Broadband Could Become More Popular Than TV In The US

“Today’s stable and profitable subscription TV services are facing new competition from online and mobile entertainment services, and from new, high-quality packaged goods, such as HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs,” said Gerry Kaufhold, In-Stat analyst.

“The very nature of what consumers call ‘entertainment’ is undergoing a profound change in which the ability to instantly share content with friends, family members, and those connected on social networks or buddy lists is creating micro user communities that replace traditional entertainment sources such as TV programs.”

He continued: “As more high-quality content becomes available online, savvy consumers are considering ways to reduce their monthly bills by getting everything from the internet.”

The survey of US consumers about TV viewing, media, and online habits, looked at respondents aged 18+ with a broadband connection and a TV set.

It found that up to 30% of respondents would drop subscription TV and use the internet for TV, whilst more than 40% said that they are not getting enough international news and information from their current TV delivery services, even though there are hundreds of channels available.

Almost 40% of all respondents said “This is the first I’ve heard” in relation to the US analogue switch-off, which is in February 2009.

This week, a report from the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA) revealed that European internet users are spending an average of 12 hours a week online, an hour more than last year, with youngsters spending more time with their computers rather than the traditional TV set (see Young Europeans Now Spending More Time Online Than With TV).

Earlier in the month, a new forecast from Canalys predicted that worldwide IPTV subscriber levels would increase more than tenfold by the end of the decade, growing from fewer than four million in 2006 to almost 40 million in 2010 (see Worldwide IPTV Subscriber Levels To Increase More Than Tenfold).