TabletTV Perfectly Illustrates Broadcasters’ Hypocrisy

Jan 29, 2015

More proof that “free TV” is anything but “free”…

Broadcaster group TVFreedom announced the addition of a new member, TabletTV, a company that makes essentially what is a TV antenna for tablet devices. This follows on the heels of TVFreedom’s publicity stunt with another member, Antennas Direct, to pass out enormous “free” antennas.

Consumers who want “free” TV using TabletTV only have to plunk down $90 to hook up one tablet. Each device a consumer wants to use will require a new antenna.

TabletTV is actually owned by Granite Broadcasting and a technology company. Meaning that after broadcasters sued Aereo out of existence, they created their own version, allowing them to pocket all the money that consumers have to pay for “free” TV.

It is virtually impossible to watch broadcast TV without buying some sort of external antenna. Broadcasters themselves apparently have to rely on some serious rooftop hardware just to watch local TV at their Washington headquarters.

It’s time for broadcasters to stop the “free” TV charade. Pay-TV consumers will have to pay $25 billion over the next five years to broadcasters for “free” TV. And anyone else will have to pay for a special antenna just to receive a basic signal. There’s nothing “free” about “free TV.”

By the way, is there anything more outdated than TV antennas? And yet broadcasters are doubling down on them?

TV broadcasters can dress up 1950’s technology in 21st Century clothes, but they’re still doing anything they can to stop real video innovation.