Battle lines being drawn

More than 16 million US households may be using their broadband service more than they use their TV sets within the next three years, experts predict.

A new In-Stat survey of US consumers about TV viewing, media and online habits forecasts that traditional TV broadcasters are going to have a fight on their hands from ISPs.

"Today's stable and profitable subscription TV services are facing new competition from online and mobile entertainment services, and from new high-quality packaged goods such as HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs," said In-Stat analyst Gerry Kaufhold.

"The very nature of 'entertainment' is undergoing a profound change in which the ability to instantly share content with friends, family and those connected on social networks or buddy lists is creating micro-user communities that replace traditional entertainment sources such as TV programmes.

"As more high-quality content becomes available online, savvy consumers are considering ways to reduce their monthly bills by getting everything from the internet."

In-Stat's survey revealed that up to 30 per cent of respondents would drop subscription services and use the internet for TV.

Some 42 per cent of respondents indicated that they are not getting enough international news and information from their current TV delivery services, even though there are hundreds of channels available.