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Here's my question: why do the TV networks still broadcast over the air? If they weren't doing that none of what Aereo is doing would be possible. Do they real
by harryh 13y ago
Here's my question: why do the TV networks still broadcast over the air? If they weren't doing that none of what Aereo is doing would be possible.
Do they really make that much money from showing commercials to people with rabbit ears? Maybe I live in a bubble but everyone I know that watches TV gets cable or somehow watches over the internet.
- acjohnson55 13y agoIn 1996, 58.4% of American households had cable [1], but 96.7% of American households have at least one TV. Assuming that this difference is made up mostly of people watching OTA TV (not satellite TV, fiber, other, or non TV watchers), that still leaves a pretty massive audience. I wish I had numbers, but my understanding is that retransmission fees are currently not the majority of income for broadcasters. Certainly, they are quite significant and growing, though. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_television_in_the_United... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Television_in_the_United_State...
- maxerickson 13y agoDish and Direct TV have about 34 million subscribers between them. That's nearly 30% of U.S. households (something like 117 million households).
- tanzam75 13y agoLatest figures from February 2014, http://www.tvb.org/research/media_comparisons/4729/72512 http://www.tvb.org/research/media_comparisons/4729/72512 Wired cable 58.3% ADS 31.9% OTA 10.3% Satellite is counted in ADS, Alternate Delivery System.
- harryh 13y agoPresumably that 58.4% has gone up some in the last 18 years?
- acjohnson55 13y agoSorry, 2006, as said in the link. Too late to edit.
- rm445 13y agoYeah, it's a shame really because American reliance on cable distorts the technology market: at least part of the reason that tablets and phones don't already have TV tuners in them has to be that one of the biggest markets isn't interested.