More than a year and a half after the DTV conversion, TV viewers know that TV is now broadcast digitally. But a new generation is now learning that HD programming can be received with an antenna.
Few cities are like Las Vegas, where the flat terrain allows 20 percent of residents to reliably watch over-the-air (OTA) programming. This is higher than the national five to 10 percent average using antennas reported by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).
A new antenna installation company called Free Vegas TV is now trying to educate area consumers about the 41 HD channels that are available without a monthly subscription fee. Free Vegas TV owner Karlo Maalouf provides an outdoor antenna and installation for $199.
Viewers, of course, can purchase their own antennas and install them, but few have the necessary skills. With an antenna, viewers in Las Vegas can watch free HD channels, including the basic networks, three sports channels, two movie channels and children’s programming.
“There’s really no need to spend $50 or $60 a month for programming when local networks seem to do a pretty good job,” Maalouf told the Las Vegas Business Press. He said he has received numerous phone calls since he started advertising on local channels KTNV-TV and KGNG-TV.
The most common phrase from prospective customers, he said, is, “I thought free TV was gone.”
“There is a segment of society that does not know there is free TV out there. They’ve always had cable and satellite; they’ve always had other options,” Maalouf said. “It’s like kids growing up with cell phones. ‘What is a landline?’ There is this other alternative out there that kind of gets forgotten.”
