AS CABLE SUSCRIBERS CUT THE CORD RABBIT EARS MAKE A COMEBACK

                             The 21st Century Rabbit Ear is getting more popular in the digital age.

via Big Hollywood's Daily Call Sheet comes yet another example, this time from the Wall Street Journal, of how cable subscribers are cutting the cord.

There are signs that consumers are responding. TV-antenna seller Richard Schneider of St. Louis says sales at his company are soaring. Mr. Schneider's Antennas Direct sold 70,000 antennas in January, and he expects to double last year's sales of about 600,000. That was up from 400,000 antennas in 2010.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently agreed to sell Mr. Schneider's antennas, the retailer confirmed Friday, joining Best Buy Co., Costco Wholesale Corp. and others.

Mr. Schneider's antennas cost from $50 to $150, and he says the typical customer saves $96 a month by "cutting the cord" on cable or satellite TV, according a survey his company conducted.

The average monthly bills for basic cable service and broadband service add up $91.44, before add-ons like high definition and premium channels, according to SNL Kagan. By sacrificing basic-cable channels, and signing up for Netflix Inc., a household could pay less than $48 per month.

"Every time that Hulu and Netflix enhance their services, our phones light up," said Mr., Schneider, referring to two online-video services.

And it from The Wrap it appears more and more people are cutting the cord. 

[Dish Network] lost 166,000 net subscribers in 2011, but the gain in the fourth quarter brought its total subscribers to about 13.97 million.

"By introducing new Blockbuster-branded services, we've begun to turn the tide in subscriber losses while continuing to face increased competitive pressures," said president and CEO Joe Clayton.

As gas prices rise above $4 USD per gallon it appears that many more subscribers will be "cutting the cord" and going to a more streaming base service.