 | |
  Croydon transmitting station (Greater London) | |
| Tower height | 152 metres (499 ft) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°24′35″N 0°05′09″W / 51.409722°N 0.085833°W |
| Grid reference | TQ332696 |
| Built | 1955 (original tower) 1962 (current tower) |
| BBC region | BBC London (backup) |
| ITV region | ITV London (backup) |
| Local TV service | London Live (backup) |
The Croydon transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility on Beaulieu Heights[1] in Upper Norwood, London, England (grid reference TQ332696), in the London Borough of Croydon, owned by Arqiva. It was established in 1955 and initially used a small lattice tower. The present tower is 152 metres (499 ft) high and was built in 1962.
It was originally used to broadcast the London ITV signal on VHF Band III. When UHF broadcasting began, the nearby Crystal Palace transmitting station was used. VHF television was discontinued in 1985, and the Croydon transmitter was not used for regular TV broadcasting until 1997, when a new directional UHF antenna, designed to avoid interference with continental transmitters, was installed to carry the newly launched Channel 5 in the London area. It carried Channel 5's analogue signal, and the digital terrestrial signal is transmitted from Crystal Palace. Croydon also had reserve transmitters for BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4, but these were used only in the event of engineering works or a failure at Crystal Palace. Since the digital switchover in April 2012 no television has been broadcast from Croydon, but it is still used as a backup for Crystal Palace for the BBC A & B, Digital 3&4 and COM 4, 5 and 6 multiplexes.
The site is also a maintenance base for transmitter maintenance teams and used to house one of four Regional Operations Centres.
