7 years ago
3
Over-the-Air Antennas Are Making a Comeback
As antiquated as it might seem, the over-the-air antenna (OTA) is actually experiencing a revival of sorts, with 21 percent of US households using an antenna in 2015, according to the Consumer Technology Association, up four percentage points compared to the year before. In an age where Comcast-hate is at an all-time high, there’s a growing cord cutting movement with people looking to watch TV without the constraints of a cable contract. In many cases, that requires the four big networks: NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX. And at this point, the easiest solution for those is an antenna.
Continue Reading
http://motherboard.vice.com
Join the Discussion
This is good but bad at the same time. As far back as 2010 the CEA(aka Cable Lobbyists) have been trying to convince congress that they should do away with Digital OTA and sell that spectrum off... So it's good that more people use it, but bad because more people using it means CEA and their friends will be even more riled up to try and lobby away this right. I will admit the last article I have found about this plan was dated 2013 though... but that's not to say they aren't still trying.
Yet, in a way they have, Any app that streams cable content now requires you to have a subscription to cable to use it. Netflix and Amazon are losing more streaming items than gaining and newer stuff is showing up later and later. Hulu is just ok, but you still sit through commercials and on top of it it is owned by several cable conglomerates. CBS is trying their hand at their own streamer with CBS All Access which means they could pull out of Netflix and Amazon at any time. Cable Cutting is about to get expensive as more cabler's try and do it on their own... just the savvy will become pirate tv customers due to it.
Ever since we decided to cord cut our idiotic cable subscription we have been using the free-to-air antenna to get some basic channels as otherwise our 360 dollar cable box would be completely worthless, I can see how others may find the same reasoning.
You can't just keep price gouging people and think nothing is ever going to happen.