Cord cutters should get a digital antenna

Many viewers have replaced cable with streaming services, and Nielsen found streaming made up 47.5 percent of TV viewing in December — more than cable and broadcast combined. Still, networks retain an edge with live TV, particularly sports. Streaming platforms now carry some live events, but networks often air the same broadcasts free over the air.

For example, Peacock streams the Winter Olympics and its highlight shows, yet NBC has aired those primetime highlights on its network nightly; a digital antenna lets you watch them without a Peacock subscription. The same dynamic played out with recent big events: a Super Bowl telecast ran both on NBC, viewable free with an antenna, and on Peacock behind a paywall.

When the NWSL championship aired on CBS last year, some viewers needed an extra paid add-on beyond a regular Paramount+ plan to stream it; a digital antenna would have provided the free CBS feed. Digital antennas are inexpensive — prices can start around $20 — and are a one-time purchase that can cover many live network events.

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