Photo by: francescominciotti

According to a retrevo.com Pulse Report, 64% of Americans get at least some of their TV content online. For those under 25 that number rises to 83%.

Who wants to wait around for their favourite TV show to come on? Apparently not Americans according to a new retrevo.com Pulse Report. Or Canadians for that matter, with a study by Solution Research Group finding 50 percent of Canadians have viewed TV online.

This presents an interesting challenge to the business model for TV networks and the cable/IP/satellite distributors of their signals. Especially as both sides in Canada are locked in a bitter payment dispute because providers don’t currently pay networks for carrying their signals. In addition, new technology like Apple TV and Internet-capable TVs are making the entertainment experience increasingly personalized.

If you miss the latest episode of your favourite drama, comedy or reality show, just go to the network’s website and in just a few clicks, you can get caught up. The upside of this for viewers is that they basically can watch the TV show for free, just by having an Internet subscription. The downside for networks is it reduces the ratings for the programs, further eroding their advertising revenue which is still based on the number of eyeballs watching. Some of that can clearly be made up with online advertising revenue but that doesn’t yet fill the gap.

On the service provider side, if people are watching online they may be tempted to cancel their subscription impacting their bottom line. In the Retrevo survey, 26% have cancelled or considered canceling their cable or satellite service. New entrants into the market such as Telus TV are providing increased competition for fewer subscribers. The good news is people aren’t yet ready to give up HD, live sports and events, and premium services like HBO that aren’t yet available on the Internet. Also, in Canada most people subscribe to Internet and TV through the same provider.

As communicators these trends are important for us to be aware of so we can adjust our strategies. If you are dependent on television advertising to get your message out, new online tactics will need to be explored. If you are trying to achieve earned media, then you will need to ensure the stories about your company or clients will survive the transition from broadcast to the web. It also makes being engaged in social media even more important.

I have even turned off the news because the US Presidential election takes up so much bandwidth – even on BBC World and local Vancouver news. I can’t suffer through another story about Obama, Hillary, McCain or that guy named Mitt. And my guilty pleasures of The Daily Show and Colbert Report are obviously all over the ClusterF(#$ to the White House so I need to find some new distractions.

Tonight I caught a show on MuchMoreMusic called Behind the Music That Sucks. It’s a really funny animated spoof of VH1′s Behind the Music. I have no idea how long the show has been out there but it’s new to me and that’s all that matters. I Googled it right away and found heavy.com and watched a bunch of them tonight.