Agreed
I get more HD off OTA in the Madison Area than I would get with Cable. Also given the cost to get Local HD OTA (free) vs Cable (as a D* Sub) and given the fact the signal from OTA is far superior to Cable with no Digital out on their Moxie box, Charter, it makes no sense for a person to sub to D* and not go OTA. Now some markets I am sure the local Cable CO. could offer a better solution than I have here, but how many offer a signal comparable to the OTA in heir area? I would guess no the majority, though I would stand corrected if someone had info on this. Also if they are switching the largest DMA's first to HDLiL, wouldn't those markets be the most likely to offer the best OTA HD as the resources to produce said product would be the more available? I doubt NY or LA puts out a worse HD product OTA than Green Bay or Madison.
So if it is Free and a better signal quality using OTA why should D* try and compete with the OTA offering? And if a person is going to have a HD TV and HD tuner/HDTivo and most likely be somewhat affluent, why would they not spend under $50 in most cases to get OTA reception ? It goes against common reasoning. Now I get some think Antennas are ugly. But if D* wanted to be the king of the hill in HD and offer something for the entire family, which matters in my house just ask my wife (o:, why not offer the channles Dish does. You offer that coupled with the ST and the Sports packages already in place and you have an unquestioned market leader which appeals to every demo.