A survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers showed that more of us than ever before are choosing to watch TV shows on websites such as Hulu rather than on a TV. For younger folks, a full 83% said they watched some, most or all of their TV programming online.

This study, which was conducted by consumer electronics shopping site Retrevo, shows that the majority of Americans — 64%, according to the survey results — get at least some of their TV content online. Eight percent of the total said they watched most of their TV shows online, and 5% said they only watched television programs on the Internet.

For people under 25, almost a quarter of respondents said they watched most of their TV shows online, and 6% said they only watched TV online.

Another interesting demographic breakdown shows that men are more likely than women to forsake the television set in favor of the computer monitor. Seventeen percent of male respondents, as opposed to 9% of female respondents, said they watch most or all of their TV shows online.

When asked what would prompt a switch from cable or satellite TV to online-only programming, folks talked about their current cable and satellite providers and about the kinds of programming currently available online.

Around 43% of respondents said they had considered canceling their service or had actually canceled; those in that group who chose not to cancel did so because they couldn’t get their favorite shows online. As far as shows go, respondents said that premium channel programming, live sports and HD options were important factors in deciding whether to switch from cable/satellite to online-only TV.

The survey concludes that “online TV viewership is on the rise, and people are tired of high-priced programming[...] With the advent of Internet-capable TVs (starting to appear on the market) and the dissatisfaction with satellite and cable service (at least with the hefty monthly bills), we will likely see increasing attraction toward online offerings in the years to come.”

What do you think of this trend? How much television programming do you watch online, if any? Do you think piracy — be it through consumer video sites or torrent sites for premium shows or live-streaming sites for sports events — plays as important a role as legal sites such as Hulu? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

via TV Viewing’s Shift to the Web [STATS].

More than ever before Internet users in the United States want to be able to connect their TV to the Internet. Research firm Deloitte says 65 percent of Internet users want online content available on their televisions, with Millennials (14-26 year olds) leading the way; some 74 percent said they want to connect their TVs. But they weren't alone in their desires, said Deloitte in its “State of the Media Democracy (4th edition).” Gen Xers (71 percent), Boomers (59 percent) and Matures (46 percent) also contributed to the 7-percentage point uptick from a year ago.

The economic downturn that has plagued the nation may have contributed to an increase in TV viewing by Internet users as well, with viewing topping 18 hours per week in 2009. Deloitte said about 4 percent of respondents said they watched some of their favorite shows on sites like Hulu, with another 3 percent saying they watched post-broadcast episodes of their favorite shows on the show’s website.

via Survey shows increased desire for TV-Internet convergence – FierceOnlineVideo.

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