Austin over the air
Austin TV and Radio, From the Antenna Up
Local channels and frequencies from the FCC’s files, the stations that play Austin music, the Longhorns and Austin FC on the air, and the warnings that matter in flash-flood country.
Free TV still comes through the air in Austin. With an antenna you can watch the local newscasts, Austin PBS and the big games without a monthly bill. FOX 7 and Univision 62 both transmit on VHF channels, so the antenna you pick matters as much as where you put it.
Radio here is a music town’s radio: KUTX, student and community stations and country on the FM dial, the Longhorns on KVET and Austin FC on Alt 97.5. A local antenna installer can help with a rooftop mount, and a weather radio belongs in every Central Texas home.
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Facts from the FCC Public Inspection File, the National Weather Service and the stations’ and teams’ own pages, checked October 2026. Rights and line-ups change; the linked guides have the details.
Liner notes
How Austin Comes In Over the Air
Five tracks on what decides what you get on an Austin TV or radio.
Two numbers for every channel
Your TV shows a virtual channel, but the station may transmit on a different RF channel. KXAN shows as 36 and transmits on RF 21; KVUE shows as 24 and uses RF 33. FOX 7 is one of the exceptions, channel 7 on RF 7. Your TV links the two numbers during a scan, so when a station seems to vanish, rescan before you change anything else. The full table is in Austin TV Channels: The Local Stations You Can Watch for Free. Most stations also carry extra program streams after a scan, shown with a dot after the channel number, such as .2 or .3, and those line-ups change more often than the main channels.
VHF decides the antenna
Most slim indoor antennas are built mainly for UHF, but FOX 7 Austin broadcasts on VHF channel 7 and Univision 62 on VHF channel 13. FOX 7 itself tells viewers to make sure an antenna is VHF-compatible before buying. West of town, hills can block signals, so an attic or rooftop antenna helps more than a pricier indoor one. Start with The Best TV Antenna for Austin and the Hill Country. Keep any mast at least 1 1/2 times its height away from power lines, ground it, and remember that federal rules protect your right to an antenna on property you control.
Licensed towns are clues
Several big signals that serve Austin are licensed to nearby towns: KUTX to Leander, Univision 62 to Killeen, The CW Austin to Llano, KLQB to Taylor and KLJA to Georgetown. A license town is not the transmitter site, but it hints that a signal may favor one side of the metro. Moving the radio, stretching the wire antenna or changing rooms fixes most weak stations; see Better FM and AM Reception in Austin: Fixes for Home and Car. For subchannels such as HD2, you need an HD Radio receiver; an ordinary FM set only gets the main signal. In the car, a station’s stream in its app is the fallback when a signal fades.
A music town on the dial
KUTX 98.9 calls itself the Austin Music Experience and has won Best Radio Station at the Austin Music Awards 12 times. Student station KVRX and community station KOOP share 91.7 FM under a time-share the FCC approved in 1993. Austin PBS produces Austin City Limits. The whole scene, from public radio to country, is in Austin Live Music Radio: Where to Hear Local Artists on the Dial. KUT 90.5 is Austin’s NPR station, and KMFA 89.5 plays classical music. On TV, Austin PBS also lists Decibel and Austin InSight among its programs.
Flash floods need more than one alert
Central Texas floods arrive fast. NOAA Weather Radio’s Austin transmitter, WXK27 on 162.400 MHz, broadcasts warnings around the clock; Wireless Emergency Alerts reach phones; and the Emergency Alert System interrupts TV and radio. The National Weather Service says just 12 inches of rushing water can carry away most cars, so turn around, don’t drown. More in Austin Weather and Storm Coverage: Flash Floods, Warnings and Weather Radio and Emergency Alerts in Austin: How Warnings Reach Your TV, Radio and Phone. Keep a battery radio for when power and internet fail, and know which local station you will tune to before the next storm.
Encore
What Austin Viewers and Listeners Ask
E1Why can’t my new antenna find FOX 7?
FOX 7 Austin broadcasts on VHF channel 7, and many slim indoor antennas are built mainly for UHF. FOX 7 tells viewers to check that an antenna is VHF-compatible before buying. Univision 62, on VHF channel 13, has the same issue.
E2What channel is Austin PBS?
Austin PBS is KLRU, channel 18 on your TV. The FCC’s public file lists RF channel 22 for it. It produces Austin City Limits and Central Texas Gardener, among other programs.
E3Can I watch Austin news for free without cable?
Yes. An antenna gets every station’s full programming live and free. FOX 7’s FOX LOCAL app streams its local programming free 24/7, though not FOX network shows or NFL games, and KXAN offers its KXAN+ stream.
E4Where can I hear Longhorns football on the radio in Austin?
UT Athletics lists KVET 1300 AM, the flagship, and KVET 98.1 FM in Austin. The Texas Longhorns app streams the audio free, and the Longhorn Radio Network has affiliates across Texas.
E5Where are Austin FC matches on the radio?
The club says all 34 of its 2026 regular-season matches air live on Alt 97.5 in English and on TUDN Radio Austin, 104.3-HD2, in Spanish. The HD2 channel needs an HD Radio receiver.
E6Why do KVRX and KOOP share 91.7 FM?
In 1993 the two stations asked the FCC to approve a time-share of 91.7 FM, the last noncommercial frequency left in Austin, and the FCC approved it that July. They take turns on the same frequency.
E7What frequency is NOAA Weather Radio in Austin?
WXK27 on 162.400 MHz, run from the Austin/San Antonio National Weather Service office. It covers Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Hays, Lee, Travis and Williamson counties. Ordinary FM radios do not receive it.
E8Can my HOA or landlord ban my antenna?
Often not. The FCC’s Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule, 47 CFR 1.4000, limits restrictions that impair installing or using a TV antenna on property within your exclusive use or control. Common areas such as a shared roof are treated differently.