Well I know a few things you should look up, grumpy pants.
But following a comment where I claim the entire world is inside the United States, you could probably use some context clues:
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=definition+of+joke&iie=1
Juice and DHK1 are also technically correct (“the best kind of correct”). It’s got nothing to do with the USA, or whether or not we’re a bit navel gaze-y.
See:
https://lmgtfy.com/?q=will+I+need+a+new+antenna+for+digital+tv&iie=1
And results such as:
Starting in 2006 many countries in the world switched from broadcasting using an older analog television standard to newer digital television (DTV). However generally the same broadcast frequencies are used, so the same antennas used for the older analog television will also receive the new DTV broadcasts. Sellers often claim to supply a special “digital” or “high-definition television” (HDTV) antenna advised as a replacement for an existing analog television antenna; at best this is misinformation to generate sales of unneeded equipment,[2][3] at worst it may leave the viewer with a UHF-only antenna in a local market (particularly in North America) where some digital stations remain on their original high VHF frequencies.
If you lookup UK specific sites from that same time period, you’ll notice they go out of their way to avoid claiming people need a new antenna or labeling them as “digital antenna”.
Heck, one of the citations in the above Wikipedia article is from the BBC:
So even in the UK:
Ofcom believes only 5% of homes will need to upgrade their aerial systems.
It was way more likely the marketing was being used to mislead people, than it was to help that 5%.
So yes, while in some areas people may have actually needed new antennas, for the vast majority (even outside the USA) the marketing would have been meant to mislead, and the original point is valid and not the product of our oversized sense of selves.
IMO the point is moot these days because the changeover has done come and gone, and since TVs often don’t come with antennas these days you might as well call it a “digital antenna”, but if you’re trying to use the UK historically to prove your point, it’s really not a very strong example. So I suspect you must be looking at the entire subject from a blinkered UK point of view.
