Per Phil Allison:
A ( digital ) TV transmitter with a few thousand watts and a well sited high
gain antenna covers a city of 5 to 10 million people and beyond. The
electricity bill is trivial.

OTOH - the cost of installing and maintaining a cable TV network serving 5
million people is enormous.

Broadcasting is unique and cannot be economically replaced by cable or
satellite.

Seems like we are back to the question "What is the industry's motive
for wanting to get rid of OTA?".
--
Pete Cresswell