Audio News for August 13, 2013

by | Aug 13, 2013 | Audio News

Cut The Cord, Cont. – Nearly six million more people rely on OTA (over-the-air) broadcast TV than one year ago, according to new research from GfK Media & Entertainment. There has been a 38% increase in about four years. The survey doesn’t account for over-the-top services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, which cost about $8 a month, or the cost of a set-top box like a Roku or Apple TV. These on-demand services, as well as the increasing amount of video on the Internet, supplement OTA TV.

Demographics of OTA-only households skew toward younger adults, minorities and lower-income families. Other stats are:

19.3% of all U.S. households with TV rely solely on OTA signals—up from 17.8% last year.

An estimated 22.4 million households receive TV exclusively thru broadcast signals and do not subscribe to a pay TV cable or satellite service.

Nearly 6% cut the cord in their current home because of monthly costs while citing there isn’t enough value for the cost.

Minorities make up 41% of OTA homes. 49% of Latino households have a pay TV service—down from 67% in 2010.

Two out of ten younger OTA households have never purchased a pay TV service.

30% of TV homes with an annual income less than $30,000 rely solely on OTA TV—up from 22% in 2010.

Broadcast Interactive Media and Channel Master antenna maker have partnered to set up Antenna Choice, a site to allow consumers more control over their OTA TV experience. The easy and intuitive tool helps consumers new to OTA to learn what channels they can get and the best TV antenna for their particular location. The selection process is simple for those without the technical know-how to select an antenna on their own. The Consumer Electronics Association has a site which ranks antennas based on the signal strength of your area stations, using Green for Strong and Red for Weak.   Antenna Choice is less cumbersome and easier to use, with less guessing.  Keep in mind, though, that unless you are in a metropolitan area, you may need a more advanced outdoor antenna. Another option is to put an antenna in the attic.  If towers are located in different directions, you may even need an antenna rotator. But if you are in a metropolitan area, close to the towers, you may be able to get by with an inexpensive indoor antenna. Tuners in sets have also improved and are more sensitive, and you will find that most stations have digital subchannels with additional programming. You will also find that the image quality will be superior to any of the pay TV services, since the signal is not being compressed in order to fit many signals into one line. Another web tool which may be helpful in showing you which channels you can receive in your area is TVFool.

Classical News – Placido Domingo, 72, has had to cancel several performances due a blood clot problem. Conductor Marin Alsop has had to withdraw from the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music his summer due to an injury to her wrist.  Excerpts from Bloomberg News’ annual salary report of persons in the arts: The outgoing president of Lincoln Center, NYC: $2 million; Met Opera’s General Manager: $1.4 million; New York Philharmonic Music Director Alan Gilbert: $1.6 million; San Francisco Symphony Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas: $2.4 million, in addition to his salary as artistic director of the New World Symphony.

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