Chicago TV & Radio
Channels, frequencies, antennas and alerts for the city and the suburbs, checked against the FCC’s own records.
Free TV never left Chicago. CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, FOX, PBS and two Spanish-language networks all broadcast over the air, and an antenna in the right window picks them up. If you are moving into a new apartment, a local real estate agent can tell you which way the windows face; this guide tells you why that matters.
Radio is just as busy, from the public and college stations at the bottom of the FM dial to the AM sports and news giants. Local resources on Chicago history and culture cover the stories behind the stations; here you will find the frequencies, the antenna advice and where each team’s games are heard.
Inside today’s guide
Every TV channel and radio frequency, sports radio, and the Spanish and Polish stations.
The full-power TV stations licensed in and around Chicago, with the channel your TV displays, the RF channel the signal really uses and the town each license names, taken from the FCC’s public files.
A walk up the Chicago FM and AM dials, with each station’s call sign, frequency and city of license from the FCC’s public files, plus the simulcasts that put AM stations on FM.
Which Chicago stations carry each major team’s games, taken from the teams’ and stations’ own announcements, plus the FM and HD Radio frequencies that make the AM sports stations easier to hear.
The Spanish-language and Polish-language stations on Chicago’s radio dial and TV guide, with frequencies, call signs and licensees from the FCC’s files and what each station’s own site says about itself.
Antennas for high-rises and houses, watching without cable, and what NextGen TV changes.
How to get free TV in a Chicago apartment or condo tower: choosing an antenna that also receives VHF, testing windows, what federal antenna rules cover on a balcony and what they do not cover on the roof.
Getting free TV in the collar counties and Northwest Indiana: when an indoor antenna is enough, when to go to the attic or roof, why channel 2 needs VHF, and what federal rules say about homeowners associations.
Three ways to keep up with Chicago’s local newscasts without a cable bill: a free antenna, the stations’ own websites and apps, and streaming services, with what each one can and cannot do.
Chicago is listed as an on-air NextGen TV market. What the new ATSC 3.0 standard adds, why the FCC’s simulcasting rule keeps older TVs working, and what to check before buying a NextGen set or receiver.
Weather coverage, public radio and TV, the history behind the call letters, and emergency alerts.
Why Chicago forecasts can be so local, what the National Weather Service says about lake effect snow, and which NOAA Weather Radio transmitters serve Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, Kane and McHenry counties.
Who runs Chicago’s public and noncommercial stations, where they sit on the dial and the TV guide, and what WTTW’s own history says about how Chicago public television began.
How three of Chicago’s best-known call signs began, told through the stations’ own archives: the Tribune’s WGN in 1924, Sears’s WLS the same year, and WTTW, the city’s public TV station, in 1955.
How a warning reaches you in Chicago: the Emergency Alert System on TV and radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts on your phone and NOAA Weather Radio, with the FCC rules behind each and which phone alerts you can turn off.
From the editor
If you are new to an antenna or new to Chicago, these are the points that save the most frustration.
Your TV shows a virtual channel, such as 5 for NBC 5 Chicago, but the station may transmit on a different RF channel; WMAQ-TV uses RF 33. The scan sorts this out for you, which is why a rescan is the first fix for a missing station. Chicago TV Channels: The Local Stations You Can Watch With an Antenna lists both numbers.
CBS Chicago, WBBM-TV, is the main station on a VHF channel, RF 12. If your antenna is UHF-only, CBS may be the one network you cannot get. Buy an antenna that says VHF and UHF. TV Antennas in Chicago High-Rises: What Works When You Live Above the Street explains how to test windows.
The FCC’s antenna rule limits restrictions on TV antennas on property you exclusively use or control, such as your own balcony or a house you own, including homeowners association rules. Roofs and shared areas in an apartment building are not covered. Details in TV Reception in the Chicago Suburbs: Antennas for Houses, Distance and HOA Rules.
Since February 2026, 670 The Score, home of the Cubs and Bulls, is also on 104.3 FM. The Bears and the White Sox are on ESPN Chicago at 1000 AM, the Blackhawks on WGN Radio 720. Chicago Sports Radio: Where to Hear the Cubs, Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks has the full list.
A weather radio programmed for your county is the alert that still works when the power and internet fail. The Chicago transmitter, KWO39, is on 162.550 MHz. Emergency Alerts in Chicago: TV, Radio, Phones and Weather Radio explains how it fits with phone alerts.
The Broadcast Chicago desk
Letters
Short answers, each from the FCC, the Weather Service or the station or team itself.
CBS Chicago, WBBM-TV, transmits on RF channel 12, a VHF channel, while most other Chicago stations are on UHF. Many flat indoor antennas are made mainly for UHF. Choose one rated for VHF and UHF, then rescan. See TV Antennas in Chicago High-Rises: What Works When You Live Above the Street.
The FCC’s rule at 47 CFR 1.4000 limits restrictions that impair TV antennas on property within your exclusive use or control where you have an ownership or leasehold interest, which can include a rented apartment’s private balcony. Safety and historic preservation exceptions exist, and roofs and common areas are not covered.
WTTW, Chicago’s PBS station, is virtual channel 11 and transmits on RF channel 25, according to the FCC. Its WTTW Prime stream is on 11.2. See Public Radio and TV in Chicago: WBEZ, WTTW, WFMT and the College Stations.
On 104.3 FM. Audacy launched 104.3 The Score as an FM simulcast of 670 The Score in February 2026 and said its Cubs and Bulls coverage would air on FM too. See Chicago Sports Radio: Where to Hear the Cubs, Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks.
Latino Mix 93.5 FM, according to the Bears’ 2026 game pages, with Omar Ramos on play-by-play. The FCC lists 93.5 FM as WVIV-FM, licensed to Lemont. See Spanish and Polish Language Radio and TV in Chicago.
The Chicago transmitter, KWO39, broadcasts on 162.550 MHz and covers Cook, DuPage and Lake counties. Lockport on 162.425 and Crystal Lake on 162.500 cover other parts of the metro area. See Chicago Weather on TV and Radio: Lake Effect Snow, Warnings and Weather Radio.
No. The NEXTGEN TV site lists Chicago as on the air, but under 47 CFR 73.3801 stations that switch to ATSC 3.0 must keep simulcasting their main program in today’s format, so current TVs keep working. See NextGen TV in Chicago: What ATSC 3.0 Means for Antenna Viewers.
Partly. Under 47 CFR 10.280 carriers may let you opt out of AMBER Alerts, Imminent Threat Alerts and Public Safety Messages. National Alerts are not on that list. See Emergency Alerts in Chicago: TV, Radio, Phones and Weather Radio.
