Most viewers sticking to their TV sets despite online video popularity

Tue Jul 1, 2008 8:15PM EDT

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Watching online videos is all the rage these days, but most people would rather watch their favorite TV shows on traditional TV sets, according to a new study. A recent survey by Nielsen for the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM) found that a whopping 94 percent of respondents who subscribe to cable or satellite television prefer to watch their shows on the old tube rather than YouTube.

It's possible that high-definition programming has something to do with it. The survey doesn't specifiy the number of viewers that own an HDTV, but 41 percent of those who do subscribe to high-definition service, with a majority saying they make it a point to watch HD programming most of the time (I sure hope so since they do have to pay extra for HD content).

College kids, on the other hand, are ditching the TV set for their portable laptops. Alloy Media found that TV ownership on campus has been declining in the past few years thanks to the increasing role of computers as personal entertainment centers. Almost two-thirds of the college students who participated in the survey said they'd rather watch TV shows on Hulu, Veoh, or Joost.

And while college students prefer to get their entertainment fix on Hulu, most of the respondents on CTAM's survey said they'd rather go straight to the network's site to catch any shows they missed.

So my question to you is where do you prefer to watch your TV shows? Online or on your television set? Let me know in the comments section.

Related:

Online TV Roundup (and Battle Royale)

Comments on Most viewers sticking to their TV sets despite online video popularity

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  • 1 Posted by gooddayz39 on Tue Jul 1, 2008 11:02PM EDT Report Abuse

    I don't own a TV set or a computer...had to sell them. But I would much rather buy a laptop with 2gb of ram and plug that in to an HDTV with a wireless mouse and keyboard.

  • 2 Posted by mailgold01 on Wed Jul 2, 2008 9:06AM EDT Report Abuse

    as much as i love my laptop,i prefer watching tv shows on my tv.

  • 3 Posted by crapdirector on Wed Jul 2, 2008 9:40AM EDT Report Abuse

    I have my TV hooked up to my computer, so even when I download a show, I always watch it on my TV (played by my computer). Its just a more enjoyable experience to sit comfortably watching the larger screen on my couch than at my desk or with an awkwardly positioned laptop.

  • 4 Posted by pkd1710 on Wed Jul 2, 2008 11:44AM EDT Report Abuse

    I always watch it on TV. Movies, I prefer the HDDVD player, with HD TV and sorround sound, period! I don't even boot up my laptop on weekend. Once you get hooked the HD picture on HDTV, it is difficult to watch anything on small screens (even with my 17 " laptop)! Period!

  • 5 Posted by jseyfield on Wed Jul 2, 2008 1:54PM EDT Report Abuse

    It's not just about quality. Part of watching tv is the unknown, flipping through aimlessly than finding something to watch. That kind of suprise and sponteneity isn't there when you're watching online videos. Basically it's no fun when you have to be your own programmer, you don't want to do any work when watching tv.

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