The New Face of TV in American Households The New Face of TV in American Households

About one third of broadband equipped households in the U.S. now stream video and TV shows regularly from internet based services rather than depending on the cable providers, showed a survey from research firm Parks Associates.

Survey also had interesting facts like rather than the younger generation, online streaming devices appeal more to older people, as more than 20 percent of the consumers who bought streaming devices in 2011 holiday season were above 45 years old.

Consumers mainly shift to single use media devices like Apple TV and Roku to stream movies and TV shows via internet services like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon instant video. Most of them are even ready to sacrifice their favorite pay channels, which is only available through cable service.


Kurt Scherf, analyst at Parks Associates said, "While this trend does not yet frequently equate to canceling pay-TV services, it can mean shaving some premium channels for a set of households. That’s a risk that pay-TV providers must address and a trend that both manufacturers and content providers are following with eagle eyes and plans for defensive actions."


The trend is a serious concern for cable providers. As the internet services continue to avail at a low cost and they keep on widening their contents and libraries, more users will tend to get out of the comfort of cable TV’s and join the cord cutting revolution.