Because of the current economic climate, we are seeing a lot of consumers cut both cable and satellite TV services. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just don't get too desperate. Many of the people cutting that pay TV tether are still enjoying real, live TV, and in full high definition quality, to boot!
According to Antennas Direct, antenna sales are exploding. Yes, the devices you see on various rooftops aren't just relics from years past. The antenna manufacturer says that they are currently enjoying their eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth. After claiming $8.7 million in 2010, the company says they've experienced a whopping 225 percent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2011. That puts them on track for $21 million in 2011.
Two years after the digital TV transition, consumers seem to be seeing the benefits of over-the-air TV -- literally. Not only has the quality improved, but OTA reception can open up a slew of new channel offerings. Apparently, the $15 billion that broadcasters spent in anticipation of the switch was actually money well spent. Market research and consulting firm Convergence Consulting Group says that an estimated 1.6 million people will cancel pay TV services, such as cable and satellite, by the end of this year.
Despite OTA growth, Antennas Direct says that FCC chairman Julius Genachowski continues to assert that over-the-air broadcasting is no longer needed and consequently should be barred.
"Experts have been telling me for 8 years that OTA was dead, yet we have maintained 110 percent compound annual growth since we started, earning multiple honors on the Inc. 500 fastest growing list," says Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct. "So the uninformed statements by the FCC Chairman are nothing but regurgitation of outdated notions from the waning days of analog TV.
"This year we are on pace to liberate nearly 1 million Americans from an unhappy relationship with their pay TV provider while putting over $1.1B annually back in the pockets of our customers," adds Schneider.
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