Antennas Direct has now acquired Mohu. The over-the-air antenna market has seen a surge of activity in the last few years thanks to the advent of cord cutting and this deal now sees Antennas Direct becoming the largest antenna company in the U.S.
While many view cutting the cord as any alternative to traditional TV services, some take a far more literally definition. For example, if you’re not cutting out payments altogether, then you’re not really cutting the cord. Arguably, the easiest way to cut out payments altogether is to opt for over-the-air access to free TV through an antenna.
Today, Antennas Direct announced it has acquired Mohu. The latter is a company that’s done extremely well during the cord cutting era and largely thanks to its sleek designs and indoor technology. Both of which Antennas Direct is now looking to harness and integrate within its own portfolio. From Mohu’s perspective, the company’s founder and CEO, Mark Buff stated this acquisition allows the brand to continue its central goal of making “cord cutting accessible to all.”
The benefits of going OTA
The main benefit of using an OTA antenna is the HD access to free TV. While consumers won’t gain access to the same variety or quality of channels they get from a live TV streaming service, they will gain access to a number of locally broadcast channels. How many specifically will depend on various factors such as the area, as well as the quality and reach of the antenna.
Over-the-air TV has become a hot topic lately due to the emergence of companies like Locast. Unlike the legal and manual way of adding an OTA antenna to an existing setup, Locast provides access to the same local channels, but streamed over the internet.
Considering many TV providers are charged and therefore charge customers for direct access to local channels in this way, those companies have taken issue with Locast and recently filed legal proceedings against the company. The outcome of that case is still pending with Locast defending its position as a non-profit organization. In addition to arguing how it provides consumers who don’t have the right setup with access to the OTA channels they are legally entitled to.
Regardless of the outcome of the Locast case, with Mohu’s Leaf family of products now joining forces with Antennas Direct’s ClearStream products, Antennas Direct says it hopes to help even more Americans cut the cord in the future.
Source: Antennas Direct
