An antenna is not "buy the expensive one and you're set." Reception depends on your distance from the broadcast towers, what's in the way, and where you mount it. Here's the real breakdown, not the marketing version.
Source: manufacturer and consumer-guidance figures (Channel Master, The Free TV Project, Consumer Reports), compiled 2026-07-19. These are typical ranges, not guarantees for any specific address.
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A location 20 miles from a tower behind a ridge or dense tree cover can perform worse than a location 35 miles away with a clear line of sight. This is exactly why the FCC's tool uses a terrain-sensitive propagation model instead of just a straight-line distance calculation, and why two houses on the same street can get genuinely different results depending on which direction their roofline faces.
ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS, and The CW broadcast free, full HD signal in the large majority of U.S. markets (network affiliation and CW coverage varies by market). Many stations also carry free sub-channels too, riding the same spectrum: MeTV, Cozi TV, Antenna TV, Bounce, Ion, PBS Kids, and similar retro/diginet channels. None of this requires a monthly bill after the one-time antenna purchase. What it does not get you: any cable-only channel (ESPN, HGTV, CNN, Disney Channel, and similar). Those require a streaming subscription. See find a channel to check a specific one.