Sutton Coldfield Transmitting Station - History

History

On 17 December 1949, it became the first television transmitter to broadcast outside London and the Home Counties, bringing BBC Television to viewers outside of the south-east of England for the first time.

A new mast was built around 1983 to replace the original structure, primarily to support new mixed-polarisation FM antennas.

A 240.2m temporary mast was erected alongside the original mast in the spring of 2009 so that work could proceed in raising the height of the original mast by 31m (to a total height of 270.5m). As of November 2012 this temporary mast is still in place.

All analogue TV transmissions ceased on 21 September 2011, as part of the digital switchover. This made it one of the oldest transmitters in the country to formally end analogue broadcasts.

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