Cable vs. Internet – The battle for eyeballs gets serious

Kids don't watch much TV with us parents anymore. They log onto their favorite shows. They go to YouTube. They watch content on their smartphones and their notebooks...not the TV. However, for the rest of us, we’re watching more content in general--on TV and everything else.

The Council for Research Excellence found:
•         The average TV time per day for an individual was 353 minutes (nearly six hours)
•         The average computer time was 142 minutes (about 2-3/4 hours)

Of course, the tight economy and need for a break in this “always-on-world” may help drive our need for the screen.

According to The Conference Board:
-          107.5 mln LCD TVs sold in 2008
-          135 mln satellite, cable and IPTV subscriptions worldwide
-          55% of Americans have HDTVs
-          144 bln digital TVs will sell by 2011
-          25% of US households have a DVR/PVR
-          720k HDTVs sold in France in 2 months, preceding Rugby World Cup
-          75% of HDTVs sold by 2011 will be LCD TVs
-          84% of UK homes have digital television
-          90% of HDTV owners are happy with picture quality
-          China exported 52.4 mln televisions last year, 42.4 mln domestically
-          China to lead the world in IPTV by 2011
-          Flat panel TV spending to exceed $140 bln last year
-          IPTV video services to generate $26.3 bln by 2011
-          Plasma displays to grow 30% this year
-          Residential video to generate $190 bln worldwide last year

But more households around the globe have broadband Internet service.
Broadband service to households has grown rapidly and service is now provided to almost every home in industrial countries.  The U.S. still ranks 12th in broadband deployment and is classified as a “developing country” in this area (Source – Gartner). Broadband service brings broadcast/personal TV, Web browsing, social entertainment, time-shifted and on-demand video, on their big screen set.

In the U.S., everyone is working to deliver a solution.  The result is a patchwork of boxes and services – some for the TV, some for the PC. Telco providers see online, on-demand TV as another opportunity to enhance their revenue. With IPTV all content is on-demand. Subscribers like it because they don’t have to do any time-shifting (programming the DVR).

Worldwide, more than 40 M households subscribe to IPTV service.  Depending on the forecast you believe, the number could grow to 100M by 2011.

While IPTV is slowly gathering steam in the Americas, it is widely used in Europe and the Pacific Basin as the prime source of at-home entertainment.  Internet-enabled TVs and the growing comfort of putting (hiding) a PC in the living/family room will help people have their entertainment their way, rather than living by the TV schedule (Source – Infonetics).

Even without IPTV subscriptions, a growing number of people are regularly getting their entertainment online. Internet News, Entertainment – People are increasingly finding that it is faster, easier and cheaper to turn to their PC and the Internet for the types of content they want to watch.  With just a little searching and a few clicks, you can find the stuff that interests you (Source – Nielsen).

PC Entertainment
Most simply watch the content on their PC because:
-          they missed the show on their TV set
-          they can watch anytime
-          it’s free
-          fewer, shorter ads online
-          it’s free
-          with a little “research,” they can find old TV shows and stuff that are no longer on the air

With cable prices going nowhere but up some of the PC/CE folks might come up with something for us. Internet connections are appearing on TV sets in the U.S.

So the younger generations that grew up with a keyboard in their hands, were quick to find indie video and “ancient” content that had been posted.  With TV producers and news programs being quickly put online, it’s the natural place for their entertainment.  Adults and boomers are also making the transition.  It’s nice to spend quality time with the kids.

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