Neat article in the Topeka Kansas newspaper
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-14/television-antennas-making-comeback
As television continues to grow and evolve, an old standby has resurfaced around Topeka and other parts of the nation — the outdoor antenna.
Many people have ditched cable and satellite television in favor of free, over-the-air TV channels. Some are supplementing that with programming available on the Internet.
The result is people who wouldn’t have given a TV antenna a second thought a few years ago are now scooping them up, cutting their bills and finding many hours of programming to keep them entertained.
Dave Pomeroy, 72, who is a frequent bicycle rider, said he has seen an increasing number of antennas being placed on houses as he pedals around Shawnee County.
“It’s something that’s up-and-coming,” Pomeroy said. “I’m not seeing them by the thousands, but they are starting to pop up. It was disappearing, but with new technology, it’s coming back.” Not everyone who is going the antenna route is doing so because of the cost of cable or satellite, or because they can’t afford it. Some are making the choice simply because it works for them. Pomeroy, a former program director for KTWU, channel 11, Topeka’s PBS station, estimates his family has saved in the neighborhood of $10,000 since cutting ties with local cable providers several years ago. With his rooftop antenna, Pomeroy said, he is able to pull in about 45 channels, including over-the-air signals from Kansas City-area stations, including channels 5, 4, 9, 41, 19, 38 and 62 — all of which are in high-definition and none of which are available to Topeka viewers on cable or satellite. Most are available in high-definition. Many stations are offering multiple sub-channels through a setup known as “diginets.” The programming on diginets can focus on everything from old movies to classic TV shows to weather. Pomeroy said subchannels that are available locally include MeTV, on 13.2 and 9.2, which broadcasts shows like “Alfred Hitchcock,” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”; Cozi-TV, available on 41.2, which runs classic shows like “Dragnet,” “Lassie” and “Roy Rogers”; Antenna-TV, on 4.2, which runs shows like “Three’s Company,” “WKRP in Cincinnati” and “Mr. Ed.”
Topeka-area residents can also pick up a number of movie channels, including Movies!, on channel 29.2, WROB, channel 26.1, and PBS-related cultural and how-to programming.
http://cjonline.com/news/2015-02-14/television-antennas-making-comeback
As television continues to grow and evolve, an old standby has resurfaced around Topeka and other parts of the nation — the outdoor antenna.
Many people have ditched cable and satellite television in favor of free, over-the-air TV channels. Some are supplementing that with programming available on the Internet.
The result is people who wouldn’t have given a TV antenna a second thought a few years ago are now scooping them up, cutting their bills and finding many hours of programming to keep them entertained.
Dave Pomeroy, 72, who is a frequent bicycle rider, said he has seen an increasing number of antennas being placed on houses as he pedals around Shawnee County.
“It’s something that’s up-and-coming,” Pomeroy said. “I’m not seeing them by the thousands, but they are starting to pop up. It was disappearing, but with new technology, it’s coming back.” Not everyone who is going the antenna route is doing so because of the cost of cable or satellite, or because they can’t afford it. Some are making the choice simply because it works for them. Pomeroy, a former program director for KTWU, channel 11, Topeka’s PBS station, estimates his family has saved in the neighborhood of $10,000 since cutting ties with local cable providers several years ago. With his rooftop antenna, Pomeroy said, he is able to pull in about 45 channels, including over-the-air signals from Kansas City-area stations, including channels 5, 4, 9, 41, 19, 38 and 62 — all of which are in high-definition and none of which are available to Topeka viewers on cable or satellite. Most are available in high-definition. Many stations are offering multiple sub-channels through a setup known as “diginets.” The programming on diginets can focus on everything from old movies to classic TV shows to weather. Pomeroy said subchannels that are available locally include MeTV, on 13.2 and 9.2, which broadcasts shows like “Alfred Hitchcock,” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “The Beverly Hillbillies”; Cozi-TV, available on 41.2, which runs classic shows like “Dragnet,” “Lassie” and “Roy Rogers”; Antenna-TV, on 4.2, which runs shows like “Three’s Company,” “WKRP in Cincinnati” and “Mr. Ed.”
Topeka-area residents can also pick up a number of movie channels, including Movies!, on channel 29.2, WROB, channel 26.1, and PBS-related cultural and how-to programming.
