Over the past 20 years or so, TV seems to have been moving steadily away from traditional broadcasts towards satellite and cable services which offer viewers a wider range of channels along with premium sports and movie content. But now it seems we’re coming full circle and TV delivered via a conventional aerial is making a bit of comeback.
Why might this be?
The reason for this shift is partly the number of channels, including HD services, now available via Freeview. We’re now a world away from the five terrestrial channels of the 1980s. However, it’s also down to the advent of fast, reliable broadband services across most of the country. This means that with a smart TV or a Freeview Play box you can not only watch broadcast channels, you can also access catch-up services as well as on-demand TV and movies from services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
What will drive this trend further is the recent announcement by Sky that it’s going to start making its full range of TV services available to customers without a dish – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/jan/26/sky-tv-without-dish-premier-league-rights-costs. Although the Now TV service currently offers access to some Sky channels this move will make all 270 available.
The consumer angle
For the viewer at home this change means much greater flexibility. Provided you have a good quality antenna from a company offering Devizes TV aerial installation, such as http://steveunettaerials.co.uk/services/satellite-repair-installation-devises/, along with a reasonable broadband speed, switching between services will become much easier.
As there’s no need to have a dish or cable service installed, it’s simply a case of getting a smart TV or set-top box and connecting it to your broadband router. The services you can access are then simply a matter of what you subscribe to. Another advantage is that you’re not restricted to watching on your main TV, you have the option of streaming content to a range of computers and mobile devices.
Streaming services also offer greater pay-as-you-view capability, allowing you to pay a basic subscription and then opt for extra movies or programmes on demand for a one-off fee. This model appeals to people who don’t want to find themselves locked into an expensive service – perhaps paying for channels they don’t actually use – and at the mercy of the supplier’s price rises.
