With 40 percent of the under-35 age group in the United States already tuning into Internet videos streamed to TVs at least once a month, Web-to-TV viewing is about to hit the mainstream, according to a recent report by In-Stat.

As proof of the expected mass adoption, In-Stat forecast that Web-to-TV streaming will grow to $2.9 billion by 2013.

“Once Web-to-TV video becomes simple and convenient, mass consumer adoption will follow quite rapidly,” said Keith Nissen, In-Stat analyst. “Our primary research shows that users want a variety of their consumer devices to enable a Web-to-TV video experience.”

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• Within five years, the number of broadband households in the United States viewing Web-to-TV content will grow to 24 million.
• Already, 29 percent of U.S. 25- to 34-year-olds with game consoles use the devices to watch streaming video off the Internet.
• In five years, there will be 7.4 million U.S. broadband households that use media center PCs for streaming Web-to-TV content.
• Video content will be optimized for broadcast or Web-to-TV based on content type.

Of interest to cable operators, In-Stat said that while TV networks and pay-TV operators currently view online TV as additive to pay-TV services, Web-to-TV will ultimately force a complete restructuring of today’s video services.