# 2000' TV Tower Collapse; WEAU, Wisconsin



## SayWhat?

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-towercollapses,0,530229.story



> While the station works to rebound from the collapse of their 35-year-old landmark, the incident works to highlight the ways in which recent technology has significantly changed the way WEAU reaches its community. Less than a day after the 2,500-foot tower was reduced to 25 feet worth of wreckage, WEAU was back on the air thanks to online streaming and digital broadcasting.


http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/as...ent-technology-has-changed-broadcasting_b8008



> FAIRCHILD, WIS.: A 2,000-foot broadcast tower has come down in Central Wisconsin. WEAU-TV today reported that its tower located in Eau Claire County came down last night around 8:30 p.m. local time, during the station's telecast of "The Biggest Loser."


http://www.televisionbroadcast.com/article/116196


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## Scott in FL

Wow. Incredible story. Thanks for sharing.

I guess this comes under the heading of _force majeure._ Act of God. Perhaps He doesn't like reality tv shows, either.


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## Jon Ellis

Competing station WQOW is now carrying WEAU's programming on 18.3, displacing ThisTV. Cable & satellite operators are now carrying that feed. It's also being rebroadcast on a translator at 50.1 in La Crosse that normally carries the NBC affiliate from Rochester, MN.


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## TheRatPatrol

More pictures. Any idea yet why it fell?


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## Davenlr

TheRatPatrol said:


> More pictures. Any idea yet why it fell?


Gravity


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## SayWhat?

Apparently there was heavy snow and ice with high winds at the time.


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## BosFan

I live in the Eau Claire area, although the weather was bad at the time it went down it has been much worse in the past, ice had really just started accumulating the hour before so not sure why it toppled. Luckily there are no houses around it. In the meantime WEAU is back to SD via WQOW (who happens to lease tower space from WEAU's smaller tower in the city) except they setup a direct feed to Charter Cable for HD. I am hoping they do the same for D*.


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## phatmatt1215

BosFan said:


> I live in the Eau Claire area, although the weather was bad at the time it went down it has been much worse in the past, ice had really just started accumulating the hour before so not sure why it toppled. Luckily there are no houses around it. In the meantime WEAU is back to SD via WQOW (who happens to lease tower space from WEAU's smaller tower in the city) except they setup a direct feed to Charter Cable for HD. I am hoping they do the same for D*.


I just called WEAU TV and they said they have NO CLUE when they will get HD back up and running for D*.


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## Carl Spock

This is my local NBC affiliate. Is there any precident for giving us a national HD feed if it will be a while until their HD signal is restored?


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## Carl Spock

Well, that didn't take long. 

Within a few hours of my above post, in time for prime time programing last night, WEAU restored their HD feed to DirecTV. That's pretty good. They came up with a signal for us and local cable within 72 hours of the tower falling. 

I like the engineer at WEAU. They were the first station around here to go HD back in the early 2000s, and their chief engineer was very accessible and helpful in getting people set up. Looks like he came through again.


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