I’m sure some folks get value from satellite and cable, but I’m guessing that the vast majority of people out there aren’t aware or don’t know how. Or, maybe they’re under the influence of inertia… it’s easier to keep the status quo, or just figure “I can afford it.”
When I show people what’s available over the air, and the quality of the video in terms of clarity and sharpness, they ask for my help in getting them set up, unless they’re still contractually bound. And even if they are, they get rid of the extra receivers for all but one of their sets and go with OTA where they can, planning on fully committing once their contract is up.
I think once cord cutting starts to approach critical mass, it’ll go viral… at that point, we’ll likely see cable & satellite providers shift their strategy and offer true ala carte pricing. I can see at some point in the future where OTA and cable/satellite coexist, where you get all of the major networks (Where available) OTA, and you pay for a handful of cable channels that are exactly the ones you want.
Just fantasizing… if I could predict the future, I would have long since made my fortune in the stock market.
It may not be the cord cutting approaching critical mass that changes the television environment radically but ATSC 3.0. Once OTA becomes easier and more reliable via ATSC 3.0 transmission schemes and new services get added to OTA (like bi-directional communication and integration with the Internet), cable companies may feel the earth move under them. Under ATSC 3.0 stations themselves may get the upper hand and change the relationship between consumer (receiver) and distributor.
Possibly stations are looking at the channel repack and rejecting this auction because they see the future possibilities and enhanced services to be offered under ATSC 3.0. At that point cord cutting will really pick up steam. ATSC 3.0 will move OTA from just a transmission based scheme to a service\app oriented one just the way the Internet moved from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.
“ATSC 3.0 will move OTA from just a transmission based scheme to a service\app oriented one just the way the Internet moved from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0.”
That is one of the stated objectives of ATSC 3.0 - to move OTA from a passive transmission based scheme to an active, applications oriented architecture in which communication is a two-way street. That will surely change a population’s view of OTA. At that point cable services will really feel the competition and heat.
And what about those OTA users that just want ATSC 3.0 for better OTA performance and quality and really don’t care about integration with the internet and service oriented applications.
You would think there already is plenty of that available via OTT applications.
It was mentioned by TabloFan above that ATSC 3.0 is meant to have better OTA reception capabilities - easier and more reliable. The industry has realized that the digital cutover mainly using UHF had drawbacks and mistakes were made. Several 3.0 companies have come up with new antenna transmitters that are being tested by several stations in the North Carolina area to address 1.0 transmission issues - especially for metropolitan areas that are canyons. This may be of interest to the Metro Tablo design which is attempting to have an omnidirectional approach to reception inside the Tablo for apartment dwellers.
The digital cutover was a botched up job for OTA!!!
I hear ya - I’ve gone through 3 major antenna overhauls in the last 5 years. Trying different antenna types living in OTA hell. Finally arrived at a solution - the digital cutover was a nightmare for me! They shouldn’t have made it this hard but heck the current FCC head is an ex-Comcast VP and his predecessor left the FCC to become a cable lobbyist in Washington. Who have they been looking out for?
OTA TV broadcasters are licensed to use low-VHF, hi-VHF, and UHF frequencies. They will continue to use these frequencies with ATSC 3.0. Of course if you live close to the border, current international treaties will impact the amount of channels that can be repacked. Additionally, those channels broadcasting across the borders will have a completely different time table for implementing ATSC 3.0.
ATSC 3.0 requires new and/or modified transmitters. Since previous to ATSC 3.0 the demand for companies licensed for transmitter construction had been falling and the number of companies in that line of business has been reduced. Some people hypothesize that without additional companies entering the business it could quite a while to build out the ATSC 3.0 infrastructure.