The Consumer Technology Association released research suggesting that, in 2018, about 8.1 million Americans will buy TV antennas, up from just under 8 million for the past several years. CTA senior vice president of research and standards Brian Markwalter believes that the uptick in sales of home antennas is due to more cable subscribers cutting the cord. CTA research found that 20 percent of consumers say they watch over-the-air (OTA) TV via an antenna; NAB stated that more than 72 percent of Americans rely on an antenna for OTA.
TV Technology reports that CTA senior director of innovation and trends Ben Arnold said these cord-cutters buy antennas because they “want live TV plus OTT,” which is “reflected by some of the new antenna kits that combine access to OTA and broadband.”
NPD estimates that about 34 million antennas have been sold since 2014, at an average retail price of about $26. About 90 percent of them are classified as indoor; Baker dubs them “modern rabbit ears.”
As ATSC 3.0 begins to roll out, CTA’s Arnold believes that more customers will buy antennas, which may go up slightly in price. Binochea agreed that ATSC 3.0’s 4K and HDR “will attract new customers,”
In Q1 2018, Nielsen found that “broadcast-only” homes were up by 6 percent to 16.53 million households from the previous quarter. Sixty-four percent of home are now getting OTT and other subscription VOD services.
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/cord-cutters-are-driving-sales-of-ota-antennas-for-live-tvcord-cutters-lift-sales-of-over-the-air-antennas-for-live-tv/