It was originally used to broadcast the London ITV signal on VHF Band III.

VHF television was discontinued in 1985, and the Croydon transmitter was not used for regular TV broadcasting until 1997, when a new directional UHF antenna, designed to avoid interference with continental transmitters, was installed to carry the newly launched Channel 5 in the London area.

Croydon also had reserve transmitters for BBC1, BBC2, ITV and Channel 4, but these were used only in the event of engineering works or a failure at Crystal Palace.

Channel 5 launched on 30 March 1997 with transmissions from Croydon and other former IBA VHF sites in the UK.

Reserve senders for ITV and Channel 4 was later added in case they were not available from Crystal Palace and some time later, BBC1 and BBC2.