Noncommercial FM stations reached a record 4,730 licensed outlets as of September 30, 2025, adding 41 stations in a single quarter and surging 353 (+8.1%) year-over-year, while AM radio lost another 17 stations (down to approximately 4,366) and commercial FM slipped for the third straight quarter, the FCC reported on November 26, 2025.
The contrasting trends produced only a modest net gain of 24 total radio stations nationwide, meaning every bit of growth — and then some — came exclusively from the noncommercial sector. The Q3 numbers, delayed nearly two months by the partial federal government shutdown that began October 1, crystallize a structural divide that has been widening for the better part of a decade.
What’s Driving the Divergence
- Noncommercial FM boom: Large faith-based networks (Educational Media Foundation/K-LOVE/Air1, Hope Media, Relevant Radio, etc.) and smaller community/college groups continue to acquire failing commercial signals or build new ones in rural and secondary markets where spectrum remains available.
- Operating costs are lower: no advertising sales staff, heavy reliance on listener donations, underwriting, and CPB grants.
- Many new stations are low-power FM (LPFM) conversions to full-power or strategic purchases of silent commercial FMs at distressed prices.
- AM and Commercial FM erosionAM has now lost more than 250 stations since 2020. Daytime-only operations, skywave interference complaints, and skyrocketing tower/land rents are pushing marginal owners off the air.
- Commercial FM faces direct competition from Spotify, YouTube Music, podcasts, and SiriusXM. Local ad dollars have shifted to digital, leaving music stations especially vulnerable.
- Consolidation has reduced the number of unique licensees even faster than the station count itself; iHeartMedia, Cumulus, and Audacy continue to surrender or donate weaker signals.
The FCC’s own data now show that, for the first time in history, virtually all net new terrestrial radio licenses are noncommercial. Industry analysts expect noncommercial FM to surpass 5,000 stations before 2028, while total AM stations could dip below 4,000 in the same timeframe if the current attrition rate holds.