As consumption of Internet distribution increases, broadcast TV still main video source for most households

More U.S. households are watching online video and on a wider variety of devices now than two years ago, but they are not sacrificing their TV viewing to do so, finds research firm Parks Associates.

The firm’s study “Digital Media Evolution II” found 40 percent of all U.S. broadband homes now regularly watch long-form video on a computer. However, a high use of Internet video does not yet correlate with decreased TV viewing.

“People are using online video to fill in the gaps,” said Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst, Parks Associates. “When it comes to watching TV shows and movies, nobody’s first choice is the computer. People will watch this content on a computer when it is not convenient or feasible to watch on a TV.”

Parks Associates found households with a high incidence for viewing PC video are also heavy DVD users. “Both DVDs and the Internet are nonlinear video sources,” Scherf said. “That makes them somewhat similar from the consumer’s perspective. They don’t care about the distribution method so much as the experience, which will be enhanced through the ability to view premium content on a variety of devices.”