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The post is about "streaming" but this relates to a legacy method the two answers so far have mentioned: Broadcast! It isn't dead. You don't have to "subscrib

The post is about "streaming" but this relates to a legacy method the two answers so far have mentioned: Broadcast! It isn't dead. You don't have to "subscribe" to it. The antennas are probably much smaller than your TV, and very cheap (look on Amazon). Last night, I watched Arthur C. Clarke on the Dick Cavett show. Looking on YouTube, they do have some of the key moments of that interview, but not the whole thing. And there's sports. Broadcast doesn't replace streaming, of course, or even come close.

PenguinCoder 4y ago
I live in the middle of nowhere. I'd get one digital signal OTA, and I'd need an outdoor antenna above my roofline to get it.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
Spooky23 4y ago
I think broadcast is pretty dead. If it wasn’t, they’d be able to afford sports. OTA broadcast only exists because the spectrum has some value to the legacy providers as they have consolidated. Eventually, the value of the spectrum for 5G or 6G will justify decommissioning.
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  > If it wasn’t, they’d be able to afford sports They do have major sports events. Besides the big pro events, most of the college football games are on OTA. Not quite all. Just do a search on "broadcast tv listings <your area>" Unfortunately I don't have a DVR anymore, so I still prefer to watch it on streaming if it's on there.
  - majormajor 4y ago
    Only big events are still on broadcast. College football, for instance, is spread between: ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, ACC Network, Bally/other RSNs... 7+ of those are cable-only. Local non-big pro sports in most markets are RSN-only as well.
    - AlbertCory 4y ago
      True. The NLDS and ALDS in baseball were all pay-only, except maybe one game on the weekend. I forget about the LCS's. but both the big NCAA football games tomorrow will be on broadcast, I'm pretty sure.
    - lom888 4y ago
      I am a cord-cutter. On Sunday I can watch the NFL from 1pm until 11pm on three separate channels. On Saturdays I have a choice of three or four channels for college football and I have games on most of the day. During hoops season I can watch college basketball on some weeknights and then during much of the weekend. That being said, I will not be able to watch any of the College Football Playoff over the air, and I only get a smattering of baseball games over the air during the regular season.
      - AlbertCory 4y ago
        Damn. I just checked & you're right about NCAA tomorrow. For baseball, I did buy mlb.tv, and it was great to be able to watch any game (except the hometown ones).
    - LocalH 4y ago
      This isn't because broadcast "can't afford" sports. It's because they've learned that moving this amount of sports away from OTA makes them more money. ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SECN/ACCN are all the same company, all under the Disney umbrella. Bally is what used to be FSN, which was temporarily owned by Disney as well after their acquisition of Fox, but Disney was ordered to divest itself of FSN, so they're now owned by Sinclair. As well, Fox's broadcasting properties were spun off into their own company right before the acquisition, including BTN. There are basically four major sports juggernauts in the US right now. ABC/ESPN, NBC, CBS, and Fox (which for obvious reasons Disney was not allowed to operate after the merger). Notice how that does cover all the broadcast networks. The lack of sports on broadcast television is not because they "can't afford" to license it. Big events are only on broadcast because there would be riots if, say people couldn't watch the Super Bowl without paying a subscription fee. I remember when Disney moved MNF to ESPN, quite a few people complained.
- HDThoreaun 4y ago
  Most football games are on over the air broadcast. Most big playoff series of the major leagues are too.
bentley 4y ago
I fear for the day when over‐the‐air broadcasts are no longer a one‐way connection. Apparently ATSC 3.0 has a capability to broadcast webapps that are then run on the receiver side.
1123581321 4y ago
What channel was broadcasting old Dick Cavett?
- AlbertCory 4y ago
  I think the brand name is "TV through the decades." Channel 1 in the Bay Area.
  - 1123581321 4y ago
    Neat. I like footage from young Cavett’s shows. There is a lingering and sincerely curious atmosphere to the conversations not present on Carson.
    - AlbertCory 4y ago
      This same episode also had Rod Serling. The one tonight had Bette Davis.
stubish 4y ago
Over here, all the broadcast stations also offer on-demand streaming of most of their shows, and live streaming of the channel. I don't have to worry about antenna, extra cabling or clarity of reception. And I can get local content from outside my immediate locality. I don't see much future in TV antenna installation. If they all didn't insist on stupid signup processes it would be more convenient than broadcast.

