 The transmission mast above the BBC wing of Alexandra Palace, photographed in 2001. | |
  Alexandra Palace  Crystal Palace | |
| Tower height | 65.5 metres (215 ft) |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°35′40″N 0°07′45″W / 51.5944°N 0.1292°W |
| Grid reference | TQ297901 |
| Built | 1936 |
| Relay of | Crystal Palace |
| BBC region | BBC London |
| ITV region | ITV London |
| Local TV service | London Live |
The Alexandra Palace television station in North London (grid reference TQ297901) is the oldest television transmission site in the world. What was at the time called "high definition", (405-line) the world's first TV broadcasts on VHF were beamed from this mast from 1936 until the outbreak of World War II. It then lay dormant until it was used very successfully to foil the German Y-Gerät radio navigation system during the last stages of the Battle of Britain. After the war, it was reused for television until 1956, when it was superseded by the opening of the BBC's new main transmitting station for the London area at Crystal Palace. In 1982 Alexandra Palace became an active transmitting station again, with the opening of a relay transmitter to provide UHF television service to parts of North London poorly covered from Crystal Palace.
The transmitter is owned and maintained by Arqiva.