The opportunity to watch online video content on TV is stymied by the cost of the technology, but not consumer interest. According to E-Poll’s “Multi-Platform Viewing of Video Content,” cited in an eMarketer report last week, about half of TV viewers said they would like to be able to transfer online video to TV, but only 17 percent would pay $100 or more for a device.
The report found young teens the best market, because more than half own and use a computer, TV, VCR, DVD player and mobile phone on a regular basis, according to a Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg survey from last summer.
“Things are changing quickly, and it’s likely that teens are much more familiar with the various ways they can watch video,” said eMarketer Senior Analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Young people will expect to be able to watch TV anywhere, any time. It will be a part of their everyday life, just as mobile phones are today.”
Celebs Among Thousands Evacuated in Los Angeles Fires
Wildfires in and around Los Angeles have burned several celebrities' homes and forced stars including Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore and James Woods, to evacuate. Cary Elwes and Paris Hilton are among the stars who said Wednesday they had lost homes in the Palisades fire. California firefighters are battling wind-whipped fires tearing across the area, destroying homes, clogging roadways as tens of thousands fled and straining resources as the fires burned uncontained Wednesday. The Pacific Palisades neighborhood is a hillside area along the coast dotted with celebrity residences and memorialized by the Beach Boys in their 1960s hit "Surfin' USA." In the frantic haste to get to safety, roadways became impassable when scores of people abandoned their vehicles and fled on foot, some toting suitcases. "Evacuated Malibu so last minute," wrote Hamill in an Instagram post Tuesday night. "Small fires on both sides of the road as we approached (the Pacific Coast Highway)." Less than 72 hours before, Hollywood's highest-wattage stars had convened to walk the Golden Globes' red carpet, the first major event of the exuberant and, for many, triumphant awards season. The revelry of awards season had quickly been snuffed out, too: Premieres of contenders like "Better Man" and "The Last Showgirl" were canceled, the Screen Actors Guild Awards nominations were announced via press release instead of at a live event and weekend events like the AFI Awards were preemptively scrubbed. The Oscar nominations are also being delayed two days to Jan. 19 and the film academy has extended the voting window to accommodate members affected by the fires. Here's how celebrities and entertainment companies are being impacted by the fires burning in and around Los... Read More