There's a trend that's surfacing in a lot of households looking to cut the costs of living. If you've forgotten what rabbit ears or outside antennas actually do you might want to get a re-fresher because both are making a comeback.
There's evidence more Americans are cutting out cable and switching back to free, over-the-air TV. Dan Ackerman, an expect with CNET.com, says it's boiling down to finances.
"I think the primary motivation for a lot of people is cutting their budget. They want to get rid of something that's 100, 120 maybe more dollars a month".
Research from GFK Media shows 54 million of us are now watching only the free TV available over the airwaves. That's a 16-percent increase from a year ago.
Many are buying HDTV indoor or outdoor antennas and relying on local stations. And they are accessing favorite shows online. "We have Hulu or other services like that. So, you don't really need that big cable box that just sits there and can cost you $100 a month or more".
But analysts say consider what you're get, and what you lose, in programming that's available only through cable or satellite. If you go exclusively online there's just a lot less flexibility. You have to plan ahead, search around to different sites, different apps and different programs. It's not a one-stop, all you can eat thing like you cable subscription is".
The Neilsen Company also reports the number of households with television dropped last year from 98 to 96 percent.
USA Today