Direct broadcast satellite in the context of Satellite dish antenna

Terrestrial television, or over-the-air television (OTA) is a type of television broadcasting in which the content is transmitted via radio waves from the terrestrial (Earth-based) transmitter of a TV station to a TV receiver having an antenna. The term terrestrial is more common in Europe and Latin America, while in Canada and the United States it is called over-the-air or simply broadcast. This type of TV broadcast is distinguished from newer technologies, such as satellite television (direct broadcast satellite or DBS television), in which the signal is transmitted to the receiver from an overhead satellite; cable television, in which the signal is carried to the receiver through a cable; and Internet Protocol television, in which the signal is received over an Internet stream or on a network utilizing the Internet Protocol. Terrestrial television stations broadcast on television channels with frequencies between about 52 and 600 MHz in the VHF and UHF bands. Since radio waves in these bands travel by line of sight, reception is generally limited by the visual horizon to distances of 64–97 kilometres (40–60 miles), although under better conditions and with tropospheric ducting, signals can sometimes be received hundreds of kilometers distant.

Terrestrial television was the first technology used for television broadcasting. The BBC began broadcasting in 1929 and by 1930 many radio stations had a regular schedule of experimental television programmes. However, these early experimental systems had insufficient picture quality to attract the public, due to their mechanical scan technology, and television did not become widespread until after World War II with the advent of electronic scan television technology. The television broadcasting business followed the model of radio networks, with local television stations in cities and towns affiliated with television networks, either commercial (in the US) or government-controlled (in Europe), which provided content. Television broadcasts were in greyscale (called black and white) until the transition to color television in the 1960s.

The K_u band (/ˌkeɪˈjuː/) is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally German: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the original NATO K band, which was split into three bands (K_u, K, and K_a) because of the presence of the atmospheric water vapor resonance peak at 22.24 GHz, (1.35 cm) which made the center unusable for long range transmission. In radar applications, it ranges from 12 to 18 GHz according to the formal definition of radar frequency band nomenclature in IEEE Standard 521–2002.

K_u band is primarily used for satellite communications, most notably the downlink used by direct broadcast satellites to broadcast satellite television, and for specific applications such as NASA's Tracking Data Relay Satellite used for International Space Station (ISS) communications and SpaceX Starlink satellites. K_u band satellites are also used for backhauls and particularly for satellite from remote locations back to a television network's studio for editing and broadcasting. The band is split by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) into multiple segments that vary by geographical region. NBC was the first television network to uplink a majority of its affiliate feeds via K_u band in 1983.

A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite. The term most commonly means a dish which receives direct-broadcast satellite television from a direct broadcast satellite in geostationary orbit.

A multichannel television service, also known as simply a television provider, is a type of service provider who distributes television programming to its customers for a subscription fee. Subscription television providers distribute television channels that offer different types of programming, typically including local television stations within their market (including, where applicable, state broadcasters), specialty channels that are distributed solely through multichannel television providers, and pay television services that offer premium content such as feature films and other original programming.

Subscription television services can be distributed to customers through various means, including wireline media such as cable and fiber-optic wire, direct broadcast satellite, and using internet protocols—either over a private network maintained by the provider, or as an "over-the-top" service streamed over the public internet. Equipment is provided to customers in order to receive the service, usually featuring one or more proprietary set-top boxes or some other equipment to decrypt the provided signals. Digital multichannel services typically feature an electronic program guide that can be used to browse available channels, and offer digital video recorders (DVR), which can record programmes to an internal hard drive for later viewing, as well as other interactive features such as access to streaming video services, and other video on demand and pay-per-view services.