News: Nielson Media Research reports that "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." (article)
Analysis: This is just the tip of the iceberg. The TV networks are adding more and more shows online, with high quality and even HD videos, with pretty seamless viewing and in some cases even fewer commercials than on TV. I've been predicting for several years that TV will soon become obsolete.
I am a little surprised by the December 2007 numbers, though. ABC had 47.3 million videos viewed, CBS had 33.8 million, NBC had 25.3 million, while FOX only had 1.4 million. FOX doesn't put American Idol online, so that's one factor. But I can't figure out why FOX's numbers are so low. I think the FOX on Demand website is the best one of the lot -- although maybe it didn't launch until after this survey. It could also be that its joint project site called hulu.com has diverted FOX's popularity. But 1.4 million still sounds way low. I hope to have formal reviews of all these sites soon.
