THE STEALTH MEDIA PLAYER—ANTENNAS

 Some 50 + years ago, I was a graduate student. One day, I received a call from my father. He asked when I was coming home and I said that weekend, for sure. He responded, “Great. We are having trouble with reception on the Boston stations (my parents lived in Rhode Island) and we need you to go up on the roof to adjust the antenna.” I said sure thing but when I hung up the phone, I thought about it. The last time I was on the roof he was with me, and we got the job done quickly. This time I would be alone as he was too ill to make the climb. I got it done and he only had me shift the antenna twice before all Providence and Boston stations had significant clarity. My big problem was dealing with getting off the roof, but I made it without incident. After I descended, I vowed never to climb the roof when I owned my own home. Rabbit ears would have to suffice.

Well, over the years, I have cleaned many a gutter but have stayed off the roof. When cable came to my jurisdiction, I eagerly signed up and let the provider scale the roof.  Antennas tended to be a bit passe as cable hit 70% of US households and satellite covering as much as 10% of (mostly rural) households.

Now, to the surprise of many, antennas have somewhat quietly been making a strong comeback in US TV households. Relax, young people. Your parents will not be asking you to take a precarious perch on their rooftops. Close to 70% of antennas sold in the states today are indoor units. They are fairly compact, square discs that are attached to a wall in reasonable proximity to the TV. You will not get cable channels but these little dynamos will deliver over the air (OTA) broadcast signals. You will receive ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. In many cases you will also obtain a fistful of “diginets.”

Why do people get the antenna? I asked my panel members and some acquaintances and here are some verbatim responses:

“I am not a huge sports fan, but I like golf and tennis and can see the major events on over the air tv. The antenna is great for me. I am currently watching the French Open Tennis Tournament. NBC’s coverage is enough for me.”

“I like NFL football and can get my fill on CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC. The Super Bowl also, of course.”

“As you know I live in a tiny media market (ranked between 180-200 according to Nielsen). I am on the city council, so I need to watch the local news all the time and the antenna allows me to do that.”

A few people said they liked it for local weather, but you can get that online almost everywhere.

The other big plus is savings. One MR loyalist wrote to me and said, “I used to spend $185 per month for cable and streaming. With my antenna, I have cut my bill to roughly $50 per month! My kids have taught me how to cancel Netflix and then get it back a few months later. Amazon TV comes with my Amazon Prime subscription. I also get Acorn and Britbox as I love the British fare and much of it goes back decades. I was paying for over 200 cable channels each month but only watched 7-8 at best.” It appears that this person is not unusual.

Over the last few years, estimates are that some 8 million US households have added antennas in both 2022 and 2023. This will not save over the air TV over the long pull as an advertising medium but will definitely wound cable.  Projections are that some 20 % of US TV households now have an antenna.

Finally, some of you are sure to be asking “what the hell are diginets?

There are 35-40 of these channels that are ad supported. Entries include Court TV, Bounce MeTV, Cozi TV, TDB, Dabl. They are positioned to advertisers as low-cost classic TV. They are actually old and sometimes very old reruns.

Americans are often good shoppers. In an inflationary environment, the humble antenna is saving money for millions and enhancing viewer satisfaction.

If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.

It Is Unsustainable

 About 10 years ago, I was speaking to a very erudite man whose firm had dealings with Saudi Arabia. I asked him about their welfare state which covered tuitions, healthcare, and other forms of governmental support. He said that if a barrel of oil exceeded $80, they could continue to fund all of their societal needs easily (I have seen estimates of $75-88 per barrel from several sources). Long term, he said as we move to a world using far fewer fossil fuels, the Saudi “nanny” state was not sustainable.

Since then, I have seen the term “unsustainable” used to describe the provider state that most of Western Europe covers for their citizens. The problem in Europe is that birthrates are at an all-time low. Simply to maintain population, you need a birthrate of 2.1, often referred to as zero population growth (ZPG). Right now, in Europe, only the Faroe Islands have a birthrate above ZPG at 2.71. Among larger countries, Germany is at 1.53, Italy 1.3, and Spain 1.29. Without a significant increase in immigration, there is no way they can provide healthcare, free university education (in many countries) and excellent retirement benefits. Among major European nations, France has the highest birthrate at 1.79. Keep in mind that in recent years, France has offered bounties to couples having multiple children.

Something must give but cutting benefits does not seem viable as governments trying any kind of austerity program usually lose power at the next election.

What of the United States? Each year, I bristle when I see that our national debt has jumped and now sits at around $34 trillion. With the higher interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to bring us back to 2% inflation, we now have interest on the national debt playing tag with the size of the Pentagon’s budget (approximately $800 billion per year). To her credit, former governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley said, in her stump speech for the GOP nomination earlier this year, that, as an accountant, she saw real dangers in our escalating national debt. The comments were not well covered by the media and did not get much traction with the public.

Beyond the annual budget deficits there are our liabilities in Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. Some estimates from Laurence Kitlikoff of Boston University are that our unfunded liabilities for those entitlements are over $200 trillion! To right the ship, you  would need to cut spending sharply and raise taxes by over 60 percent. Try running for president on that platform.

The ignoring of the Medicare/Medicaid issue is something so outrageous to me that it would make former Enron accountants blush. Social Security can be fixed or extended in its present state by raising the age of first-time beneficiaries and perhaps taxing away some benefits of the very well to do.

By the way, the United States birth rate hit an all-time low in 2023 of 1.6. So, to function as we now do, we are going to need an influx of millions of immigrants over the next 10-15 years. This will be a hot button issue for sure but it has to happen.

If you look at the facts, we are an unsustainable path. Not as bad as almost all of Western Europe but still serious. Will political leaders stand up and call for real fiscal responsibility and will the public support them? When I try to discuss this, people’s eyes glaze or tell me that I am a pessimist. No, just a tough-minded realist. 

It may not affect me in my life but my children and especially grandchildren will pay dearly for this lack of fiscal discipline. Our present track is truly unsustainable.

Why do people not seem to care? In high school, we had to read George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM over the summer. We then read some Orwell essays in class. One line stuck with me—“to see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.” These fiscal and entitlement issues are staring us in the face. We cannot ignore them forever.

If you would like to contact Don Cole directly, you may reach him at doncolemedia@gmail.com or leave a message on the blog.