PenguinCoder 4y ago

I live in the middle of nowhere. I'd get one digital signal OTA, and I'd need an outdoor antenna above my roofline to get it.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

Spooky23 4y ago

I think broadcast is pretty dead. If it wasn’t, they’d be able to afford sports. OTA broadcast only exists because the spectrum has some value to the legacy providers as they have consolidated. Eventually, the value of the spectrum for 5G or 6G will justify decommissioning.

AlbertCory 4y ago
> If it wasn’t, they’d be able to afford sports They do have major sports events. Besides the big pro events, most of the college football games are on OTA. Not quite all. Just do a search on "broadcast tv listings <your area>" Unfortunately I don't have a DVR anymore, so I still prefer to watch it on streaming if it's on there.
- majormajor 4y ago
  Only big events are still on broadcast. College football, for instance, is spread between: ABC, NBC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, Big Ten Network, ACC Network, Bally/other RSNs... 7+ of those are cable-only. Local non-big pro sports in most markets are RSN-only as well.
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    True. The NLDS and ALDS in baseball were all pay-only, except maybe one game on the weekend. I forget about the LCS's. but both the big NCAA football games tomorrow will be on broadcast, I'm pretty sure.
  - lom888 4y ago
    I am a cord-cutter. On Sunday I can watch the NFL from 1pm until 11pm on three separate channels. On Saturdays I have a choice of three or four channels for college football and I have games on most of the day. During hoops season I can watch college basketball on some weeknights and then during much of the weekend. That being said, I will not be able to watch any of the College Football Playoff over the air, and I only get a smattering of baseball games over the air during the regular season.
    - AlbertCory 4y ago
      Damn. I just checked & you're right about NCAA tomorrow. For baseball, I did buy mlb.tv, and it was great to be able to watch any game (except the hometown ones).
  - LocalH 4y ago
    This isn't because broadcast "can't afford" sports. It's because they've learned that moving this amount of sports away from OTA makes them more money. ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/SECN/ACCN are all the same company, all under the Disney umbrella. Bally is what used to be FSN, which was temporarily owned by Disney as well after their acquisition of Fox, but Disney was ordered to divest itself of FSN, so they're now owned by Sinclair. As well, Fox's broadcasting properties were spun off into their own company right before the acquisition, including BTN. There are basically four major sports juggernauts in the US right now. ABC/ESPN, NBC, CBS, and Fox (which for obvious reasons Disney was not allowed to operate after the merger). Notice how that does cover all the broadcast networks. The lack of sports on broadcast television is not because they "can't afford" to license it. Big events are only on broadcast because there would be riots if, say people couldn't watch the Super Bowl without paying a subscription fee. I remember when Disney moved MNF to ESPN, quite a few people complained.
HDThoreaun 4y ago
Most football games are on over the air broadcast. Most big playoff series of the major leagues are too.

bentley 4y ago

I fear for the day when over‐the‐air broadcasts are no longer a one‐way connection. Apparently ATSC 3.0 has a capability to broadcast webapps that are then run on the receiver side.

1123581321 4y ago

What channel was broadcasting old Dick Cavett?

AlbertCory 4y ago
I think the brand name is "TV through the decades." Channel 1 in the Bay Area.
- 1123581321 4y ago
  Neat. I like footage from young Cavett’s shows. There is a lingering and sincerely curious atmosphere to the conversations not present on Carson.
  - AlbertCory 4y ago
    This same episode also had Rod Serling. The one tonight had Bette Davis.

stubish 4y ago

Over here, all the broadcast stations also offer on-demand streaming of most of their shows, and live streaming of the channel. I don't have to worry about antenna, extra cabling or clarity of reception. And I can get local content from outside my immediate locality. I don't see much future in TV antenna installation. If they all didn't insist on stupid signup processes it would be more convenient than broadcast.