What we pick up in FTA is all unencrypted, and usually not uplinked for consumers to receive in their homes. We get educational channels, local networks from various parts of the country that are uplinked for cable companies, plenty of foreign channels, and most importantly (in my opinion), news and sports feeds. You'd be surprised by what's up there at any given time.
If you're looking for a substitute for pay satellite service that will include movie channels, common cable channels such as Discovery and TNT, etc., FTA is not the answer.