Anyone still listen to OTA radio?

[UnrealizedPotential]

I still listen in my car to OTA. I have seen what satellite radio has to offer. It is really good. But am I gonna go out and get it? No. I do not want another bill and while IMO the cost is worth it I am not going to do it. At home I listen to online radio and I can get any radio station I want from almost anywhere. In my car I suffer with local stations but I am not in my car all that much. I am just curious how everyone else feels about this and what do you do about it.

 

[steelyman]

I have all my thumbs up for OTA radio. I listen all the time, for music I rely on my faithful iThings.

 

[MichaelB]

OTA radio is DW's preferred option.

 

[REWahoo]

I'm also in the OTA radio camp.

Unfortunately DW was very unhappy when the free trial of satellite radio expired in her new (to her) car, so I gave her a monthly subscription as a Christmas gift. I did opt for the most basic service, which runs $7/mo.

 

[Senator]

In the car, or on a job site when I am turning or rehabbing a property, OTA is the only way to go.

I am still not sure why anyone would ever pay for radio.

 

[rodi]

I hate reoccurring bills. I definitely listen to OTA radio.

I've got my favorite 4 or 5 stations - 2 rock/alt rock stations, NPR, and a college run Jazz station. Not just the car - my clock radio and a small portable radio.... I get tangled up in my ear buds if I try to listen to streaming when I'm doing chores around the house- so the portable radio works better for me.

(I stream when I'm walking the dog in the neighborhood, but not at the beach. Part of my enjoyment of the beach is the sound of the waves crashing and seagulls screaming.)

 

[Car-Guy]

I still listen to OTA sometimes when I'm working (playing) out in the shop. I have satellite radio in my daily drivers and rarely listen to OTA when driving.

The only part I don't like about satellite radio is dealing with the people that run the service. Real PIA.

 

[JoeWras]

Hate the bills, but I'm all in on Satellite radio.

I have XM which was better before Sirius consumed it. Now the music is too repetitious. This may ultimately lead me to drop it sometime in the future.

I like being able to listen to out of town baseball and hockey. I like the custom sports talk channels (MLB and NHL). I like to listen to CNBC porn on the drive to work, although I turn it off if Cramer is on because he slurs words.

I like commercial free music. Yes, I've done the streaming services. Since I listen to radio All The Time, I like it when someone else is programming and changing channels is an easy flick. Also I'd have to up my data plan on my phone if I went that way in the car.

It is my only real luxury. But if they don't start expanding the playlists, I may drop it, especially when I retire and have more time to waste playing with streaming.

 

[CoolChange]

OTA radio in the car for me; but, I do not spend much time in the car at the moment.

May consider satellite radio I do a multi-month road trip around the USA in retirement. There is a lot of area with very limited OTA options.

 

[jim584672]

I tried to listen to FM, just too many commercials to deal with. Also the music is lame, (old man speaking). I bought a HD FM OTA radio, that is more bearable since the side channels do not have commercials.

 

[2017ish]

We prefer our main OTA station to such an extent that I will stream it via my phone/gps through our car speakers on road trips.

Sometimes go with Pandora or old-school purchased music on road trips, but OTA gives us new music and new groups, many of them locally based and not yet on the radar outside of our neck of the woods.

 

[BBQ-Nut]

OTA for the car when running errands or out and about.


Can't stand commercial FM though - the inanity of the DJ blah blah and the incessant commercials is mind numbing.


My station is KSDS, Jazz 88.3


With TWC at home I get music channels which also includes the local FM stations so I can listen to Jazz 88 on the rig at home as well.

 

[Sarah in SC]

I listen to NPR if I have to, but mostly I play my Spotify from the phone through bluetooth to the car, or an audio book if I'm in the mood.
Two words: CAR COMMERCIALS!

 

[HFWR]

I love my favorite classic rock station: all Journey, all the time!

[/sarcasm]

 

[pb4uski]

At home, I have a few favorite OTA radio stations that I listen to regularly. Our new car has a trial of satellite radio, and I like it when traveling and wintering in Florida where I don't know the local stations. But I'm not sure if I will ante up when the free trial period ends.

 

[freedomatlast]

Cancelled my satellite radio subscription about a year and a half ago when they got too greedy. I have been receiving solicitations every month since from them to go back with the deal I asked for at the time, and they refused. Anyway, it's been a year and a half since I cancelled and they still haven't turned off the service. Don't know why and don't plan on ever renewing.

