One of four households watches television online, rather than sitting down at a specific time to watch their favorite show, a 5% raise from the previous year, according to a quarterly survey of 10,000 households conducted by The Conference Board.

The study showed 80% surveyed log on daily for entertainment. News programs were shown to be the most popular, watched by 43% of online TV viewers, while about 35% enjoy sitcoms, 19% watched reality shows and 18% follow sports.

More than two-thirds of online TV viewers access television content through the TV channel’s official homepage. Two-thirds of all online TV viewers access programs through streaming video, while 41% use free downloads.

Youtube.com retains second place, accessed by 42% of online viewers. Studio-owned Hulu.com has nearly quadrupled in its number of users, with usage having grown from 8% in 2008 to 32% today, according to the survey.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/streaming/survey-1-4-skips-broadcast-favor-web-tv-16969

More information on the survey:

Nearly one out of four U.S. households watches TV online, up from 20 percent last year, reports The Conference Board and TNS. And Hulu.com is fast becoming the hot site – just behind YouTube.com – for watching TV programs. In fact, the number of households visiting Hulu.com has increased almost fourfold in the last year.

The Consumer Internet Barometer, a quarterly report produced by The Conference Board, the global business membership and research association, and TNS, a global market insight and information group, surveys 10,000 households across the country and tracks who's doing what on the Internet.

Nearly 80 percent of consumers log on daily for entertainment. In fact, entertainment is cited as one of the most important Internet activities, behind only personal communication and work-related activities.

Two-thirds of all online TV viewers access their favorite programs through streaming video, while 41 percent utilize free download. Nine out of ten online viewers enjoy online TV from their own home. One out of ten logs on at the office.

More than two-thirds of online TV viewers access television content through the official TV channel's homepage. Youtube.com still retains second place, accessed by 42 percent of online TV viewers. There has been a great explosion in the popularity of Hulu.com, a website that features streaming video from many major television networks. Usage has grown from 8 percent of households in 2008 to 32 percent today.

"The rise of Hulu is not just a coincidence," says Bernard Brenner, Senior Vice President, Innovation & Product Development at TNS. "Hulu and other online TV viewing options have created a user experience equivalent to how people self categorize content – sorting by brand, genre and popularity. This user experience, along with a deep library of branded content, has created a service that continues to resonate with users."


http://www.conference-board.org/economics/consumerBarometer.cfm