Antennas Direct Disputes CEA Survey Overlooking the Millions Embracing Digital TV

ST. LOUIS- The growth of a plucky Midwest antenna manufacturer, Antennas Direct, is contradicting assertions from a recent Consumers Electronics Association (CEA) survey suggesting that over-the-air TV viewership and antenna sales are dropping.

Further nullifying the CEA's claim that only eight percent of households use over-the-air TV is a recent study by research firm Knowledge Networks, finding that U.S. over-the-air TV viewership has grown to 46 million, up from 42 million a year before. The survey also discovered that 15 percent or 17 million households rely solely on an antenna to watch TV, up from 14 percent of homes, which was reported each of the last three years.

"CEA chairman, Gary Shapiro has further plunged his organization into irrelevance with the assertion that digital TV is declining," said Richard Schneider, president of Antennas Direct. "How is it possible that an organization who claims to be representative of the consumer electronics industry seems to be blissfully unaware that a multiyear Inc. 500 honoree and one of the fastest growing consumer electronics companies in the United States is none other than an HDTV antenna manufacturer?"

Schneider remarks, "Mr. Shapiro's assertion of the cable cutting movement as 'illusory' is at odds with Antennas Direct's eighth year of triple digit growth, where sales were up 225% in Q1 2011 alone."

"CEA's claims ignore the millions of Americans who are cancelling cable and saving billions in the process. Antennas Direct is on pace to liberate nearly 1 million people this year, ending an unhappy relationship with their pay TV provider and putting over $1.1 billion annually back in the pockets of our customers," said Schneider. "If the spectrum is seized, Americans would be burdened with an additional $20 billion in annual fees for television they now enjoy for free."

According to Schneider, digital TV is the new disruptive technology, reshaping the television landscape. "Digital TV has become a smash success since the 2009 transition, to kill off an already working, capable and popular infrastructure to enrich legacy phone carriers is not innovation, it's immoral."

About Antennas Direct

Antennas Direct is reinventing the antenna for the digital era. Offering over-the-air antennas specifically tuned for core DTV frequencies, Antennas Direct has invested major resources into the development of antenna designs for digital reception. Antennas Direct is a multiple year Inc. 500 fastest-growing company, visit www.antennasdirect.com for more information.

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