The percentage of households in the United States that have TVs dropped from 98.9% to 96.7%. Why would you think that happened? Where I live, high-speed internet access costs $40 a month, whereas a decent slate of TV channels on cable costs $70. If you own a computer, the choice is a no-brainer. According to the New York Times:
I had forgotten that there are places in which people can pick up several TV channels by using just an antenna. If I lived alone, I would give up TV entirely because I don't have time to watch it. Link -via TYWKIWDBI
There are two reasons for the decline, according to Nielsen. One is poverty: some low-income households no longer own TV sets, most likely because they cannot afford new digital sets and antennas.
The other is technological wizardry: young people who have grown up with laptops in their hands instead of remote controls are opting not to buy TV sets when they graduate from college or enter the work force, at least not at first. Instead, they are subsisting on a diet of television shows and movies from the Internet.
I had forgotten that there are places in which people can pick up several TV channels by using just an antenna. If I lived alone, I would give up TV entirely because I don't have time to watch it. Link -via TYWKIWDBI
I also have a TV in the bedroom with rabbit ears that picks up a few cool stations (The cool TV, Ion, and that one that shows Magnum PI and Simon and Simon)
On a sad note, when I told my FOURTEEN year old cousin that, she asked me what rabbit ears were.
When the changeover happened, the government was handing out coupons for free converter boxes. Also, you don't need a new antenna to pick up the signals. I was using an old "rabbit ear" + "bowtie" antenna set from 1981 for awhile.
Lastly, new TVs are roughly equal in price, if not cheaper than the old CRT sets that everyone used to be able to purchase.