TV Landscape to be Transformed by 38 million UK Internet Users

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The online TV market in the UK is developing quickly, as individuals harness the power to determine their own viewing schedule and online activities. More Europeans are using high-speed connections to stream and download TV. The reasons are clear: Now users can decide when to watch TV, they can watch just what they want and they can treat the content like a DVD -- pausing, rewinding and re-viewing.

In 2008, more than 60% of UK homes will have broadband connections, and that figure will rise to 74% in 2012. As a result, online video viewing is also rising and an increasing amount of broadcast and cable television content is appearing online. Add that behavior to the growing Internet population, which will top 38 million in the UK in 2008, and a transformation of the TV landscape is the result.

Thanks to the Internet, it is easier than ever for TV broadcasters to reach audiences. "Already in the first half of 2008, over one-half of UK adults with Internet access had watched TV online, and many had used it to catch programs they had missed," says Karin von Abrams, senior analyst and author of the report, "Web Television in Europe: An Expanding Scene."

Traditional TV viewing times are still growing but on-demand viewing and downloading are growing much faster. In most of Europe, increasing broadband penetration is a priority for governments, and services are expanding rapidly. The proportion of professional-quality TV on the Web is also rising, as networks and other content owners release their output online.

Signs of the times include the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 developing a commercial service called Kangaroo, aimed at providing a Web-based platform for all their on-demand TV content. Also, the BBC has created iPlayer -- and a Web page for every episode of every television program it has ever produced -- as part of a huge online archive that will span nearly 80 years.

Online video consumers will enjoy new viewing opportunities due to the fact that broadcasters will simply never own the online channel to the consumer as they once owned TV channels and networks.


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