The Importance of Over-the-Air Television Viewers

[Commentary] The advent of over-the-air digital television will also reshape the relationship between broadcasting and multichannel providers — cable and satellite operators — in ways that will not be fully understood for sometime long past the Feb. 17, 2009, analog cut-off. Millions who today receive over-the-air TV would chuck their antennas and sign up for cable or satellites. That migration could add a combined $6 billion more to their annual revenues. Jessell believes that's bad for broadcasting. When federal policymakers ask broadcasters to justify their free use of spectrum, they can answer that they — and they alone — are providing a reliable conduit into each and every home in the country — a critical capability in emergencies.