CABL Forum - Broadband Bites Cable

http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/03/cable-television-internet-broadband-business-media-pew.html

A new Pew study shows audience migration amid a slow economy.

It might be a little early to call Hulu the next HBO, but a spike in broadband usage appears to be eating into viewers for cable television, according to the latest survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. That in spite of the fact the average consumer is paying more for broadband--an average $39 a month--up from $34.50 in May 2008.

Has the recession delivered a stimulus to broadband? According to the Pew study, the business flatlined for much of 2008 but took off like a rocket in the past year, growing 15%. Job seekers, the newly idle and more people working from home may account for some of this. About 63% of Americans now have broadband at home. Meanwhile, according to Pew, 22% of adults have canceled or scaled back pricey cable TV service.

Yahoo! BuzzOne-third of all consumer-based Web traffic is related to video. Yet Web portals like YouTube are still losing money and will be for a while. So may a wave of mini-YouTubes like Crackle, Daily Motion, Metacafe and Brightcove.

Comcast ( CMCSA - news - people ) and Time Warner's ( TWX - news - people ) HBO are trying to pre-empt all this migration with their own Web programming. A new partnership between the two will deliver TV shows and movies on the Web to Comcast subscribers. In the offing are 750 hours of shows each month, including full-length episodes of The Wire, Sex and the City and Entourage and movies like Jurassic Park and Mrs. Doubtfire. Subscribers will be able to view new shows on the Web right after they air and have access to a program library. Comcast says it will run the service as a trial later this summer.

Meanwhile, cable still reigns as the leader in broadband connectivity, notes Pew. Some 43% of broadband users at home connect through cable, 31% by DSL and 23% by fixed wireless, satellite or fiber. Old fashioned dial-up access still accounts for 7% of Web users. Will they ever abandon their copper wire for broadband? It may take more than reruns of Mrs. Doubtfire.

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Broadband Bites Cable