I basically asked my dad the same thing once and he said that they just didn't know any different. It was just amazing to them to be able to see pictures from St. Louis or NY, it didn't matter what the picture was or how good the reception. He did say that after a while the charm wore off and they realized the shows weren't that good.

Here's a photo from Life magazine's archive showing a family in Erie, PA that just got a TV. There's another picture in the series showing the kitchen full of empty beer bottles after everybody left. Others show the man buying the tv, and setting it up at home. I think the photo essay was originally about a new TV station going on the air and the effect it had on residents.
http://images.google.com/hosted/life...5f1776c24.html