ADDISON, Texas—TV antennas are making a comeback, as Parks Associates reports that the number of U.S. broadband homes that had used an antenna to watch TV in 2019 was at 25%; up from 18% in 2018.
This finding came from Parks’ “360 Deep Dive: Today’s Broadcast TV,” and was conducted in the third quarter of 2019.
As consumers have multiple options to determine what content is most important to them, Parks finds that local broadcast news and programming ranks high. Consumers are also looking to cut expenses on content, which could lead toward a further increase in the use of antennas, Parks claims; Parks found that nearly half of TV antennas users do not subscribe to any pay-TV service.
The impact of the coronavirus could also cause a rise in antenna usage.
“Penetration of broadcast TV antennas increased markedly in 2019,” said Steve Nason, director of research for Parks Associates. “Thirty percent of U.S. broadband household report owning a TV antenna, as we expect upward trends both in ownership and usage to continue, especially as we face this public health crisis keeping people at home.”
Parks Associates has also announced that it plans to launch multiple surveys in April 2020 to help quantify how the coronavirus is impacting consumer behavior.
For more information, visit www.parksassociates.com.
