The Tallest Broadcast Tower In America Is An Unbreakable Record - Here's Why

Records are made to be broken — at least, that's what's exciting about them. There's usually an opportunity to see a new record set, somehow, somewhere, but that's not the case with America's (formerly) tallest broadcast tower. There will never be anything like it built bigger, unless there's a regulatory change. But that's highly unlikely to happen.

For the longest time, the record for the tallest broadcast tower was held by the KVLY-TV mast located in Blanchard, North Dakota. Constructed in 1963, it was also once the tallest manmade structure in the world, standing 2,063 feet tall or 628.8 meters. That record was later assumed in 2008 by the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai, which is 2,717 feet or 828 meters. In addition, when the KVLY-TV mast was renovated for the 2019 FCC Spectrum repack, a top portion of the VHF antenna was removed. It now stands at 1,987 feet tall or 605.6 meters, relinquishing its title as the tallest tower in North America to the KRDK-TV mast in Galesburg, North Dakota.

And unless something happens to that KRDK-TV tower, this is a record that will not be broken again. That's because the FCC and FAA established a "rebuttable presumption" that basically prohibits the construction of any structure larger than 2,000 feet tall. They deemed anything larger than this height to be "inconsistent with the public interest" and a possible "menace to air navigation." 

It's unlikely another tower will ever be constructed to this height again in the U.S. for the simple reason that a company would need a really strong case to build above that height. And it's not just radio and broadcast towers, either. The United States stopped building tall skyscrapers, as well. Part of that change is a shift towards new and unique engineering practices, especially for efficiency. American cities are more concerned with density and livability for new structures, as well as optimal designs. In addition, the retooling of the KVLY-TV mast in 2019 also shows it's not necessary to build for height with today's technologies. Digital antennas are actually one of the cheap gadgets that belong in every cord cutter's home, so grab one of the best indoor TV antennas to get over-the-air broadcasts versus online or streaming services.

Quite simply, nothing else will ever be constructed this tall, because you'd need a really strong case to build above that height. Although you might be surprised, TV antennas like the KVLY-TV mast are still in heavy use today as one of the ways people can stream local TV channels. But towers still exist in the U.S. that stand above that height. The aforementioned KRDK-TV mast stands at 2,060 feet tall or 627.8 meters, and the KXTV-KOVR tower in Walnut Grove, California — which was featured in the 2022 thriller, "Fall" — is 2,049 feet tall or 624.5 meters.