Two unauthorized climbers who scaled to the top of the spire above the Empire State Building caused the New York City FM and TV stations broadcasting from antennas there to shift to backup antennas, on the same building but positioned lower on the structure, for about an hour Wednesday.

The shift followed building protocols as soon as the daredevils were reported, heavily driven by the extreme RF present on the live tower, two people familiar with the inner workings of the broadcast configuration at Empire told Radio World.

Many NYC FMs maintain backup antennas atop the Conde Nast Building at 4 Times Square.

The couple, identified by multiple reports as Angela Nikolau, 33, and Ivan Beerkus, 32, were seen holding a pro-peace banner atop the spire, 1,454 feet above the ground.

Radio and TV occupants returned to normal operations once the pair was off the spire.

Footage that multiple TV outlets revealed showed the couple dangling from the the former top mount master antenna that, according to Mike Fitzpatrick’s NECRAT website, once serviced the analog signals of WNBC and WNYW.

The couple had to make their way past the master antenna that 15 New York FMs call home, while two more—WPLJ(FM), WQHT(FM) and WCBS-FM—use the “Mini” master, which they also had to scale.

They also had to pass the VHF Hi Master antenna for WABC-TV and WPIX, plus the DTV master for WFUT and WXTV.

Police received 911 calls concerning the climbers around noon on Wednesday, according to reports.

The banner Nikolau and Beerkus hung read, “When the power of love beats the love of power the world knows peace.”

They were wearing masks during the ascent but were neither harnessed nor wearing any parachutes.

Visitors to the observation deck were also cleared as a safety precaution, according to reports.

After spending approximately half an hour at the top, the couple moved onto a platform where they embraced. Beerkus dropped to one knee and proposed to Nikolau, who accepted.

About 10 minutes later, they began descending.

Police officers from the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit climbed up the spire to meet the two and placed them into custody just before 1 p.m.

The NYPD is reviewing surveillance from the Empire State Building, WABC-TV said. The two appeared to access the spire from a 102nd floor hatch used for maintenance, possibly by breaking a lock, WABC said.

Nikolau and Beerkus are known for their daredevil “rooftopping” climbs around the world. They were profiled in the 2024 documentary “Skywalkers: A Love Story,” currently available on Netflix.

Potential charges could include trespass and reckless endangerment, police sources told WCBS-TV.

[This article was originally published by our sister publication Radio World.]

NEW YORK—NextGen TV broadcasts were launched in New York City on October 16, making ATSC 3.0 signals available in the nation’s largest TV market for the first time. 

As part of the launch, public television’s WLIW21 of The WNET Group converted to the ATSC 3.0 standard and is hosting NextGen TV broadcasts for six local channels.

The launch means that viewers in the #1 television market in the country will be able to receive NextGen TV, aka ATSC 3.0, broadcasts from WCBS (2), WLIW (21), WMBQ-CD (46), WNBC (NBC 4), WNET (13), and WNJU (Telemundo 47) 

WLIW21 is simulcasting the signals but they will appear on their originally assigned local station lineups on all NEXTGEN TV receivers.

“WLIW21 is the first full power station to convert to NEXTGEN TV in the largest television market in the US — this is broadcast television history in the making,” said Neal Shapiro, president and CEO of The WNET Group. “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with WNBC, WNJU and WCBS on ATSC 3 as we navigate the challenges and opportunities of this digital evolution. I’m confident this partnership will ensure the best possible outcome for our New York area viewers.”     

The WNET Group was uniquely positioned to become the host or “lighthouse” in this commercial/non-commercial station partnership as the local operator of two full-power signals because it had moved WLIW21 to One World Trade Center in 2019 in anticipation of the upcoming ATSC 3.0 technology.

As part of the launch The WNET Group said that datacasting and location services are being explored to support mission-driven public television programming for educational and underserved audiences.

Heartland Video Systems has been the project consultant and integrator for The WNET Group.

As ATSC 3.0 continues to roll out across the country broadcasting in more than 70 cities, NextGen TV is expected to reach 70% of US television households in 2023.

TV Tech has been tracking all the launches of NextGen TV broadcasts around the country. Our complete coverage of the issue is available here and our complete list of markets that have launched 3.0 signals can be accessed here. 

NEW YORK—With the channel repack entering its final year, Durst Broadcasting—which manages the broadcast antenna facility atop One World Trade Center—announced this week that it had successfully completed phase four of the repack. The organization urged New York City residents to rescan their TV sets in order to receive the channels in their new spots on the spectrum band.

The channel repack is a result of the 2017 FCC spectrum auctions, which requires nearly 1,000 U.S. television broadcasters to move to new channels to make way for new wireless companies to occupy former broadcast spectrum. For New York, where most of the TV stations host their antennas on top of One World Trade Center, Durst has been planning and coordinating the transfer for years, according to John Lyons, assistant vice president and director of broadcast communications for The Durst Organization.

“We have been working with the broadcasters and equipment suppliers for well over a year to make this transition a smooth one,” Lyons said. “Thanks to the efforts of the New York City broadcast community, equipment supplier RFS Myat and systems integrator DSI RF Systems Inc., we were ready for this operation on Aug. 1 as scheduled. Within a few minutes, the stations were on their new channels.”

The stations involved include:

WCBS

WLIW

WNBC

WNJU

WNYW

WWOR

WRNN

WPXN

Planning for the repack began before the World Trade Center Broadcast site became operational in mid-2017 and involved the installation of a redundant combiner and antenna systems that allowed all the stations to continue operations while Durst updated existing hardware.

Consumers who watch television over the air will need to rescan their TV sets in order to receive the new channels. Subscribers to satellite or cable TV do not need to rescan. Viewers should also rotate their antennas toward One World Trade Center for the best reception.

For more news and insight on the repack, visit TV Technology'srepack silo.