KATV Tower
Encyclopedia
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
mast (or antenna tower) built near Redfield, Arkansas
Redfield, Arkansas
Redfield is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It was incorporated by the County Court on October 18, 1898. The city population was 1,157 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
in 1965 at 34°28′24.0"N 92°12′11.0"W. Its Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) registration and other sources claim that it was built in 1967, but they are incorrect; the Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield
Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield
Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield is a tall guyed mast located at Redfield, Arkansas, USA at . Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower Redfield was completed in 1985 and is 1,898.9 feet high....
also has an incorrect construction date on its FCC registration.
It was the second tallest structure in the world, after the KVLY-TV mast
KVLY-TV mast
The KVLY-TV mast is a tall television-transmitting mast in Blanchard, Traill County, North Dakota, United States, used by Fargo station KVLY-TV channel 11...
in North Dakota, when it was built. it was tied with 15 other 2000-foot masts, all built after it, as the fifth tallest structure in the world (sixth, counting the submerged Petronius oil platform).
In addition to the analog and digital transmitters of its namesake KATV
KATV
KATV, channel 7, is an ABC affiliated television station serving the Little Rock television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Allbritton Communications Company....
, it also hosted the analog transmitter of KETS, the flagship station of the Arkansas Educational Television Network
Arkansas Educational Television Network
Arkansas Educational Television Network is a state network of simulcast non-commercial educational public television station covering the state of Arkansas...
; KETS' digital transmitter is at the nearby Clear Channel Broadcasting Tower in Redfield
Redfield, Arkansas
Redfield is a city in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It was incorporated by the County Court on October 18, 1898. The city population was 1,157 at the 2000 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area....
.
On January 11, 2008, at 12:46 PM local time (1846 UTC), the tower collapsed. The cause of the collapse remains unknown. The crew chosen to replace older guy wires, massive cables that keep the structure in place, claim that as they were loosening one of the older guy wires, the structure began to shake and suddenly collapse. Amazingly, no serious injuries took place. The structure broke into three pieces as it came crashing down, which was what it was designed to do.
The tower was not rebuilt. In March 2009 a new tower was built at 34°47′49.3"N 92°29′20.1"W on Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain
Shinall Mountain, elevation , is located near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas, in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains...
near the Chenal Valley
Chenal Valley, Little Rock, Arkansas
A sizable and more recently developed section of the city, Chenal Valley is in the west-central section of Little Rock, Arkansas, known as West Little Rock...
neighborhood of Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, where Little Rock's other major-network affiliates (KARK-TV
KARK-TV
KARK, virtual channel 4, is the NBC-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock. Owned by the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, the station is sister to MyNetworkTV affiliate KARZ-TV and the two share studios on West Capitol Avenue in Downtown Little Rock one block...
, KLRT-TV
KLRT-TV
KLRT-TV, virtual channel 16 , branded as "FOX16", is the Fox-affiliated television station for Central Arkansas that is licensed to Little Rock...
and KTHV
KTHV
KTHV , is the CBS network affiliate television station serving the Little Rock/Pine Bluff television market and central Arkansas. The station is owned by Gannett Company, which purchased the station in 1994...
) are located, as well as KATV's temporary analog signal (on KTHV's backup tower) and digital signal (a subchannel of KWBF). Though the Shinall Mountain tower is shorter, the mountain's higher elevation raises KATV's antenna to a similar overall height.