ST. LOUIS—Antennas Direct has acquired Mohu, maker of the Mohu Leaf and other television antennas, the St. Louis-based antenna technology developer has announced. Financial details of the acquisition were not immediately available.
“Mohu was launched with one central goal: to spread awareness of the choice that antennas give consumers and make cord cutting accessible to all," said Mark Buff, founder and CEO of Mohu. "Antennas Direct will enhance the Mohu brand with the innovation, leadership and expertise that they are known for.”
According to Antennas Direct, the acquisition creates the largest company in the United States delivering television antennas for over-the-air (OTA) reception. Efficiencies created by the deal will allow the company to invest millions of dollars in antenna technology, it said.
The number of cord cutters, those who give up cable subscriptions in favor of alternatives like off-air reception and OTT subscriptions, is growing year-over-year. Last year, a Nielsen report found cord cutting has grown nearly 50% in eight years. Other reports indicate 34% of U.S. households will have dropped their subscriptions by the end of last year. (Final 2019 tallies are not yet available.)
A report from eMarketer forecasts that by 2023 the number of cord cutters and those never subscribing to cable TV will reach 56.1 million in the United States.
"There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth within the executive suites of this nation's cable companies," said Richard Schneider, CEO and founder of Antennas Direct.
"It's clear that consumers are tired of overpaying for access to content that can be available for free,” he said. “Cable companies have perennially dwelled on the bottom of consumer satisfaction indexes. Antennas Direct and Mohu have long been on the side of consumers' efforts to get rid of cable. We look forward to welcoming even more liberated Americans to our cord-cutting family, continuing our legacy of putting billions of dollars back in their pockets."
