I don’t know who needs to read this but, people should stop putting up with high prices for cable and stop worrying about cyclical battles and outages cable providers have with broadcasters. But reading coverage of these fraught negations you’d think consumers had no outside options for “free TV.”

From a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article entitled, “Why TV Stations and Cable Providers Keep Viewers in the Dark About Their Contracts:”

“Rabbit ears” are a relic now. Those old-fashioned, bent-up pieces of metal — which are likely gathering dust in a grandparent’s attic or basement — are the antennas that people hooked up to their television sets to get broadcast signals, free of charge. They hearken back to a simpler time when one had to get off the couch or up from an easy chair to turn a dial from channel 2 to 4 or 11.

Now, it’s remote controlled and shown on a high-definition, 60-inch flat screen mounted above the mantel with an endless, ever-changing array of providers, channels and streaming services that allow you to watch the programs you want, when you have time to watch them.

The convenience comes with a catch, however, as each service charges subscription fees beyond the price of electricity to power up the set.

Maybe everything above is technically correct. But it’s also all wrong. Antennas are still a thing even if HDTV ones don’t look like rabbit ears. They will work with your TV’s remote. There is no service charge.

Anyways, don’t believe me – go visit the Wirecutter for their advice on the The Best Indoor HDTV Antenna.

If you live in dense enough part of the world an indoor HDTV antenna will probably get all the major broadcast stations and your local PBS affiliate. If all you watch are the biggest televised spectacles – major breaking news, presidential debates, the biggest sporting events, etc. – this is enough Broadcast TV for you. Add one or more streaming services if desired. It’s not hard to skip that cable bill.

More blog posts which could have been written ten years ago coming soon.