 

[RonBoyd]

Hmmm. I, too, am stuck with OTA in our vehicles (they are old; the newest a 2008 model).

At home, I use internet radio exclusively -- I have never considered Satellite. Our HTPC is tuned to Net Radio during the day and in my office I use either the dedicated Internet Radio or a computer.

I am also "stuck in the mud" in that I really only listen to two stations KUVO (Denver) and WWOZ (New Orleans)... although there are a few other great Jazz stations I consider periodically (San Francisco, Minneapolis, etc.) Both Stations have apps so I could, I suppose, listen from anywhere -- Android apps are here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.skyblue.pra.kuvo and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.wwoz.

 

[W2R]

I still listen in my car to OTA. I have seen what satellite radio has to offer. It is really good. But am I gonna go out and get it? No. I do not want another bill and while IMO the cost is worth it I am not going to do it. At home I listen to online radio and I can get any radio station I want from almost anywhere. In my car I suffer with local stations but I am not in my car all that much. I am just curious how everyone else feels about this and what do you do about it.

I only listen to OTA radio.

In the car, I listen to conventional OTA AM and FM stations. Like you, I am not in my car all that much so I just listen to a few minutes here or there.

At home, my weather radio also picks up AM, FM, and shortwave. Like you, I also listen to online radio sometimes at home, especially when OTA reception is bad.

I will not pay one single dime for radio. The main attraction of radio, for me, is that it is free.

 

[braumeister]

Most of the time around town, I'll listen to OTA radio in the car, but seldom at home.

But I take a lot of long road trips and my low tier satellite radio only costs $158/year and I consider it well worth that much.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I only listen to satellite radio. Can't get outlaw country OTA.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

We use Pandora or the cable company streams at home and OTA FM in the car. We also keep a "mix tape" CD in and switch to it when the commercials come on. I just hate monthly bills so probably won't go for the satellite services, but if I had to drive a lot or had a long commute then it would be different.

 

[Big_Hitter]

I just hate monthly bills so probably won't go for the satellite services

I just pay mine once a year. DW has OTA in her vehicle. She doesn't appreciate rockabilly, roots rock or alt-country as much as I.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

OTA Wisconsin Public Radio junkie here! Great interview shows, some laughs, a wealth of how-to information and music that hasn't worn a rut into your mind. I love it.

 

[MBAustin]

At one time we had XM in all 3 of our vehicles, but something happened to the satellite receiver in my Prius a couple of years ago and the only solution anyone had was to buy an entire replacement nav system/radio which was megabucks. So I'm stuck with OTA. It's fine when I'm around town (I mostly listen to NPR, some classical and occasionally sports or pop), but one of my volunteer gigs requires periodic road trips into a real OTA desert. I keep a few CDs in the car for when I can't stand it any more.

I use the XM in the RV for the same reason. Bums me that you have to pay extra for NASCAR races so I do stream those.

DH likes a few of the unusual satellite channels (Sinatra, Comedy) so he keeps it in his car also.

 

[Options]

I no longer listen to OTA anything, be it radio, television, movies, etc. I call all of this old media delivery system "push" media, as in it is all "pushed" at you, without your interaction, or choice.

With the advent of YouTube, Hulu and others engaging in a whole new kind of media delivery system, which I call "pull" media, I can select, or pull whatever I want to watch or hear at any time, most of the time with no or minimal commercials. Why would I listen to all that drivel (talk, endless commercials, etc.) in OTA radio or television when I can listen to my choice of thousands upon thousands of radio stations, or other music formats customized to my preference, etc., streamed to my phone, car, or laptop? Same goes with any media I watch. I have also stopped going to movies because this "push" media consumption experience (driving, parking, ticketing, crowds, seemingly endless annoying commercials and infotainment before the movie begins, unjustifiably high ticket prices, hit or miss movie quality) doesn't provide sufficient value to me for the money exchanged. Moreover, I could never consume all of the free movies on the internet in this lifetime (last night I watched 1999's Blair Witch Project for free, for example, and have watched all the recent major movies I wanted to see online for free).

Just recently I decided to completely get rid of all that bulk associated with media delivery systems at home (i.e., tv, stereo), in favor of simply streaming media. I decided never to own or pay for music, movies, or other entertainment media again. Talk about discretionary spending deflation!