PHOENIX—Channel Master experienced some Olympics glory of its own prior to the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The company announced that the weekend before the opening ceremony (July 30-31) there was a 1,200 percent increase in TV antenna sales through direct online orders.
NBC carries the Olympics and makes its coverage available for free from a television antenna. Channel Master says that with consumers seeking alternative methods to pay-TV, the public awareness of free over-the-air broadcast television is on the rise, with a clear uptick for the Olympics.
“It was clear that U.S. households without pay-TV were buying antennas to be able to watch the Olympcis,” said Coty Youtsey, president and CEO of Channel Master.
According to Channel Master, more homes use a TV antenna (24 million) then the largest pay-TV provider (Comcast, at 22.2 million).
Read more about how broadcasters are covering the Rio Games at our Live@TheRioOlympics social media hub.
