The KVLY-TV mast (formerly the KTHI-TV mast) is a

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

-transmitting mast in

Blanchard, North Dakota Blanchard is a census-designated place in Blanchard Township, Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 26 at the 2010 census. Blanchard is near the North Dakota-Minnesota border, near the junction of state highways 18 ...

. It is used by Fargo station

KVLY-TV KVLY-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television alongside Horace-licensed low-power dual CBS/ CW+ affiliate KXJB-LD (channel 30). Both stations share s ...

channel 11 and

KXJB-LD KXJB-LD (channel 30) is a low-power television station licensed to Horace, North Dakota, United States, serving the Fargo–Grand Forks market as an affiliate of CBS and The CW Plus. It is owned Gray Television alongside NBC affiliate KVLY-T ...

's Argusville/ Valley City/ Mayville

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

K28MA-D channel 28. Completed in 1963, it was once the tallest structure in the world, and stands at 2,204 feet tall (673m). The antenna lights are the second highest in the world, being serviced at a height of about 700 m . In 1974, it was succeeded by the

Warsaw radio mast The Warsaw Radio Mast (Polish: ''Maszt radiowy w Konstantynowie'') was a radio mast located near Gąbin, Poland, and the world's tallest structure at from 1974 until its collapse on 8 August 1991. Designed by Jan Polak, and one of the ...

as the world's tallest structure. The Warsaw mast collapsed in 1991, again making the KVLY-TV mast the tallest structure in the world until the

Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...

surpassed it in 2008. It became the third tallest when the

Tokyo Skytree is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010Shanghai Tower Shanghai Tower () is a 128-story, megatall skyscraper in Lujiazui, Pudong, Shanghai.

took third place in 2013. It remains the tallest structure in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the term We ...

, and the tallest broadcasting mast in the world

Location

The mast is located west of

, halfway between Fargo and

Grand Forks Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the state of North Dakota (after Fargo and Bismarck) and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2020 census, the city's population was 59,166. Grand Forks, along with its twin city o ...

. It became the tallest artificial structure, and the first man-made structure to exceed in height, upon the completion of its construction on August 13, 1963.

Construction

The tower was built by Hamilton Erection Company of

York, South Carolina York is a city in and county seat of York County, South Carolina, York County, South Carolina, United States. The population was approximately 6,985 at the 2000 census and up to 7,736 at the 2010 census. York is located approximately southwes ...

, and

Kline Iron and Steel Kline Iron and Steel was a company based in Columbia, South Carolina. Established on February 23, 1923, as Kline Iron and Metal Co., since 1953 was primarily known for the construction of broadcast towers. This includes the world's tallest compl ...

, and required thirty days to complete, at a cost of approximately $500,000 (roughly $ today). Construction was completed August 13, 1963.

Owners

Owned by

Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, the tower broadcasts at 356 kW on channel 36 for television station

(channel 11 PSIP, an

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliate) which is based in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo ( /ˈfɑɹɡoʊ/) is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 125,990, making it the most populous city in the state and the 219th-most populous city in ...

. The tower provides a broadcast area of roughly , which is a radius of about .

/ CW+ affiliate

K28MA-D also broadcasts on this tower at 15 kW on UHF channel 28 (also its virtual channel). When the mast was built, the call letters of the television station for which it was built were changed to KTHI, the "HI" referring to the height of the mast. The top is reachable by a two-person service elevator (built by Park Manufacturing of

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

) or ladder.

Specifications

The tower consists of two parts: a

lattice tower A lattice tower or truss tower is a freestanding vertical framework tower. This construction is widely used in transmission towers carrying high voltage electric power lines, in radio masts and towers (a self-radiating tower or as a support for a ...

of ; topped by the

transmitting In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

antenna Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to: Science and engineering * Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves * Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...

array of . The total height of both is . The antenna weighs , the lattice tower weighs , giving a total weight of . It takes up of land with its guy anchors. Its height above mean sea level is .

Federal rule change

Some time after its completion, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) and

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

(FAA) imposed a policy that states, "Although there is no absolute height limit for antenna towers, both agencies have established a

rebuttable presumption In common law and civil law, a rebuttable presumption (in Latin, ''praesumptio iuris tantum'') is an assumption made by a court that is taken to be true unless someone proves otherwise. For example, a defendant in a criminal case is presumed inn ...

against structures over 2,000 feet above ground level." The FCC and FAA may approve a taller structure in "exceptional cases."

Gallery

File:KVLYDistance.jpg, KVLY tower from a distance of about one mile (1.6 km) File:KVLYPylon.jpeg, A

guy-wire A guy-wire, guy-line, guy-rope, or stay, also called simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to a free-standing structure. They are used commonly for ship masts, radio masts, wind turbines, utility poles, and tents. A thi ...

anchor File:KVLYFromBase.jpeg, Detail of the tower, showing its network of guy-wires File:KVLY-TV tower, North Dakota 019.jpg, Some of the guy-wires that support the tower (with

Stockbridge damper A Stockbridge damper is a tuned mass damper used to suppress wind-induced vibrations on slender structures such as overhead power lines, long cantilevered signs and cable-stayed bridges. The dumbbell-shaped device consists of two masses at the end ...

s) File:Base of KVLY-TV mast.jpg, Looking up at the KVLY-TV mast from its base File:Base of KVLY-TV tower.jpg, Building at the base of the KVLY-TV tower

Structures of similar height

KRDK-TV mast The KRDK-TV mast is a television transmitting tower in Traill County, North Dakota, United States. At 2,060 ft (627.8 m), it is currently the second-tallest structure in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-tallest structure in the ...

() *

KXTV/KOVR tower The KXTV/KOVR Tower (also known as the Sacramento Joint Venture Tower) is a guyed communication tower in Walnut Grove, California, United States. Built in 2000, it is the tallest structure in California, the third-tallest guyed mast in the wo ...

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