By Glen Dickson

Denver facility, 10 years in making, 'took an act of Congress'

Because of pressure by community groups and environmentalists, it has taken 10 years for a consortium of Denver stations to build a new $20 million master tower facility to support digital television (DTV) broadcasts. Finally, it's happening.

The Lake Cedar Group-which represents CBS owned-and-operated KCNC, Gannett's NBC affiliate KUSA and MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD, and McGraw-Hill's ABC affiliate KMGH-is nearing completion of a 730-foot tower on Lookout Mountain, west of Denver, that is slated to begin operation on April 14. The tower, built by Canadian firm Radian, was 'topped off' last month; last week, transmission line and antennas from Dielectric and transmitters from Harris were being delivered and installed.

But getting approvals was a challenge, and in the end 'it really took an act of Congress,' says Don Perez, the former technology chief for KUSA who now serves as Lake Cedar Group's general manager. Lake Cedar began clearing the tower site during the winter of 2007. Federal legislation was needed to make the Lake Cedar site happen.

The tower will finally allow those four stations to offer high-powered DTV broadcasts. To date, the four stations have only been able to transmit low-power digital signals from the top of Republic Plaza, the tallest building in downtown Denver, making Denver the last remaining top 30 market to still not offer high-powered DTV broadcasts from all major network affiliates. (Fox O&O KDVR and Tribune station and CW affiliate KWGN transmit their own high-powered DTV broadcasts from towers at a different site on Lookout, while PBS station KRMA broadcasts DTV from Mount Morrison, south of Lookout.)

'Obviously, it feels great,' says KMGH engineering director Rick Craddock. 'Initially, it was hard to believe we were actually underway.'

The analog facilities on Lookout consist of a tall...