One of the most critical elements that can affect your ability to receive over-the-air (OTA) television is your location.
Television stations broadcast programming from towers in most cities and towns in the United States. The closer you live to these towers, the better your over-the-air TV reception is likely to be.
Not sure about the location or distance of your local broadcast towers? Visit tablotv.com/towers to find out.
Line-of-Sight & Proximity to Local Broadcast TV Towers
OTA TV signals are distributed via the concept of line-of-sight. Ideal TV reception occurs when your TV antenna is in close proximity to the local broadcast towers and can see them with minimal or no obstructions.
This means ideal reception areas for antenna TV are on flat land, within 35 miles of local broadcast towers. However, under normal atmospheric conditions and depending on your antenna equipment, placement and other factors, TV signals can be received up to 70 miles away.
The further away from your local TV towers, the more likely that interference and obstructions like hills, buildings and trees will impact your ability to receive OTA TV signals. Beyond 70 miles, signals are blocked by the curvature of the earth and cannot reach any TV antenna.
To find out how far away your local broadcast towers are from your home, enter your zip code here.
Distance, Antenna Styles and Topography
In the example above, which is an address in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, IL, you’ll see that most local channels are broadcast from Chicago, about 19 miles away. This is close enough for indoor antennas to be effective.
But if you live in Waukegan, 45 miles from downtown Chicago, you may need a larger TV antenna placed in your attic or outdoors to enjoy solid reception.
But distance isn’t the only factor to consider. In Virginia, Blacksburg is only 15 miles as the crow flies from the local broadcast towers. However, depending on your exact location and antenna placement, the topography of the Blue Ridge Mountains can block signals.
OTA Channel Selection in Your Location
The selection of channels you can receive with a TV antenna depends on whether a broadcaster in your area distributes the signal for that channel.
Antenna TV users in major urban centers like New York or San Francisco can receive over 100 channels with a TV antenna, whereas if you live in an extremely rural and unpopulated area like the Nevada desert, you’re unlikely to find an OTA TV signal.
In most cities and towns in the United States, you’ll be able to receive the main national broadcasters (NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, PBS and the CW). To find out exactly what channels are available in your area, check out our Shows & Channels page.