Online video finally chipping away at broadcast TV

A quarter of people in countries with access to high-speed broadband are streaming video to their TV, although more than 80 percent still watch broadcast television as well. But that’s slowly beginning to change: According to survey data from Ericsson, there’s been a slight decrease from 2010 to 2011 in the percentage of folks watching broadcast TV, while Internet-enabled options, such as long-form streaming sites like Netflix, short-form videos aggregators like YouTube and downloaded content are all on the rise. So for all those thinking the Internet is killing television, it’s killing TV like it killed all other media — as in, it’s not. But much like the print media, content owners, television distributors and broadcasters will have to find ways of giving the audience content in the format they want and engaging with their audience while still making money.