Audio Video News

Attention, cord cutters: Broadband isn’t the only alternative to cable and satellite operators.

Digital side channels are multiplying the choices available via a plain old TV antenna thanks to the digitizing of the broadcast standard.

The Wichita Eagle (of Kansas) reports that the addition of side channels has raised the city’s available channels from a dozen to 42, adding lots of movie, TV, and specialty content including local sports and public affairs.

The side channels benefit broadcasters by targeting ads to each channel’s content and demographic mix. Even low-power stations like KCTU are getting into the act, with eight side channels, and “each one of them is a revenue stream for us,” the station manager told the newspaper.