I put up a 75 mile range antenna on a rotor myself and pick up TV stations out of Chicago, South Bend, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids and other places quite easily.
Truth is, there's quite a few channels however not so many "good" ones. More "shopping channels" and "religious" channels than anything else however channels like Me-TV, "Movies!" and others are pretty acceptable IMO.
I personally don't watch much TV anymore. I watch more Netflix on my iPad or Computer than anything else and typically only when I'm working on it/doing something. Beyond that I stream music quite a bit.
It takes a bit of getting used to, yes there is a "detox" period of not having hundreds of channels to go through only to find more crap than anything when having Satellite/Cable but it's worth it once the detox is over.
Been there, done that, never going back.
“...pick up TV stations out of Chicago, South Bend, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids...”
Do you live in the middle of Lake Michigan?