Free TV – especially good if you are bilingual or Spanish-speaking.
Since 1978, Meme has lived without cable.
Not because he could not get it. Because one day the cable company made him mad enough that he decided he could live without them. And he did.
Nearly half a century later, while much of America pays for packages, apps, logins, bundles, and streaming subscriptions to watch the World Cup, he and his wife sit in their Houston home and watch the matches for free, pulled in from the air by a small indoor antenna.
The reason is simple. Their house sits in just the right place. From there, almost every Houston television station can be caught over the air. And Telemundo, carrying the World Cup in Spanish, comes in clear.
Fox has been pulling huge English-language numbers this World Cup, including record audiences for U.S. matches. The U.S.–Belgium match drew about 30 million viewers on Fox, while Spanish-language coverage on Telemundo and Peacock added millions more.
But in one Houston living room, the story is not about ratings.
It is about a man who quit cable in 1978 and never went back.
Fox, Telemundo, Peacock — they can fight over viewers, rights, and billion-dollar broadcasts. Meme and his wife are watching the same World Cup through a little antenna inside the house.
No cable bill.
No satellite dish.
No app subscription.
Just Houston air, Spanish soccer, and the quiet satisfaction of a decision made almost fifty years ago that still works.
