Tariffs not a concern for 76-year-old Chandler manufacturer

By Jason W. Brooks
Mail | X: @JasonWBrooks2

When Channel Master was founded as a company, the Cold War was brewing and technology was making its way into homes across the developed world.

That home technology included television, as large outdoor and indoor “rabbit ears” antennas brought pictures and sounds together into homes for the first time. Channel Master was founded in 1949 — just as TV was taking off in the U.S. — and the Chandler manufacturing company seems to be riding a wave of resurgence in the popularity of its products in 2025.

With the tariffs imposed and threatened by President Trump affecting the prices of raw and finished imported goods, Channel Master is capitalizing on doing what it’s done for decades: market its American-made antennas and other products to Americans.

Also, the combination of spiraling satellite, cable and streaming service costs driving some TV viewers back to UHF antennas and contracts by sports teams that want local and regional exposure have boosted antenna sales.

“We know the cycle people go through,” Channel Master President Joe Bingochea said. “People ‘cut the cord’ on cable, then go to streaming or something else, then learn they can still get local news and a lot of sports with an antenna.”

Bingochea said customers often try Channel Masters’ indoor “flatenna” first. That’s a thin, notebook-shaped antenna that works in some situations.

Which situations? That depends on many factors, according to Adam Long, Channel Masters’ vice president of product management.

“Distance from a signal, how strong it is, topography — there’s a lot,’ Long said. “But it sometimes requires some adjustments. For example, there are spots in Scottsdale that get all the Phoenix TV stations, but if you move the antenna just a few yards or so, something about the distance to local mountains makes it a dead spot.”

Long said that’s why there’s a “recommendation engine” on channelmaster.com to help newcomers select the right kind of antenna for their needs.

While Channel Masters makes many efforts to get the right products to customers, there are times when the right antenna isn’t matched up to a home situation on the first try. That’s one reason Channel Master’s relationship with some large retailers, such as Best Buy, didn’t last; returns of products sold by retailers turned out to be complicated.

“That was the No. 1 issue with retailers: returns,” Bingochea said. “That’s why so much of our business now is online ordering, be it from us directly or from a wholesaler.”

Bingochea said while many of its products can easily be self-installed, others require a technician, especially if it’s an outdoor antenna. That’s a challenge as well, as there are only two qualified installers in the Valley, and they’re fewer and further in between in the most rural parts of the U.S.

“There’s a store that sells our stuff in Globe, but there’s no longer like, thousands of Radio Shacks or places like that who would have carried our products in the past,” Long said.

An Amazon search reveals a few Channel Master products; wholesaler hardware and electronics sites seem to carry at least a few.

Still, a contract like one Bingochea described, involving the Phoenix Mercury’s free-to-air TV deal announced in 2023, is what helps keep the antenna business growing.

In 2009, the FCC transitioned from analog to digital broadcasting, which improved signal quality. But that forced some TV owners to upgrade their equipment, including antennas. Then, new FCC rules for wireless signal boosters went into effect in 2014.

The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, when many people got into streaming services on another level, seemed to boost interest in antennas.

Channel Master developed and sold several over-the-air DVR models that have been the catalyst to reestablishing the brand and creating awareness with consumers, its website states.

“The trend of going back to antennas is national,” Bingochea said. “And it’s what we’ve been making all along.”

We invite our readers to submit their civil comments on this topic. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.   Email Jason W. Brooks at jbrooks@iniusa.org.

INDEPENDENT NEWSMEDIA

Jason W. Brooks
News Editor | Chandler Independent

Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.

Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.

Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.

Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.

Community: He supports animal shelters.