Channel Master Reports August TV Antenna Sales Surge

Last week I reported on the increased interest in off-air reception of TV stations in light of the Time Warner Cable/CBS battle over retransmission rights (now resolved). I’ve heard from a few people that had tried antenna reception; however, some of these had problems getting solid reception, especially in Los Angeles. I’ve yet to hear if any of my suggestions helped.

On Wednesday, Channel Master reported its digital broadcast antenna sales surged. It said antenna sales in August were 150 percent higher than in July, with its SMARTenna (indoor/outdoor), CLEARtenna (indoor) and the EXREMEtenna (outdoor) were its three top sellers in August.

Traffic to Channel Master's website increased as well.

Isaac Valenzuela, Channel Master director of marketing, commented, “The publicity surrounding the Time Warner Cable/CBS dispute was national in scope and attention. It was one of the best reminders to the general consumer population that much of their most popular programming is produced for free broadcast consumption--and all anyone needs is a good antenna and digital broadcast converter box. We at Channel Master clearly were among the beneficiaries from the dispute.”

I'm still interested in hearing from readers who switched to or tested an antenna during the Time Warner Cable/CBS battle. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com.

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Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack. A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.