Tune Out, Log On
By Neil Dodds
08 March, 2006
Britons now spend more time online that watching television, according to a survey carried out for Google.
The survey showed that the average Brit spends around 164 minutes online every day - overtaking the telly, which occupies 148 minutes of the average British day. That's 41 days a year on the internet - as the Guardian reports, it makes web surfing Britain's most popular activity after sleeping and working.
Though some groups dispute the figures, other evidence, particularly studies carried out among young people, show television use declining quickly as web use soars. The bad news for television companies is that internet use is still increasing - two thirds of respondents said that they had increased their internet use in the past year.
Television took decades to reach the same number of people as the internet now reaches, all in under a decade. Will its decline be similarly rapid?
Well, the good news for television companies is that one of the things that has made the internet more attractive - high speed and broadband connections - is likely to make it more like TV. Broadband means more video footage, and as yet, no-one has the resources to produce high-quality video content to challenge companies like CNN, the BBC and HBO. Music videos and short, comic clips are well and good - but would you rather watch a fat boy dancing on his sofa or The Sopranos? And which would you rather pay for?
The internet is fast becoming the news and entertainment focus of the 21st century home: This should not be a worry for television companies, but an opportunity.
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