TV Sets To Be 'A Thing Of The Past?'

New research from YouGov's Media Consulting team has revealed a significant increase in the number of young people watching television online.
The rapidly growing habit of watching television online, either 'live' or after the initial screening, has been documented by the latest results of a YouGov study called Media Migration which examines the shift in viewing habits from 'old' to 'new' media.
According to the research, over half of 18-24 year olds (55%) watch TV online at least once a week, compared to only 12% of over 55s.
Out of those respondents who view TV online, only 9% are watching less now compared to a year ago while six times as many people (54%) are watching more TV online. Future growth in this area of media among the younger generations is highly likely with 36% of 18-24s and 30% of 25-34s saying they expect to watch more television via the Internet in future.
Commenting on the results, James Kennedy, Research Executive in YouGov's Media Consulting team said: "The music world was revolutionised with the introduction of downloading sites such as Napster and consumers switching from going out and purchasing CD's to downloading free (illegal) music to their computers. This transformation could now be shifting to the world of television."
The public are also unsure as to the law regarding online TV. When online TV viewers were asked whether it was a legal requirement to possess a TV licence to watch programmes online 54% said yes, 31% said no with a further 15% unsure. In reality, you only need a TV licence to watch live TV on your computer.
Which media outlet the public go to first for breaking news and current events is also shifting. 56% of 18-24s go online to follow a breaking news story (43% go to an online news site, 13% to a newspaper website). In contrast, for over 55s the primary resource was television, encompassing 70% of this age group.
Kennedy continued: "Another consequence of this swing to online media will be that to revenues for the proprietors of traditional media.
"If people are increasingly choosing to consume media online rather than by physical copy, newspapers need to move with this so as not to lose their share of readership and advertising revenue.
"Similarly, the television industry will have to make some big decisions. A major concern must be that if these various forms of media start to shift online then they are losing what sets them apart from one another."
(BMcN)