Over the years, it’s been very hard to compare antenna TV, pay TV, and streaming. It’s still really hard to get viewer numbers, but that’s because of the different ways that watching is counted. Live broadcasts over the air and on pay TV count the number of people watching within 3 days of broadcast, although watching up to 7 days out still counts for something. Streaming does it differently. Streaming counts the number of minutes watched for every show, no matter when it came out. So it’s worse than comparing apples to oranges. It’s more like comparing apples to extraplanetary gaseous phenomena.
Variety, that long-standing publication, has published a set of statistics that at least compare over-the-air networks with their pay counterparts. They don’t bring up the issue of streaming, which is still thorny. If someone watches a show on the Max app, it’s counted differently than if they watch on HBO. Not only that, if they watch anything on DIRECTV for Internet, it’s counted differently than if they watch on DIRECTV for Satellite.
But, baby steps. At least their rankings give you a good idea of how over-the-air TV stacks up against pay TV. Here’s their data for the top ten networks:
Variety.com
If you’re interested in a ton more data, check out their article here.
What’s the takeaway? The top four spots are occupied by broadcast networks. Add Univision and Ion, available over-the-air in most markets, and you’ll see that broadcast TV still rules the roost. Yes, it’s true that overall viewership is dropping, but surprisingly not as much as was expected. ABC and Fox eked out small gains in viewership. Industry insiders were very surprised by that.
If you’re a live TV fan, the sort of person who grew up with live TV and spends more time watching than streaming, you have to ask yourself if you need to be paying more for television. You can get an over-the-air antenna and get all those popular channels for free! With an antenna, you pay once and there’s no monthly fee or additional charges.
Remember, you can have it all. DIRECTV and DISH both have plans where some customers can choose to get locals from an antenna instead of from satellite. That means you don’t have to pay for something you could be getting for free!
Over-the-air television is the oldest form of video, dating back to before the second World War. Until the 1970s, over-the-air television was far and away the most common way to watch video. It doesn’t feel like it, but we as a culture have only been streaming television shows for about a decade. If you’ve dived in 100% to streaming that’s great, but don’t be ashamed if you still like watching TV the way you’ve always done it your entire life. If you still like turning on the tube and staring at it for a few hours, there’s nothing wrong with that. With an antenna, you can do what you want and save a little money.
Getting the right antenna can be tricky. There are so many to choose from and there’s so much more to consider than just size and price. There are the frequencies in use, the type of antenna, where it’s intended to be used, and that doesn’t even go into the specifics of your location.
If you’re not sure what you need, get a professional recommendation! The antenna experts at Solid Signal are here to help you during East Coast business hours. Call 888-233-7563 and you’ll get a trained technician who will help you choose the right antenna for your needs. Find out everything you need to know! Call, or if it’s after business hours just fill out the form below and we’ll get right back to you!
The post 6 of the 10 top networks are available on free, over-the-air TV. Why are you paying for them? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
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Variety cracks the code
Variety, that long-standing publication, has published a set of statistics that at least compare over-the-air networks with their pay counterparts. They don’t bring up the issue of streaming, which is still thorny. If someone watches a show on the Max app, it’s counted differently than if they watch on HBO. Not only that, if they watch anything on DIRECTV for Internet, it’s counted differently than if they watch on DIRECTV for Satellite.
But, baby steps. At least their rankings give you a good idea of how over-the-air TV stacks up against pay TV. Here’s their data for the top ten networks:
THE MOST-WATCHED NETWORKS OF 2023 (BY TOTAL VIEWERS)
| Rank | NETWORK | VIEWERS (000) | % CHANGE |
| 1. | NBC | 4,537 | -12% |
| 2. | CBS | 4,508 | -12% |
| 3. | ABC | 3,888 | +1% |
| 4. | Fox | 3,353 | +4% |
| 5. | Fox News | 1,899 | -20% |
| 6. | ESPN | 1,705 | -9% |
| 7. | Univision | 1,265 | -4% |
| 8. | MSNBC | 1,220 | +2% |
| 9. | Ion | 997 | -3% |
| 10. | HGTV | 943 | -13% |
If you’re interested in a ton more data, check out their article here.
What’s the takeaway? The top four spots are occupied by broadcast networks. Add Univision and Ion, available over-the-air in most markets, and you’ll see that broadcast TV still rules the roost. Yes, it’s true that overall viewership is dropping, but surprisingly not as much as was expected. ABC and Fox eked out small gains in viewership. Industry insiders were very surprised by that.
Why pay more?
If you’re a live TV fan, the sort of person who grew up with live TV and spends more time watching than streaming, you have to ask yourself if you need to be paying more for television. You can get an over-the-air antenna and get all those popular channels for free! With an antenna, you pay once and there’s no monthly fee or additional charges.
Remember, you can have it all. DIRECTV and DISH both have plans where some customers can choose to get locals from an antenna instead of from satellite. That means you don’t have to pay for something you could be getting for free!
Looking backward and forward
Over-the-air television is the oldest form of video, dating back to before the second World War. Until the 1970s, over-the-air television was far and away the most common way to watch video. It doesn’t feel like it, but we as a culture have only been streaming television shows for about a decade. If you’ve dived in 100% to streaming that’s great, but don’t be ashamed if you still like watching TV the way you’ve always done it your entire life. If you still like turning on the tube and staring at it for a few hours, there’s nothing wrong with that. With an antenna, you can do what you want and save a little money.
Need help choosing an antenna?
Getting the right antenna can be tricky. There are so many to choose from and there’s so much more to consider than just size and price. There are the frequencies in use, the type of antenna, where it’s intended to be used, and that doesn’t even go into the specifics of your location.
If you’re not sure what you need, get a professional recommendation! The antenna experts at Solid Signal are here to help you during East Coast business hours. Call 888-233-7563 and you’ll get a trained technician who will help you choose the right antenna for your needs. Find out everything you need to know! Call, or if it’s after business hours just fill out the form below and we’ll get right back to you!
The post 6 of the 10 top networks are available on free, over-the-air TV. Why are you paying for them? appeared first on The Solid Signal Blog.
Continue reading...
