The Benefits of Using a TV Antenna

You may have thought TV antennas were yesterday's news, but they are still on the market and they offer benefits to users that cable and satellite television can't match. They aren't for everyone, but for users who have a good supply of broadcast stations in their locality, antennas can save money and improve signal quality. You don't have to get rid of your cable or satellite service to install an antenna.

Antennas are, by default, money savers because their job is to receive free TV. If you use cable or satellite service and pay a monthly local service fee to receive local channels, you can save on that fee each month by canceling local service and using an antenna. Broadcast stations are free. Why pay for them?

In terms of the number of channels offered, there is no comparison between pay TV and free TV. Pay TV wins in a landslide. What cable and satellite providers don’t tell their subscribers is that many broadcast stations offer at least one sub-channel. These subchannels aren’t offered with your cable or satellite service. To get them you need an antenna.​

Sub-channels vary depending on locality but may include an all-weather station, Retro Television Network and several public television channels.

This benefit only applies to you if you live near two or more TV markets and can receive signals from both. If you can, then you have access to the free stations in both markets. Usually, this amounts to getting access to additional sub-channels and different news and sports programming.

Satellite subscribers know that their satellite signal can disappear during bad weather, which is a concern in areas that experience tornado warnings or wintry weather. When keeping a signal is critically important, an antenna is a way to go.

It’s no secret that broadcast networks deliver an uncompressed signal and cable and satellite providers compress theirs. Which is better? The answer depends on who you ask. Fans of antennas declare they can tell a quality difference when receiving uncompressed high-definition signals.