and The Fan 590 is CJCL.

[T'Chenka]

We have stations with a name, many of which include "AM" or "FM", as well as their channel number included in the nsame as well.

For example:
The Fan 590 = 590 AM
102.1 The Edge = 102.1 FM
Q107 = 107.1 FM

Your stations begin with a C (like all of Canada). 102.1 The Edge is CFNY, Q107 is CILQ and The Fan 590 is CJCL.

Do you mean legally? In terms of marketing and self-promotion I've never heard those names.

[Coolface Sock #42069]

The boundary line between K and W is the Mississippi River.

Another random fact is that WLS in Chicago was given that call sign because it was founded by Sears, the World’s Largest Store, as a service to farmers.

[dead0man]

growing up on the Mississippi River I had plenty of both, but mostly K's as the MO side was more populated

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

K. (KOKZ, KCFI, KWWL, KCRG, etc.)

Although I will say that there are some TV/radio markets here in Iowa that have both K and W, either because:

A) Their market is on both sides of the Mississippi (like WHBF and KWQC in the Quad Cities)
B) Their station's call sign predates the FCC's Mississippi River rule (like WOI and WHO in Des Moines)

However, no TV station in the Waterloo-Cedar Rapids-Iowa City-Dubuque market has a W call sign, and I cannot think of any radio stations in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls area that start with a W either.

We have stations with a name, many of which include "AM" or "FM", as well as their channel number included in the nsame as well.

For example:
The Fan 590 = 590 AM
102.1 The Edge = 102.1 FM
Q107 = 107.1 FM

Call signs, like KTTC, WKMG, and CBLT, are the official names for TV and radio stations. Most radio stations don't use their call sign in their branding, just as much in the USA as in Canada. For instance, here in Iowa, Clear Lake's KLKK-FM brands itself as "The Fox" on air, and Waterloo's KPTY-FM brands itself as "107.3 Hank FM" on air.

Television stations are much more likely to use their actual call sign in their branding, like WKRG-TV in Mobile, Alabama, although some stations do other things, like WXIA in Atlanta calling itself "11 Alive" or KAAL in Austin, Minnesota calling itself "ABC 6."

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

The boundary line between K and W is the Mississippi River.

Another random fact is that WLS in Chicago was given that call sign because it was founded by Sears, the World’s Largest Store, as a service to farmers.

The Chicagoland is full of that stuff, I love it.

WLS, the ABC affiliate, is the World's Largest Store (Sears).

WBBM, the CBS affiliate, are the World's Best Battery Makers (World Storage Battery Co., unofficial meaning).

WGN, an independent station, is the World's Greatest Newspaper (Chicago Tribune).

And while the W doesn't stand for world here, WMAQ, for NBC, is We Must Ask Questions because of the days when it was a talk radio station.

God, I seriously need to get a life instead of just memorizing television call sign acronyms.

[Kuumo]

I think in general, "K" stations are west of the Mississippi and "W" stations are east of the Mississippi. In Idaho and the area where I lived in Texas, all of the stations seem to start with "K." In upstate New York, the few stations I can think of start with "W." I've also heard of the NPR station WBEZ in Chicago.

You heard of WBEZ? Damn. Most people in Chicago don't even know WBEZ.

Boise's NPR station KBSX broadcasts WBEZ's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me show on Saturdays.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Call_signs_in_the_United_States

Short answer, initially broadcast stations got K's everywhere, hence stations like KDKA in Pittsburgh.  Also the K/W border was originally further west, with stations in Texas (and the states north or east of Texas) getting W calls because Texas was on the Gulf coast. As broadcasting became more important than ship-to-shore radio, the boundary was moved east to the Mississippi River, but stations that already had W calls in what was now K territory were allowed to keep them.

[Former President tack50]

Much like Italy or Argentina; Spain does notbreally have radio codes like that.

Radio stations are referred to only by their name and their frequency (100.6 or 94.4 FM for example)

Some radio stations I tend to listen to are:

Music: Los 40, Maxima FM, Hit FM, Kiss FM

News: RNE 1, RNE 5, Cadena SER

[Crumpets]

Much like Italy or Argentina; Spain does notbreally have radio codes like that.

Radio stations are referred to only by their name and their frequency (100.6 or 94.4 FM for example)

Some radio stations I tend to listen to are:

Music: Los 40, Maxima FM, Hit FM, Kiss FM

News: RNE 1, RNE 5, Cadena SER

I may be wrong, but I think the "Kiss FM" name used by a bunch of radio stations around the world is based on KIIS-FM in LA. So, in a way, that legacy does cross over to other countries a bit.

[They not like us]

I managed my college's radio station, WIXQ