Offering my final thoughts on the whole rabbit ear issue - at least until the next time.
I recently had a friend tell me how sorry he was to hear we gave up cable. I told him it was voluntary and we had been discussing it for some time. He related how he could never give up Kim K or Real Housewives of Elm St or some other program. Is this what life is like now? Drinking a shot, calling it a day and peering into the lives of some Christi knows best wanna-be? Are we that willing to worship St Honey Boo-boo and watch TLC, all dwarfs all the time? While I admit to watching Long Island Medium I also admit I don't miss the dollars being spent on endless SVU marathons.
Maybe it's the radio listener in me that's curious what we'll find on other channels, I don't know. I will, however, offer this: You can find it for free, whatever your interest. In my neck of the woods we have 45 free stations, all it takes is a one-time payment for a converter per tv (my tvs are pre-HD VHF/UHF, no LCD tvs)
PBS has 8 channels including "World" (think National Geographic), "Kids" (think Nick) and "Create" (think anything from Food Network to a craft channel); of course if you want HGTV, regular PBS will do.
You want movies? M!ovies, This, and GetTv. Nostalgic programming? Me-tv, Decades (TVland when it was good) and LAFF (TVLand when it went bad). Want manly programming? Grit which includes The Rookies (yes, the one from the 1970s with Kate Jackson) and Escape (more of a crime//reality station) QVC and all the others are available and even BET and UNI-type stations are available. With all the local stations (WBZ, WCVB, et al) also the available, the only group not represented is the LOGO crowd.
Stick around, that will probably change.
And don't think cable hasn't noticed. Verizon (my old cable), and Xfinity are offering slimmed-down versions of their packages for those who wish to cut the cord due to prices but to get everything you're used to or if you want ESPN you have to (again) add a tier to your package.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/102602780?__source=synacor&par=synacor
To get around this, invest in Netflix. While it may sound like a defeat of purpose, it's only $9 a month (depending on package) and already saving $$ if you watch a movie, even more if the movie is a dog. You have more choice than TV but costs pittance. I am currently watching whole series of Dr Who, Different World and Adam-12; and if it can't be found on Netflix, Hulu or Crackle, it can be found at the library
It's not easy, especially for anyone born in the 1980s after the cable boom (post-MTV generation) but is extremely worth it. And most of all, the family time you gain from this is very much worth the risk.