Tower crews at the Empire State Building are working to upgrade and strengthen the broadcast tower that now serves as the central site for New York City's broadcasters that lost their antennas when the World Trade Center was attacked two years ago.
The tower must be reconfigured to accommodate the antennas for every station, as well as adding antennas and facilities for digital broadcasting. Safety concerns mandate that all broadcasters cease broadcasting from the tower while workers are present, and switch to alternate low-power facilities.
In an effort to minimize disruption to the viewing public, all work is scheduled during the overnight period from 12:30 a.m. to 4:45 a.m., Monday through Saturday. The project completion date is mid-September.
During these overnight periods, WCBS operates from a lower power back-up transmitter, and some off-air viewers may not be able to receive the signal from this back-up site. However, cable and satellite reception will not be affected.
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