Yes, those ads to receive all your favorite cable channels for free should be outlawed !!!!
In reality, nothing has changed since before sat and cable tv even existed, except that they are amplifying little rabbit ears, to make them perform like bigger rabbit ears. And granted, some do perform quite well, but don't get fooled, they are still rabbit ears, just believe it.
It still takes a 10 ft long + winegard or channel master antenna w/ a preamp to get digital channels 50 to 75 miles away.