This write-up explores the changing ways in which people watch TV and get their news, and what that means for businesses in the industry.

• Cable-television companies struggle to respond to our growing interest of watching television online. The companies could easily sell us web connection, allowing us to choose exactly which programs we want to watch, but they won’t because of the consequences.
• These companies make money by selling packages of channels, though we end up only watching a small handful. That’s why they’ve resisted the trend so strongly. Unfortunately for them, they may already be too late.
• A slew of start-ups and savvy electronics makers have stormed the scene, giving us a number of new options to bring internet television into our living rooms.

Facts & Figures

• The average American household pays $700 a year for over 100 channels of cable television but watches no more than 15.
• New technology bringing internet television to the living room includes: a few new TV sets come with Ethernet sockets to connect to the internet, video game consoles can stream films and TV shows from Netflix, and specialized boxes like Vudu, Roku, and Boxee can access thousands of videos online and connect them to your TV.

Tags: hulu, internet, television