We all know that most forms of content sharing are illegal. You can’t share your Netflix password. You can’t share your satellite TV account with your neighbor. You’re not even supposed to share music that you’ve ripped from CDs that you’ve bought. (OK, not sure anyone cares about that last bit anymore.) But what about broadcast television? That’s free, so shouldn’t you be able to share it?
There are some confusing legal bits to consider, but the basic answer is YES. You can share an antenna, and the signal that comes with it, with as many people as you want. The only thing you can’t do is charge for it. Let’s dive deeper.
Sharing a TV antenna with more than one home
The very first cable TV systems were known as MATV, or master antenna television. In a case like this, a big antenna is put up somewhere, and cables are run to it from every home in the area. This is easier if you’re talking about apartments but it has been done with homes as well. This is totally legal and always has been, as long as it’s free.
As MATV systems got more complex, for-profit companies got involved. They started serving entire cities with one antenna and charging customers. Generally, in order to make things a bit more orderly, they remodulated the signals. In other words, they took all the channels they received and put them sequentially with no channels in between. You might receive channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 25, and 38 over the air, but on the cable they became 2,3,4,5, and 6. This just makes it easier especially if you’re using some sort of cable box, and there are other technical benefits too.
Again, this wasn’t illegal. However, if you’re going to charge for this service, you need to get agreement from the broadcast channels themselves. There’s a whole chunk of the law that deals with how these agreements happen, but that’s a topic for another article. Just know that it happened.
Bottom line though, if you have a small neighborhood and you all want to share one TV antenna, game on. It’s perfectly legal as long as no money changes hands.
Sharing a TV antenna throughout a commercial building
Hotels were an early pioneer of sharing TV channels with multiple rooms. Believe it or not, the idea that there was color TV in a room used to be a big selling point! So, hotels started using small headend systems to send TV signals to multiple rooms. These systems pulled in local channels, remodulated them like MATV systems were doing, and sent them down the line.
This idea also came in vogue in businesses and schools. As teachers turned to TV for lessons, rooms were wired together for antenna reception. Businesses started redistributing signals too so that executives could have a link to the outside world. Even dormitories got into the act so that students didn’t have to put up their own antennas.
Again, all of this is totally legal as long as you’re not re-selling the service.
Yeah but what if you are charging for it?
So I’ve mentioned five times that sharing an antenna is legal if you don’t charge for it. But what if you want to charge for it?
If you want to charge people for over-the-air television, you’re essentially considered the same as a cable or satellite company in the eyes of the law. This is true even if you’re an apartment building owner who includes TV as part of the rent.
It’s not impossible to do. But, if you want to charge for TV service, you have to jump through some hoops. You’ll have to contact the owners of every TV station in your local area and get them to agree to it. Some will want you to pay them for every person using your service. Some will demand that you carry their channel even if you don’t want to. They have that right. For a small organization, it can be very difficult.
There’s a better way
Don’t try to get into the cable TV business yourself. It’s messy and it’s already controlled by media giants. You’re better off partnering with a company that already has all those agreements in place, plus hundreds more. I’m talking of course about satellite TV.
With satellite TV, you’ll get local channels. All the fees have been paid. You’ll also get a lot of other channels, all at a fair price. There are commercial programs set up where your business will get the exact service it needs, all legally. There are even options for people whose business model depends on TV, like apartment buildings and bars. It’s all been figured out ahead of time.
When you’re ready to jump into satellite TV for home or business, call the experts! We are DIRECTV and DISH dealers. We’re here for you during East Coast business hours. Call our Signal Connect division at 888-233-7563. If it’s after hours, no problems! Fill out the form below.
