Regarding the climbing of the tower on the empire state building today:
The antennas were not fully live while the climbers were actually on them.
As soon as the two daredevils (identified as Russian "rooftoppers" Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus) were spotted climbing the spire, the building immediately triggered emergency safety protocols.
Broadcasters quickly shifted their signals to backup auxiliary sites (mostly located atop 4 Times Square, the Condé Nast Building) for about an hour to avoid injuring or killing the climbers with extreme RF (radio frequency) radiation.
They returned to normal operations once the NYPD took the couple into custody around 1:00 PM.
What Stations Broadcast from Those Antennas?
The Empire State Building is one of the most critical broadcast hubs in North America. To reach the very peak where they unfurled their peace banner and staged their marriage proposal, the couple had to scale directly past equipment used by a massive lineup of New York City stations.
The primary stations affected and forced to temporarily use backup transmitters include:
FM Radio Stations (The Master & "Mini" Master Antennas)
The couple had to climb past the main master antenna—home to 15 major NYC FM stations—as well as the "Mini" master antenna.
Some of the most notable radio stations transmitting from the spire include:
Plus over a dozen other major commercial FM stations covering the tri-state area.
Television Stations (VHF & DTV Master Antennas)
They also scaled past the high-power digital and VHF television transmitters, which include major local network anchors:
The very top tip where they hung their banner was the old top-mount master antenna, which historically serviced the analog signals for WNBC and WNYW (Fox 5).
Why Shutting Down Was Critical
Broadcast engineers and former chiefs noted after the incident that climbing a live master antenna array without specialized protection is incredibly lethal. The sheer amount of concentrated electrical and electromagnetic energy on the spire can cause massive internal RF burns to human tissue within minutes. Broadcasters acted instantly to drop power and reroute the market's airwaves until the NYPD Emergency Services Unit safely escorted the couple down
