In the United States, a flagship station is a radio or television network's principal station from which programs are fed to affiliates (for television, see Television flagship stations).citation needed
The term derives from the naval custom where the commanding officer of a group of naval ships would fly a distinguishing flag.citation needed In common parlance, "flagship" now is used to mean the most important or leading member of a group, hence its various uses in broadcasting.
In sports broadcasting, the "flagship" is the sports team's primary station in the team's home market.citation needed For example, WHFS-FM is the radio flagship station of the Baltimore Orioles baseball team, which feeds Orioles' games to 20 stations in Maryland and adjacent states.
For traditional radio networks, current flagship stations are:citation needed
Former flagship stations for now-defunct networks in radio's "Big Four" era were:
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- WNBC (AM) – 660 kHz, New York (now WFAN)
- WYNY – 97.1 FM, New York (now WQHT)
- KNBR – 680 kHz, San Francisco
- KYUU – 99.7 FM , San Francisco (now KMVQ-FM)
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- WOR (AM) – 710 kHz, New York
- WGN (AM) – 720 kHz, Chicago
- KHJ (AM) – 930 kHz, Los Angeles
For syndicated radio programs, it refers to the originating station from which a program is fed by satellite or other means to stations nationwide. Flagship stations of prominent syndicated radio programs currently include:
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