Outside of the main networks, channel lineups can vary greatly across the U.S.
As I've read various online forums about tuning in the free broadcast signals, I have run across posters from Great Britain talking about installing "aerials" (antennas) to pick up "Freeview." https://www.freeview.co.uk/
Curious mind that I have, I had to Google search what exactly "Freeview" was, and what it entailed.
It's kind of cool. Here is a link talking about what Brits get for free, over-the-air, with an antenna:
https://www.freeview.co.uk/why-freeview/channels
- 60+ standard-definition channels
- 15 HD channels
- 25 radio stations
They mention that Freeview allows citizens to pickup 95% of the country's most-watched programming for free.
All HDTVs sold in the UK since 2010 have Freeview built in (older TVs may need a converter box, which is similar to what you have to do with older TVs in the U.S.)
You can purchase Freeview HD DVR boxes (from companies like Panasonic) that cost around $200 U.S. dollars, and allow you to record all your programming for free, with no monthly fee.
(One note: Any home, or business, institution, etc. watching or recording a live TV broadcast -- terrestrial, satellite, cable or internet -- has to pay an annual "television tax"...a television license - about $175 U.S. dollars per year).
In addition, they have recently introduced "Freeview Play" which is an added on-demand Internet component that allows viewers to stream content to their Freeview Play-enabled TV or DVR box (with a wifi connection).
What's nice about the setup in Great Britain is that they have a unified website, outlining exactly what people can receive (including an area where you can type in your specific location for channel lineup), and how they can receive it.
In comparison, it seems like folks in the United States have to "hunt-and-peck" their way to figuring out how to tune in channels over-the-air (the FCC website has some resources, but it is fairly woeful for a novice).
While gear heads and geeks do their best to create cord-cutting guides online, it sometimes feels like you are an "outlier" if you don't have cable or satellite.
I know that the group which sets ATSC standards (how you tune in digital channels with an antenna on an HDTV in the U.S.) is currently working on "ATSC 3.0" which will have a 4K UHD broadcast standard, 7.1 surround sound, be Internet Protocol-based (which will mean you can access and stream on-demand content on various devices), and broadcast digital signals much more efficiently.
But we are still a few years away from that.
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