The Evolution of Watching Television

The Internet has crept into every corner of our lives, and it looks like television is no exception. Over three-quarters of Americans (77%) have watched a TV show on the Internet rather than on a traditional television. Just three in ten U.S. adults (30%) say , however, they are not interested in giving up their cable television in favor of watching TV shows on the Internet, yet over half of those with cable would stop paying for cable, if certain stipulations were met (56%).

These are some of the findings of a recent Adweek/ Harris Poll survey of 2,309 U.S. adults surveyed online between May 24 and 26, 2011 by Harris Interactive.

The future of TV, and how Americans experience it, is changing. In many ways these changes are visible with the use of DVR systems, the increasing number of shows available online, and the expansion of services offered by companies like Netflix.

Other findings in this poll include:

– Half of U.S. adults say they have watched a show on the Internet that they never previously saw on a traditional television (51%);

– Younger adults are more likely to have watched a TV show on the Internet than are those older—88% of those 18-34 years have, compared to 84% of those 35-44 years, 75% of those 45-54 years and 64% of those 55 years and older;

– Men and women are equally likely to have watched a TV show on the Internet—just over three quarters say they have done so (76% and 77%, respectively);

– Almost nine in ten Americans currently have cable TV (87%) and a majority would stop paying for it in favor of watching TV shows on the Internet if certain conditions were met (56%):

– Two in five say they would stop paying for cable TV in favor of watching TV shows on the Internet if they could get all of the programs that they wanted to watch for free online (44%);

– A quarter of adults say that they would need to get all the shows they wanted to watch online at the same time that they air on TV (25%);

– 16% would do so if they could get all the programs they wanted to watch for a small fee online and the same number say they would do so if it was less complicated to set their TV up with Internet .

– Looking by age, majorities of those aged 18-34, 35-44 and 45-54 with cable would be interested in giving up their cable TV if certain conditions were met (between 59% and 62%) yet less than half of those 55 and older say the same (45%); and,

– Men are more interested in stopping their cable TV paid subscription than women are (60% vs. 52%).

While most Americans have experienced TV shows online, many are not quite ready to cut the cable cord. But, if various conditions were met, majorities would be willing to say good-bye to those monthly cable bills. These listed provisions may foreshadow the future of American television watching as the networks and online companies work to give their consumers what they want, while finding new and creative ways to maintain revenue. It looks like it is all in the hands of the cable companies now.

To view charts CLICK above on ‘More Images’,

For more information at http://www.harrisinteractive.net>