Free HDTV option by Winegard Co. allows Americans to still get most popular programming

BURLINGTON, Iowa (Aug. 8, 2012) – As recent article by Thompson Reuters, "Americans drop pay-TV; business matures in weak economy," stated, "Stubbornly high U.S. unemployment, a weak housing market combined with a mature business prone to regular programming blackouts has seen more than 400,000 American homes drop their cable or satellite TV service since the start of the year."

It is evident that American homes are dropping cable or satellite at a faster rate due to current circumstances. What few Americans have realized or taken advantage of are the free HDTV digital signals that stream through the airways all the time. One antenna that does this is the FlatWave® by Winegard Co, inventor of the first multi-channel TV antenna for the United States. Viewers can 'cut the cord' and free their TVs and start enjoying local programs broadcast in their area at no charge on networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and PBS.

In today's tough economic times, these HD antennas change the game for viewers who want to access TV, including top-rated shows and sports without having to pay costly programming bills every month or losing programming due to contract disputes.

According to Nielsen¹, for the week of July 16th, 100% of the top ten most-watched TV shows were all carried by the large broadcast networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox. All of these networks can be received with a FlatWave in both standard definition and stunning HD, which leads many Americans to wonder why they are continuing to pay for local programming.

"The average U.S. household has 2.5 television sets², so the cost of connecting all of those sets to cable or satellite skyrockets the monthly fees even further," said Grant Whipple, National Sales Manager for Winegard. "Antenna technology has changed so much that you can access great programs without having to install a large off air antenna on your roof or pay monthly programming fees."

Americans spend 4.8 hours each day watching TV (Nielsen). Without subscription fees, FlatWave viewers enjoy local channels, as well as 24-hour news networks, 24-hour sports programming, 24-hour music channels, 24-hour kids programming, 24-hour classic movie channels, travel and dining networks and more.

The FlatWave digital TV antenna, made in the U.S.A., features a patented design from the antenna experts at Winegard and receives free HD broadcast for both VHF and UHF spectrums. The FlatWave has a razor thin, hide-away design for indoor use and comes with 15 ft. of mini coax cable for optimal placement. It has a simple plug in and play set up and does not require a professional installer.

Viewers subscribing to a streaming service such as Hulu or Netflix also have the advantage of accessing this additional programming over-the-air.

A good reference to find out what programming is available across the U.S. is www.dtv.gov/maps. Enter a physical address on the website and it will list the available channels for that exact location.

The FlatWave digital antenna is available at www.flatwave.tv.


About Winegard
Winegard Company is a respected world leader in the design and manufacture of innovative antenna products for satellite and terrestrial communications. Since its founding in 1954, Winegard's pioneering solutions have shaped the industry for home, recreational vehicle (RV), truck, marine, medical and automotive antennas. The company's 2-way VSAT antennas provide real-time broadband solutions for extreme and remote environments in support of the oil and gas industries, as well as military and emergency response teams. Winegard is a privately-owned company that designed the first residential antenna for the U.S. It has designed more than 1,000 antenna models and does custom antenna design and development work. To learn more about Burlington, Iowa-based Winegard, visit http://www.winegard.com or call 800-288-8094.


¹http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/top10s/television.html
²http://www.marketingcharts.com/television/average-us-household-has-25-tvs-15648/