Forrester

Why Read This Report

The days of thinking of online video as mostly a YouTube phenomenon are officially over. Instead, the Internet-connected PC has become another TV set in people's lives, one that fulfills all the same needs that the still-beloved TV set in the living room does — only this screen is more convenient and more compatible with consumers' lives than the old one. Now that people know they can satisfy their TV urges with the help of the Net, they will increasingly look for ways to get that same convenience on the TV, either through improved VOD or by hooking up a PC to the TV. The online video product managers at the TV networks should spend the 2008/2009 season experimenting to squeeze more and more ad dollars out of the experience without triggering a backlash among fans.