One in five U.S. internet households owns a TV antenna, and 12% that don’t plan to buy one in the next six months, according to Park Associates’ new ”ATSC 3.0: Impact and Opportunity for Video Services” report.

"The percentage of antenna owners has remained steady over the last few years, creating a stable audience for broadcasters at a time when they are losing revenues from lost retransmission fees as consumers abandon pay TV for streaming services," said Alan Bullock, senior contributing analyst at Parks Associates. "ATSC 3.0 has the potential to pump new life into broadcast TV."

OTA reception offers a welcome refuge for many cord-cutters who have abandoned pay TV, which is demonstrated by usage. According to the report, TV antenna owners say they spend 6.4 hours a week watching OTA TV, approaching the 7.6 hours spent weekly consuming on-demand streaming video content.

Nearly 30% of antenna owners said they prefer OTA to watch live news, and about 20% prefer it to watch live sports, TV shows and movies, the report said.

The report points out that ATSC 3.0 could improve the viewing experience and attract new OTA views by enabling higher quality video, enhanced audio and interactive capabilities.

From the article, "ATSC 3.0 Offers Way ‘To Pump New Life’ Into OTA TV, Says Parks Associates Analyst" by Phil Kurz