RF Shorts for April 21, 2014

By Doug Lung
published

Pay TV Subscriptions Decline; Off-Air Viewer Numbers Increase Paul Ausick, in an article on 24/7 Wall St., Pay TV Shows Troubling Subscriber Trends, reports "The number of subscribers to pay-TV services dropped by about 588,000 in 2013, but that trend is set to reverse itself between 2014 and 2019, growing from about 101 million subscribers to 103.2 million. The data come from a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics."

Ausick cites the usual reasons for the decline--younger people "cutting the cord" or never purchasing a pay-TV subscription. He asks. "What is making a comeback?" His answer: "The trusty roof-top antenna. Consumers can receive free over-the-air programming and pay for the Internet streaming. Home antenna use rose seven percent in 2013, according to Strategy Analytics, to 21.5 million households."

Note that this increase is far greater than minuscule predicted growth rate for pay TV subscribers during the next five years.

The transition to ATSC 3.0 could accelerate the growth in off-air viewership if it allows reception on more devices with smaller antennas. The problem for broadcasters will be figuring out how to retain those viewers that are just now discovering ATSC 1.0.

Comments and RF related news items are welcome. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

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.