Why do TV stations start with K?
When the federal government began licensing commercial radio stations, it planned to assign call letters to land-based stations in the same way as ships. The line between East and West originally ran north along state borders from the Texas-New Mexico border, but shifted in 1923 to follow the Mississippi River. Some areas might have both a K and W station. When the dividing line switched, some stations changed their call signs, while others weren’t.
The Origin of Call Letters in Radio Stations
Since the 1960s, some stations have chosen to use the name of a famous person, place, or thing as their call sign. The answer goes back to telegraphs, which used small letter sequences to identify information. The Radio Act of 1912 settled this by starting licensing of radio stations and standardizing call letters.
The Significance of K and W in Radio Station Names
The main reason behind starting radio station names with K or W is the 1912 international radiotelegraph conference, attended by multiple countries. It assigned letters to countries to recognize their television and radio signals. The United States was given the letters A, K, N and W. The letters N and A were for military stations. The letters K and W were for local broadcasters.