The rise and rise of Web TV

Article in the NYT about how US TV viewing habits are shifting:

When the fourth season of “The Office,” an NBC comedy, had its premiere in September, one in five viewings was on a computer screen instead of a television. The episode attracted a broadcast audience of 9.7 million people, according to Nielsen Media Research. It was also streamed from the Web 2.7 million times in one week, the executive producer, Greg Daniels, said.

The TV Times, thay are a-changing......

A study in October by Nielsen Media Research found that one in four Internet users had streamed full-length television episodes online in the last three months, including 39 percent of people ages 18 to 34 and, more surprisingly, 23 percent of those 35 to 54.

“I think what we’re seeing right now is a great cultural shift of how this country watches television,” said Seth MacFarlane, the creator of “Family Guy,” a Fox animated comedy that ranks among the most popular online shows. “Forty years ago, new technology changed what people watched on TV as it migrated to color. Now new technology is changing where people watch TV, literally omitting the actual television set.”

This is not exactly unexpected if you were watching what people do - but many companies were not. I recall being at IBC 2 years ago when the world was trying to pimp Web TV via the STB/IPTV framework. When we opined that TV on the PC was the real gig - and in fact TV through the PC was an endgame - we were told by many "experts" and "analysts" we were nuts, the PC would Nevah be in the living room. (In fact we built our MyPCTV rig then just to prove them all wrong after that!). 18 months later and "everyone" knows this is the New Way.

However, the old adage of "following the money seems to be road to nowhere.......

Although people are watching their shows, the networks are loath to release data about how many people are watching TV shows online and how often. The reason? Possibly because Internet viewers are worth only a fraction of the advertising dollars of television viewers.

“The four and a half billion we make on broadcast is never going to equate to four and a half billion online,” said Quincy Smith, the president of CBS Interactive.

Which in itself begs an interesting question - why am I worth less if I watch a show on my PC rather than on my TV? Doesn't make sense, so clearly there is a big arbitrage - and thus opportunity - for people who can match the value of my PC minute to my TV minute.