Antenna penetration across US Grows 38% Y-o-Y

The picture of TV consumption – platforms and content, traditional and streamed, live linear and S/AVOD – is incomplete without capturing the ongoing, fast growing and potentially disrupting role of over-the-air (OTA) access to and viewing of TV content. According to Horowitz Research’s State of OTA 2020 study, two in five (40%) TV content viewers 18+ report owning an antenna, up from 29% year over year. With Nielsen estimating that there are 121 million TV households for the 2020-2021 TV season, this translates to approximately 48.4 million households with an antenna.

Demographically, the data show large increases in antenna penetration among Black households (YOY 27% to 39%), among White, non-Hispanic households (25% to 43%), and importantly, among 18-34 year-olds (20% to 42%), a 110% increase year over year.

With Next Gen TV (ATSC 3.0) bringing more advanced features into the OTA space, growth in OTA can be expected to continue: 5% of TV content viewers 18+ in the Horowitz survey report say they are already planning to get an antenna in the next year and another 9% say they are “very likely” to get one after being presented with a description that details both traditional and advanced features like local broadcast stations, small, thin indoor/outdoor design and HD and DVR capabilities. HOROWITZ