Wall Street Journal: Millennials Unearth an Amazing Hack to Get Free TV: the Antenna

Posted August 02, 2017

Share To

It's no secret that over the last decade more and more people have been cutting the cord and getting their "TV" from sources other than cable. One demographic that has done this at a much higher level than all others is Millennials.

In droves Millennials are choosing to watch their TV shows and other content on computers and mobile devices where they can get content for free (or via their friends' of family's cable login information). To many Millennials the concept of paying for TV is one that is very foreign (a fact that has shaken, and will continue to shake, the media landscape). However, according to the Wall Street Journal, many Millennials are finding another way to watch TV without paying the cable companies, and it's an old technology not a new one.

Millennials are turning to digital antennas, the 21st century equivalant to bunny ears, to get TV from over the air and not through cable. As many have to put up with many streaming services and infinite places to get content on the web, some are turning to the most traditional way of getting TV (an we mean TV to the box called a TV) to supplement their online content.

These 'bunny ears' may not give you as many channels as cable (or the infinite possibilities of the Internet) but they offer the basics and for some that's enough.

Ryan Knutson reports for the Wall Street Jourmal:

Dan Sisco has discovered a technology that allows him to access half a dozen major TV channels, completely free.

“I was just kind of surprised that this is technology that exists,” says Mr. Sisco, 28 years old. “It’s been awesome. It doesn’t log out and it doesn’t skip.”

Let’s hear a round of applause for TV antennas, often called “rabbit ears,” a technology invented roughly seven decades ago, long before there was even a cord to be cut, which had been consigned to the technology trash can along with cassette tapes and VCRs.

The antenna is mounting a quiet comeback, propelled by a generation that never knew life before cable television, and who primarily watch Netflix ,Hulu and HBO via the internet. Antenna sales in the U.S. are projected to rise 7% in 2017 to nearly 8 million units, according to the Consumer Technology Association, a trade group.

Read the full article here.

Start a Free Trial