News
About 43 percent of the U.S. online population – nearly 80 million people – have watched a television show on the Internet, according to a Solutions Research Group tracking study.
Just one year ago, that figure was only 25 percent, marking a 72 percent increase year-over-year.
More than 20 percent of the American online population watches Internet TV on a weekly basis, which accounts for more consumers than the 14 percent who utilize cable’s video-on-demand (VOD) offerings.
The reason cited for 21 percent of visits to a major network’s Web site was “to watch a specific show.”
And of the major network sites, ABC.com received the highest user experience score among those participants who streamed a TV show, with 52 percent rating their overall experience as “excellent.”
Fox.com followed with 44 percent of participants rating their overall experience as “excellent.”
According to the study, if a household has a digital video recorder (DVR) and a broadband connection, the DVR is the preferred means of time shifting. About 65 percent of participants said they “always” skip commercials, compared with 52 percent a year ago.
The results come from Solutions Research Group’s “Digital Life America” tracking study, conducted quarterly. The company interviewed 1,150 Americans ages 12 and older in November.
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• Vyyo focusing on upping bandwidth for cable networks
• OpenTV’s EclipsePlus ad platform ready for beta testing
• NDS integrates with Quantum for secure mobile viewing
• Nominations being sought for Expo, Women in Technology awards


