The annual option is a good compromise.
I realize my situation is different from most because of where I live. I’ve been following the #PSVue tag on Twitter, and posted a couple whiny responses when people tweeted about getting the high end option (I chose 2nd tier) for less than I’m paying. Someone today responded that PSVue only streams local live television in 3 markets - NYC, LA, and Chicago. Plus I have all the broadcast channels, which not everyone has. And I’m only paying a little bit more. So okay, I’ll stop whining.
Sony will probably bring the full service nationwide eventually (it involves thousands of separate negotiations), but few people have it now, and the ETA is unknown. Today, only OTA can provide network and local television for most people.
I didn’t have PSVue when I bought the Tablo - I didn’t know it existed. I no longer really need OTA, but I like it because of the diginets that broadcast classic TV - MeTV, Antenna TV, Decades, and others. Unfortunately, these small digital broadcasters, which use the subchannels of major broadcasters, are the most likely channels to disappear as a result of the FCC incentive auction. If a significant number of broadcasters sell their spectrum rights and choose to share a frequency with another broadcaster, these will take over the subchannels and the little diginets will be pushed out.
We don’t yet know what the result of the incentive auction will be. Participation is voluntary, and most broadcasters are keeping their decision whether to participate secret. But we will know soon. The reverse auction starts in 8 days. The FCC says the whole process could take a few weeks or a few months.
My guess is that there will be a lot of participation (with the exception of major networks in large markets), the process will take months rather than weeks, and will result in significant change - some channels disappearing (especially in rural areas), many channels moving, and loss of the diginets to make room for the new frequency sharers. I could be wrong, of course.
The changes to come will be announced at the end of the incentive auction. Then the broadcasters have 39 months plus $1.75 billion from the auction proceeds to implement the changes (which some say is neither enough time nor money - I can’t evaluate that).
If things proceed according to the current schedule, the reorganization will be completed in 3.5 years (though some changes could occur sooner). OTA will still exist, but with fewer choices - perhaps a little fewer, perhaps a lot fewer. The diginets broadcasting classic TV are likely to disappear from OTA, perhaps instead streaming content. In more rural areas, the loss of choice may be more serious - or not. We’ll have to wait and see. When I was googling this, I found some local newspapers in small towns with detailed coverage of how the town would be affected. So some people might be able to get advance information this way.
The future of OTA depends on what OTA looks like after the transition (which depends on what the broadcasters decided to do based on how they assessed the future), and how that affects the market. If a lot of choice remains, viewers will stay and ATSC 3.0 is more likely to be implemented, which will keep OTA going for another generation. (On the downside, ATSC 3.0 is incompatible with current tuners, including the Tablo.) If there is significant loss of choice, there will be significant loss of viewership, broadcasters will not want to invest in ATSC 3.0, and OTA will disappear much sooner (though still not immediately).
If you’re not in a market where you can get live streaming of network and local TV (which few people are - PSVue offers it only in NYC, LA, and Chicago) OTA is a necessity for cord cutters and will surely be around for at least 3 years, so anyone buying a Tablo lifetime guide will recoup the cost.
The concern for me personally is that the diginets - the only part of OTA I watch since I get the rest through PSVue (I’m in NYC) could disappear from OTA very soon. The diginets would have to vacate for the broadcasters to work on sharing the frequency with a different broadcaster, and that work will begin in just a few months. See my problem? But my situation is unique.
Have I redeemed myself? I made some people angry when I said I made a mistake in purchasing the Tablo, nice as it is. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be disrespectful. I was just sharing what I learned as I was reading. My situation is not the majority situation, and I am not criticizing Tablo, which I think is a great product.
